On 25 November 2008, I rode my bike from the balmy shores of Maui to the summit of Haleakala, a (near) uninterrupted climb of 10,023 ft over about 37 miles.
The blogosphere is full of accounts of other brave souls who decided to try the bike ride up Haleakal, so I will not give a blow-by-blow of my trip. Instead, here is a summary of the ride followed by some links that I found helpful in planning my challenge.
About Me
I am a strong rider. Weigh 185lbs at 6'1". I had never climbed higher than 3,500 ft previous to this ride.
The Route
You can check out my route on www.mapmyfitness.com. They have a cool site that now shows elevation and grade in a really clear manner. You can also find the entire route embedded at the bottom of this post.Weather
The weather for my trip was beautiful and sunny all the way to the top. Being able to see how big the mountain is makes it challenging at the beginning of the climb! It's a long way up.
Here is a shot of the mountain, with the sea in the bottom right and the summit in the top. This isn't the side that I climbed, but it gives an idea of how big the mountain looks and what type of weather I climbed in.
The Experience
In a nutshell, my total trip time was about 8 hours, the climb 5 hours, which included multiple fueling stops. Average speed while climbing was about 9.2 mph. I stopped to refuel at the Sunrise Market at 3,500 feet. In all I probably spent an hour there resting and eating their great tropical treats.
In a nutshell, my total trip time was about 8 hours, the climb 5 hours, which included multiple fueling stops. Average speed while climbing was about 9.2 mph. I stopped to refuel at the Sunrise Market at 3,500 feet. In all I probably spent an hour there resting and eating their great tropical treats.
The Gear
I rode my Calfee Designs Tetra Pro nude carbon travel bike with a standard 53/39 chain ring and a 12/23 cassette. I used the lowest gear in the steepest grade.
I also brought with me pumps, food, rain jacket, gloves, arm warmers, cell phone, camera, 2 tubes and tools...and three water bottles that I refilled four times.
I wore a summer kit that included a light bib and cycling jersey. I should have put warmer clothes on for the descent but I didn't feel cold at the 50 degree F summit, so I ended up never using the extra clothes and dealing with the cold by rushing down the mountain -- each thousand feet was about 3 degrees warmer.
My Route
- Paia shore to Makawao via Baldwin Avenue (9.2 mi). In Makawao, I should have continued up Baldwin beyond Makawao Avenue, but I was intent on not making the same mistake that Mike of Chain Reaction warned about in his very amusing and informative report. I accidentally turned right on Makawao Avenue, which gave me a very quick break in the climb. You can see this plateau in the grade reports below.
- Kula to Haleakala National Park Entrance (10 mi). This is the hardest segment of the climb.
- Park Entrance to the Summit (11 mi). This part of the climb is still difficult but it gets really bad the final 200 feet or so to the summit. You can't see this grade in the chart, but it's around 10% I guess.
- Summit to Kahuluia via Kula and the new Haleakala Highway (36 mi). This was probably the highlight of the ride. I was prepared for a monotonous descent but ended up with a fast-paced, powered ride down the switchbacks. When I got to the new Haleakala Highway, I kept up with the traffic at 45 mph. If you like to go fast and can handle a hefty cross wind, you may like this route. The shoulder is nearly two lanes wide! I felt completely stable and in control on my Tetra Pro.
- Kahului to Wailea (17 mi). This was pretty much a recovery ride until the final 400 ft climb up to the entrance to Wailea.
If You Do It...
- Follow instructions on the Chain Reaction website that you can find here. It helped me tremendously.
- Remember that it is a steady, sometimes steep climb. See below for a breakdown of the grades that you will encounter. I didn't find this anywhere on the web, so I am adding it here.
- Contrary to what you may read, there are plenty of elevation signs above 3,500ft. See my slideshow below for proof!
- Don't go fast downhill if you are not an experienced downhill rider and are riding on your own bike.
- If you can't stand the cold and feel fine at the top, try to remember to put on your warm clothes before you descend. I probably should have done that!
Links that Helped Me
- Riding Up Haleakala from Mike at Chain Reaction.
- Haleakala 7-Day Forecast from the U.S. National Weather Service.
- VeloAsia's Report.
- Brian de Sousa's Report.
Hey cool! That's one of my top 5 bikes rides!
ReplyDeleteBack in 1991 or so, my sister moved to Maui and went to visit. I didn't take my bike but rented one. I took my SPD pedals, helmet, etc. My rent bike was a heavy Pro-Flex, an early full-suspension mountain bike. The thing weighed about 35 pounds with thorn resistant tubes and stuff.
I started on the other side of Wailuku, from my sister's house. I think I left the house about 6:00 AM, and without really thinking much, I took one small waterbottle, a single powerbar, and a $5.00 bill with me.
I rode across the isthmus to the base of Haleakala, and started climbing. It was a steady climb as your chart shows.
(continued)
At the 6,000 mark, I was out of water. I saw a van or SUV parked on the side of the road and the people were picnicking. I rode over to them and asked for some water. They gave me a Coke which was welcome for the sugar, and a bottle of Perrer (la dee da!). They also show me photos of the solar eclipse...one reason why I went...and we were clouded over...rats! Anyway, I continued my climb and eventually made it to the Nat. Park entrance. (I didn't know it was a national park.) They wanted a $1.00 to let me pass. Luckily I had my $5.00 bill. I got to the V.C. (visitor's center) and refilled my little waterbottle and ate my Powerbar.
ReplyDeleteI got back on the bike and continued climbing. I was about 1 mile from the top when a car with two mtn bikes hanging out the the trunk passed me. I continued climbing. Buses belching smoke passed me. Finally the final pitch in few, my legs like jello. I make my final push and summit.
It was about 12:00 noon when I reached the top.
(continued)
I kind of rode in circles in that parking lot at the top, when I saw the guys getting those mountain bikes ready. I rode over and said, "Hey, that's not fair." They laughed and asked me if I wanted to do the Skyline Trail with them. I asked, "Is it legal?" Their reply was, "Sort of." I rode my rental bike up that finally little pitch to the overlook into the crater, then rode back down to join the guys.
ReplyDeleteI should mention it was a spectacular day! Not a cloud in the sky and perfect visibility. The big island was visible to the southeast. The whole island of Maui was visible below.
The descent started on a two track jeep road. We blasted down razor sharp lava. Steep! The silver swords were just blurring past. Every so often I could glance to my left and see the big island. I would look down the perfect slope of the volcano and see the blue ocean with the white surf. We continued down...eventually getting into dark forests of red woods, then open grasslands and eventually, probably somewhere around 5000 ft or so, came to a paved road which lead to a highway. At the highway, the guys when left to head to Kehai (sic), and I went right heading toward Waialuku. By this time I was bonking big time. I saw a McDonald's and pulled in. With my remaining $4.00, I bought a Big Mac and a medium Coke. From there I rode back down to the flats, across the island back to my sister's house. I think the time was about 4:00 PM. I was beat! Great ride!
Ooops, that McDonald's was in Pukalani, not Wailuku. I still had a ways to go to get home.
ReplyDelete(writer's note: I wrote this very fast...sorry for the typos.)
BTW, I don't remember what gears I used on that bike...probably all of them at one point.
ReplyDeleteThat mountain is impressive isn't it! It just dominates the landscape of Maui. Very cool.
I also used the bike to poke around other parts of the island and once came across a little village with young native Hawaiian men hanging out on the bridge that crossed a small creek. They gave me a look that said, Haoulis are not welcome. I continued on without stopping.
Cool blogging! Enjoying your site!
Wow, thanks Mimbresman. You win the award for the best story about your ride up Haleakala. I hope to add more climbs/rides through the months.
ReplyDeleteDid you find the grade information useful?
I used to be young and strong, and not so heavy. I was probably at my peak on that ride. I weighed about 180 lbs (5'10"). Now I am 18 years older and 40 lbs heavier, but I still like to climb...only I am not as fast as I used to be.
ReplyDeleteMy preparation for the ride was, I looked at that mountain the whole time I was on Maui (about 10 days). I guess I just visualized myself climbing it and I did that ride on about day 8 or 9 of my visit. That was the only real preparation I did to climb it...and looking at a road map that my sister had and just studying the size of the mountain from a distance. But that is usually how I approach most of my rides. Not much research other than looking at maps. Also growing up, living, and riding at 6,000+ ft helped.
The grade info is interesting. I remember the grade as fairly steady with short sections of steeper stuff. I probably used all the gears on that bike, but again, it was about 18 years ago, so certain details are fuzzy.
My sister and her family recently moved back to the mainland. I never had a chance to go back. To be honest, I didn't like Maui all that much, but I would like to ride the Big Island and climb Mauna Loa some day.
Right now my next big plan is the ride Tran-America in 2010. It'll be the year I turn 50. Its something I've been wanting to do since I was 12 years old.
I think I'll post some of my favorite/best rides on my blog in the future. I am always needing new ideas.
Again, enjoying your site.