Cycle To The Sun / Hawaii

[Camelfred]

Hello ,
this year i will travel to Hawaii and do the road-race "Cycle to the sun" ( up to the Haleakala national-park ) . I think i will stay there for 2 weeks ( 1 on Maui , and after the race another week on Big Island where i'll try to climb the MaunaKea-road ) .
Does anybody have some advice for economically priced accomodations (preferred nearby the starting points Paia / Hilo ) ?
Any suggestions in general are welcome , too .
Many thanks in advance
Camelfred

[edski]

There are many options available to rent private homes here; http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/us ... untry#3044
The hotels on Maui are typically mega resorts or located in the city. Mzagorski won the race last couple of years and turns up on WW. quite often check his blog here. http://www.mikezagorski.com/

Good luck both are very tough climbs...

[big steve]

Wait for mzagorski...

[Camelfred]

There are many options available to rent private homes here; http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/us ... untry#3044
The hotels on Maui are typically mega resorts or located in the city. Mzagorski won the race last couple of years and turns up on WW. quite often check his blog here. http://www.mikezagorski.com/

Thanks for the info .
To avoid misunderstanding: the hotels don't have to be necessarily exact in this cities , but they sholud not be on the other end of the island ...

Good luck both are very tough climbs...

Thanks , i hope i'll be able to reach the summits .

Wait for mzagorski...

Yes , i'll be patient - departure will be on 19. or 20.8. so i have plenty of time ...
Camelfred

[mzagorski]

Hey Camelfred...

Maui... I think Edski has you sorted out on where to look for accomodation. For Haleakala, the race starts in Paia.. about 10-15 miles east of Kahului (where the airport is located). I've always stayed at the Maui Seaside hotel... Not a flashy place, but it does the job.

Mauna Kea... also a race up there on Aug 11th I think. Fun climb.... The race started at Hilo and goes along Saddle Road (supposedly most dangerous road in Hawaii).. so be safe!!!... it's narrow in places, twisty, sometimes not the best road surface but overall pretty good. You can only get to about 10,000ft on a road bike.. after that it's a gravel road that you need a mountain bike for. After the race last year I rode down the mountain and back to Hilo with the guys that finished 2nd and 3rd... Windy descent.. FAST... 100km+ fast. Got really rainy and foggy on saddle road but it's a rolling gradual descent to feels like motorpacing. You can haul some ass back to Hilo!! oh.. and for climbing Mauna Kea... I rode a 38 x 27... You'll probably want something similar unless you're happy climbing at 6mph/50rpm hehe. Gets steep in parts!!

Let me know if you have questions and I'll try to answer.

For interisland flights...
www.hawaiianair.com
www.alohaair.com
www.iflygo.com

[BMOLLOY]

Timely post. I am planning a trip to Hawaii this summer and I was wondering if there is anywhere to rent good high end road bikes. I also want to ride up Haleakala and don't want to have to deal with sending my bike over there. I will be with my Wife and new baby so I think this will be my only ride and I don't want to be dragging my bike around the whole time (we will be staying on a few different islands). Part of me thinks I should take my own bike because I know it is such a great ride I should do it on the bike I know and love (and is light), the other part thinks why bother. I think my decision will be made easier if I find that I can get a good bike to ride. If it helps define "good" my bike is a Cervelo SLC, I am not expecting that at all, but I don't want a boat anchor either!

[mises]

Put some 25mm tires on the road bike and go for it on the gravel part of Mauna Kea. Haven't seen the road in years but I know it's been done a few times over the years on a road bike. There are pictures of some euro guy doing it I saw somewhere on the internet.

[edski]

For rentals and tours on Maui check out these guys, Donnie Arnoult is an ex mainland pro that has a great little gig going on Maui, very nice guy. http://www.gocyclingmaui.com/index.html

As far as bike selection on Mauna Kea. The mountain bike suggestion/requirement for above 10K feet on Mauna Kea is not really due to road surface, it is due to steepness some sections greater than 20%. Not bad by themselves but after 10+k of climbing very tough. The race to the actual summit has folks changing bikes at pavements end. You could probably run cross tires or some other 25c or larger variant on a road bike but an MTB would be vastly more enjoyable.

[Camelfred]

Hey Camelfred...
Mauna Kea... also a race up there on Aug 11th .

Hi Mike , i already heard about the "Sea To Stars"-race , but then we would have to stay for 3 weks (acclimatisation...) and both me and my friend don't have so much time to spend ...

You need a mountain bike for. I rode a 38 x 27...
I think. it's narrow in places, twisty, sometimes not the best road surface but overall pretty good. You can only get to about 10,000ft on a road bike.. after that it's a gravel road that you need a mountain bike for. I rode a 38 x 27...

I have 39x29 (Campy) ...

Let me know if you have questions and I'll try to answer.

Thanks for your offer , i'm sure that i have some more questions in the future .

Put some 25mm tires on the road bike and go for it on the gravel part of Mauna Kea. Haven't seen the road in years but I know it's been done a few times over the years on a road bike. There are pictures of some euro guy doing it I saw somewhere on the internet.

As far as bike selection on Mauna Kea. The mountain bike suggestion/requirement for above 10K feet on Mauna Kea is not really due to road surface, it is due to steepness some sections greater than 20%. Not bad by themselves but after 10+k of climbing very tough. The race to the actual summit has folks changing bikes at pavements end. You could probably run cross tires or some other 25c or larger variant on a road bike but an MTB would be vastly more enjoyable.

Unfortunately my chainstays are very short so probably there's not enough space between tire and seatstay and i can only use 23mm-tires.

Thanks for all the answers !!!
Camelfred

[Nor-Cal Master]

When I go to Maui I use http://www.windsurfari.com

I like to stay right outside Paia on the beach, its about $120 a night for the beach house with garage.

Good times and about a 3/4 mile ride to the stop light in Paia where you turn and climb to the sky.

MS

[Camelfred]

Hi ,
will any other WW's do the race ?
Me and my teammate will depart next tuesday and stay @ the "Maui-Seaside"-hotel until monday 27th , then we relocate to big island for 1 week and try to climb the mauna kea...
Camelfred

[musanoadsaba]

I don't want to steal this thread, but on the accommodation issue, what part of Maui should I stay if my travel plans consist of one week of daily morning road rides followed by afternoon beach time: Northshore, Southshore....?

[Philip]

Unless you like windsurfing, for afternoon beach time you will want to be on the south side (Kihei/Waialea) or west side (Kaanapali, Lahaina), but not on the northshore (Paia). The afternoons can be very windy, especially in summer, and the northshore beaches get most of the wind.

[Kahuna]

Philip is right about the north shore wind. However, if road cycling is your primary activity, I'll lay you in on a little secret. Rent a cottage in the upcountry Kula area if you can. This will place you smack in the middle cycling heaven. You'll only be 15 minutes drive from the nearest beach. Your accomodations will be out of the wind, the heat, and the cane smoke. This smoke is a nuisance caused by harvesting sugar cane across central Maui and it's pretty nasty.

The south and west shores are the big hotel tourist areas with Disneyland-like tropical landscaping, golf courses, lots of people and traffic, and it's hot with a capital H.

Check out Donnie's Go Cycling Maui website for ride details. He has a small but nice shop in Haiku (north shore) and does rentals.

I'm signed up for the Haleakala race, but have a feeling I'm going to climb like a brick as my past few rides up that hill have been s-l-o-w.

-K

[mzagorski]

I'll be at cycle to the sun again... At the moment I'm schedule to fly in on the Thu before the race and fly out on the Monday after. Maybe we can have a mini WW powwow at the finish / summit