Haleakala

[oldacura]

Has anyone on this forum ridden Mount Haleakala on Maui? It is supposed to be the longest paved climb in the world. Sea level to 10,013'.

We did it in March of 2003. We made a wrong turn that added several miles to the ride. I seem to recall it was about 45 miles up from Paia. Took us 9 hours (7 hours pedaling) to get to the summit, 2 hours down.

Many people use a service to haul them up in a van and ride "cruiser" bikes down in a pack (we did this a long time ago - not as much fun as it sounds). We rode our tandem up & down self-supported.

It was the hardest ride we have ever done. There were many times that we stopped and I didn't think I could go any farther. My stoker kept me going with "let's just ride another 2 miles or so & see how we feel".

Aside from the van rides up, a much small number ride up on singles. Fewer still on tandems. Fewer still self-supported tandems.

Anyone else here done this?

John Ellis - Lafayette, Colorado.

[ElRey]

what kind of brakes were you sporting?

[oldacura]

We have Avid direct-pulls front & rear plus an Arai drum on the rear. I think the Arai is really important for this ride. Near the top are lots of switchbacks and you need to scub off a lot of speed many times. Once you get down lower, the curves are more gentle & rim brakes work fine.

[jnbrown]

I usually go to Maui once a year for vacation. One year me and a friend rented mountain bikes and rode from Kula which at about 4000 ft up to the top Haleakala. I also had doubts about making it but once I got to 7000 ft I knew I would. I really enjoyed the upper section with switchbacks through what looks like a moonscape. It took us 4 hours to ride up and 40 minutes to ride back down. I would definitely recommend this ride for anyone who enjoys riding up hill.

Joel

[sprinter]

Anna and I have climbed Haleakala twice, but both times on singles. We also started in Paia at the local elementary school. I think you added about 9 miles to the trip. In 2003 we covered 36 miles in 5:05. It is a fabulous ride, with awesome views.

Heres a photo from the summit in 04.