That sounds and looks like a tempting ride for myself. What percent grades are we talking about? And should I assume I want a road bike for that? 2500' is more climbing than you can do here in the New York area, the tallest reasonably reachable spot is Bear Mountain at 1500', so I don't get much steady climbing in. I did Mt Haleakala a year ago, and didn't make it to the top of 10000', but did get up 6000 before I had to quit. If I had better training I probably would have made it, but again, not much here for a day trip even with a car.