If you have been to the Big Island of Hawaii, you will see Mauna Kea, a majestic mountain that serves as the backdrop for athletes to ride along the Queen K Highway during the Triathlon World Championship. Canadian Charles Ouimet recently shared a video of his ride on Mauna Kea on his YouTube channel, and Canadian triathlon contributor Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches interviewed him to talk about his adventures.

Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches: Hi Charles, today you shared a movie called Ocean to Heaven on your YouTube channel. How did you come up with the idea of ​​challenging yourself to ride a bike on the famous Monarch Highway?

Charles Ouimet: It all started when my girlfriend wanted to go to Hawaii for a backpacking trip by bicycle. I remembered a video of "Vegetarian Cyclist". He created this route and made the documentary "The Impossible Route". I was told how impossible The Impossible Road really is. So I wrote to Tyler ("Vegetarian Cyclist") and he gave me advice and mentioned that no one else had climbed the mountain by bicycle in two years. This is the really interesting place, because I will be the third person to finish the climb.

Can you provide us with detailed information about this climb (distance, altitude, type of road...)?

This is an ascent of 110 kilometers, the elevation has increased by 5,000 meters, and the descent is only about 300 to 400 meters, so this is really an ascent without any rest time throughout the day. The climb started on a 1.8 km hill with a slope of 28%. It is the steepest asphalt road in North America. Therefore, it takes 10 minutes of very intense effort at the beginning of the climb.

What is the most difficult part of the climbing process? Is it height, total distance, height difference...?

I think this is all the attention needed to stay on the bike because you are riding on a 4×4 road with holes and rocks. This is too technical, just staying on the road and staying on the bike requires a lot of mental energy. You can't stop thinking.

You opened your YouTube channel in 2020 and created and shared nearly 170 videos in a short period of time. Now you have more than 17,000 subscribers! Why did you decide to open a YouTube channel, and what do you think is the reason for its success?

I have always enjoyed watching YouTube videos, and when the pandemic started, my photography contract was interrupted. Therefore, instead of waiting for it to restart, I decided to activate my channel. I really found a passion to share my cycling adventures, experience and knowledge. I believe that one reason for this success is hard work and continuous work. I will post one or two videos every week. Consistency is indeed the key.

In addition to being a YouTube user, you are also a very good cyclist, even though you have recently started cycling. What do you think makes you improve quickly, and what advice would you give to beginners?

Cycling is a bit like everything, you have to take time; there is no "shortcut" to success. This is still a rapid improvement for me. I think this is because of my background-I have participated in longboard competitions for several years, and I have also participated in speed skating, so these two sports have really prepared me physically and tactically for cycling.

So my sports background allows me to make rapid progress and work very hard.

Finally, do you have any suggestions for readers to train and progress on bikes in winter while having fun?

As far as I am concerned, what keeps me motivated in the winter is the Zwift game. I didn't do a lot of organized training, nor did I do a lot of intervals in the basement myself. I would rather have an outing on Zwift with my friends. I also do LiveStream on YouTube, which gives me a lot of motivation when I am competing or testing on Zwift. So maintaining the community is what allowed me to improve in the winter, because it's really not easy.

Thank you very much for taking your time and congratulations on your movie.

Thank you, this movie is now available on YouTube, you can watch and share as you like. We hope it can inspire many people to step out of their comfort zone and do similar crazy challenges.

Get the digital version of Triathlon for the platform of your choice: