Howdy-

I'm heading over to Maui next Friday and looking to do some riding. If there's anybody out there that's recently ridden up Haleakala or the surrounding roads on the island I'd love to learn from your experiences. Given that I'm most likely to be out riding by myself while the rest of the family is swimming I'm most concerned about places I can stop to grab water and the occasional bite to eat should the need strike.

-Thanks, Todd

Yes



Epic.

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DJ has best rite up of the experience! the only thing I can add is start early as possible since you will be fighting against elevation you do no want to combat the heat as well. Rain, it can, will, might or not rain on the route, it normally is just a quick refreshing shower. Do pack a super thin wind proof vest for the downhill, call me wimpy but it can be much colder up there.

The rest of the trip, riding in Maui is awesome. My favorite ride is Lahaina north past Honolua bay, the road gets skinny but the views and hills are worth it. Do not ride you bike toward Hana, you can die with all the tourist looking at all the turns, not the road.

Have a great time... Aloha!

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I love riding there. While the Haleakala ride is amazing and one of my all time favorites, there are so many other great rides.

The west Maui loop is amazing - especially the part from Honoloa Bay east. Look at a map and do a circle around the west part of the island. For me, this is the most beautiful part of the island. You can just do the nicest part as a 20-40 mile out and back, but the whole loop is worth it. A big part of this road is 1 lane so people say its dangerous, but really is means there is no traffic and passing cars on a bike is easy. However, I wouldn't drive this.

If it is raining, start in Kula and head south and then east around the desert side of the island. Amazing rollers and good pavement (until its not, you will know).

Interestingly, the hardest climb on the island might not be Haleakala. Start in Paia and head to Waipoli Road up in to Polipoli State Park. Not as much vertical, but it sure makes up for it in steepness. This can often be done when it is raining on the main road up the mountain. And since when was 6000+ ft a small climb?

Paia to Hana and back is another really great ride (about 100 miles). There is a fair bit of traffic on this one, but it is moving slow because it is so twisty. I have never had an issue.

One thing to keep in mind in Maui is the locals penchant for throwing glass bottles on the side of the road. Make sure you have Krylion or Gatorskin tires or something else that resists cuts well.

I've ridden in Maui a few times, particularly over the last 18 months. I did the Hesjedahl Maui Cycling Camp in December and we literally rode all around the island (or at least the younger, faster riders did while I sagged part way).

Many roads have decent shoulders and there's a bike path across the island to avoid the main road to Kahului. West Maui loop is a highlight. Did it by car in 95 with my wife and kids counter-clockwise and my wife was hanging on for dear life. Drove it the opposite way and have ridden it twice clockwise recently. It is a really great ride with lots of little ups and downs and great views of the ocean if you dare to look while riding. Yes, much of it is pretty narrow but it's less scary on the bike than in a car. It's the one road with few places to get drinks so look at your map and stock up at what look like towns on the map. There's one shaved ice place about half way along the narrow stretch and that's about it. Our camp also rode all the way around the east Maui loop. About 20 km of really bad road with no traffic and very long (maybe 180 km if you have to do a full loop) but a stunning ride. As BoulderDad said, you can ride Paia to Hana (or part way). Much of the ride is along the coast. In the old days (I first went to Maui in 1979), the road to Hana was treacherous in a car but there's been a lot of widening. Just be really careful to stay well to the right, particularly at corners. There's also some nice little hilly rides from Paia if you're staying on that side of the island.

Haleakala is great. There are lots of accounts of that ride on the net but it's long. Also, the last place to buy drinks was closed when I was there in December and it looked permanent. There's a fairly big store in Kula that's just below the road that's probably the last place to buy drinks. You can also get water at the park office once you're inside the park. Remember your 5 bucks or you won't get into the park. I've ridden all the way in September when it was too cold to ride down (threw the bike in the support vehicle my wife had driven to follow my son and me) and to the park gate in December when a light jacket was enough even coming down for long stretches at 60 km/hr+. Most roads have lots of towns so you can usually get Gatorade or water.

I've dealt with bike shops in Lahaina, Kihei and Paia. The one in Paia also has rides (http://www.gocyclingmaui.com/). They provided support to our camp and were great. The shop in Kehei rented Treks and I'd rate as OK at best. The one in Lahaina had Specialized and seemed a little more willing to help than Kihei. We rented bikes from both of those and the bikes were fine, although not cheap. Donnie in Paia is a nice guy and knows every road on the island after running a bike based business there for about ten years. I got to know a couple of his guys pretty well since they were designated to ride at the back of the group and they were good guys. A friend rented a bike from them a few weeks ago and it was OK too.

I'll be back there in two weeks and plan to ride the west Maui loop in both directions since there isn't much else to do from Lahaina. I'll also fiddle around up and down the coast a bit and maybe try some road in from the coast near Lahaina (all pretty short I think). We talked and talked and talked about going somewhere new or someplace warm for some time away from the cold. We didn't get our act together on anyplace else so we're back to Maui for the 13th time (9 from 85-95 when kids were little, none from 95-late 11, four times since).

Maui is definitely on my list of must-visit places. I've had a few recommendations on places to stay, but am still uncertain of what will deliver prime waterfront and relatively easy access to the good roads.

Any recommendations from WW?

Geoff

Kahana

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Let's finish the ride with a 20% grade.
2011 Scott Addict R1 Matt black
2012 Cannondale EVO "Storm Trooper" white and black

Geoff, I guess the questions for you are how much are you prepared to spend, what do you want to do other than ride and what other family members are going and what are their interests? Most of the beach places are either from Lahaina north (Kaanapali, Napili, etc.) and around Kihei/Wailea. Board sailers might like to be around Paia, which is also the starting point for Haleakala, although I think the beaches aren't great for swimming. Having a car is pretty much required to get around and get to a variety of restaurants and beaches. We've gone to Lahaina many times and stay at an old condo development which has some places right on the water (about 40-50 feet away). There's lots of hotels of various sorts and prices around Kaanapali. We've also been to Wailea a couple of times recently and have several friends who own places around there, one of whom likes it because of golf. It's close to the end of the road so there's a lot of repetition in rides but I'd say there's more good restaurants around there than at Lahaina and Kaanapali. We're going back to Lahaina in two weeks because it's familiar and we're right on the water. Price isn't too bad (one bedroom condo in the $250 range). Four Seasons Wailea was great - good restaurants, great service - but it was something like $575 a night. Really long beach walks are possible from Wailea and Kihei, also at Kaanapali, but not so good at Lahaina.

I don't have much to add, but I definitely recommend the West Maui loop as well while there. Haleakala was nice, but to me the West Maui ride was even better. Make sure you have cash on you, in case you need to grab food along the route once you exit the last town. Also, keep in mind there will be no cell phone service on the west side.

We stayed at the Makena Golf Resort while there, and it was very nice and reasonably priced.

Have fun.

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@ fa63 & c50jim - thanks for your input.
JIm - Essentially, we'll want an active morning (some training for me, a run for my wife), and afternoons reading and lounging by the beach. We don't have a price ceiling for accommodations, but money saved there is money for other things. I'd prioritize a nice view and reasonably easy access to nice restaurants of every kind.

Thanks,

Geoff

I stayed @ Paia Inn: it was great. Right near the bike shop, and easy access to where the race starts (I wasn't there during the race, but wanted to ride the same route).

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Paia is the place to be for riding. Check out VRBO. There are all kinds of good deals. I found a cool little 1 bedroom condo for $65 a night.

+1 on VRBO. And Paia is also very nice for cycling. I rode with the shop there up Haleakala (go cycling maui) and Donnie and the guys are great.

My wife and I prefer staying in west Maui. The resorts at Ka'anapali are nice, and we stayed there a few times, but after that, we've been renting a nice waterfront condo around Kahana we found off VRBO that also has pretty much direct access to the nicest part of the West Maui loop. At about $100 / night. The location gives us a great combo of being close to touristy stuff (Lahaina / the resorts) but also great access to the quieter areas up north and fantastic riding. The only semi bummer is that it's a good drive to Paia and Haleakala / road to Hana if you want to do those rides as well. I just normally take a day trip and do Haleakala and content myself with West Maui the rest of the trip.

Just curious, but has anybody ridden the back way into Hana around the south/southwest section of the island?

tmanley
Yes, I've ridden around Haleakala (or at least the better riders on the camp did and I sagged a bit). There's about 10 miles of really bad road - gravel, no pavement but ridable if you're cautious. The camp rode it from the Kula side towards Hana (counter clockwise). There's a really good, new road for a while through the middle of nowhere. You come down a hill, then the road goes to gravel. It's probably better to do it from the Kula side since there's a couple of little hills that seemed better in that direction. Once you pass the pineapple winery at the edge of Kula, there is basically nothing - no water, no stores - until you get to the national park where there's water and a phone. Food at Hana, not before. Support is a good idea on this one or ride in a group. There's also almost no traffic along this stretch so you could be looking for help for a long time. West Maui loop isn't very busy but it's like a super highway in comparison. If you're there, the guys at Maui Cyclery in Paia could update you on road conditions.