Pfoot

Leaving behind the cold northeast for 2 weeks for sunny temperate hawaii. Rented a Carbon Look with DA components for $120 for a week! I can barely sleep!

Gonna drag my butt out of bed every morning at sunrise while my pregnant wife sleeps and soak in the warmth on this too-good-for-me ride.

See you on the other side!

Surferbruce

rent a surfboard and learn to surf!!!!!

55/Rad

What island are you headed to?

55/Rad

Jbrew

look me up on the big island if your coming here
808-345-3455
www.cyclekona.com
Josh

sch

One resident of Hawaii who is a prolific poster on the about.com cycling forums
notes that it is very hilly, windy and he gets 1-2flats/week. Guess there is no
bottle law in Hi or tourists toss a lot of bottles. Steve

Shifty

Don't miss the ride up the Saddle road out of Hilo, then up to the Observatory Visitors Center on Muana Kea. The pavement ends at the VC, and is at about 6000 ft elevation. You'll find far less traffic on Saddle road because rental car companies prohibit renters from using this road. Also ride through the Puna district, the town of Punahoa,is neat, loads of hippie resturants, ask for directions to the hot springs at the black sand beach, it's pretty nice.

Pfoot

Oahu will be our home base (where my best friend and his wife moved recently). That's where I've rented a bike for week 1.

The first weekend we'll be at a hotel on the North Shore of Oahu (I'll still have the bike - I think I'll bring it).

Two days/nights we'll stay on Kauai at the parents of a good friend (week 2).

The 2nd weekend we'll be on the big island.

Can't wait!

Pfoot

Josh, we are going to be on the big island, from the morning of Sat the 19th and flying back to Ohahu (and connecting back to NY) on the afternoon of Mon the 21st.

I'll be with my pregnant wife and my best friend and his wife, staying at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows. May not have a ton of free time for cycling that weekend. If you're nearby, however, and wanna try to grab a ride together, let me know and I'll try to get a bit of free time. If we try to make it work, however, I'd need your help rounding up a road bike.

Take care!

- Paul

Jbrew

I have a 52,54,56,56,58 specialized allez with your name on it if you want to ride parts of the ironman route...the only thing stopping me is if i get a tour that day.....I could take you on the tour for say 25% off if you want to join it. Let me know...Josh

Shifty

Nice riding on Kamehamea highway either direction on Northshore, it's really about your only option. Stop in Haleiwa for shave ice, then go on to Dillingham to the end of pavement. The other direction on Kam hwy along windward side of the island is beautiful, but watch out for traffic before you get to Kanehoe, where you can get off Kam Highway. Sounds like fun!

Pfoot

Shifty, I'm thinking of cycling to the north shore from honolulu (and meeting my wife and friends there) next Saturday morning. Mapquest suggests the route below, says it is about 52 miles. I figure if I stop for a meal somewhere (maybe meet my wife/friends for brunch halfway) it might be nice. But, the directions below contemplate big highways, right? Any suggestions on another way to make this trip? Is it possible?

1: Start out going SOUTHWEST on KALANIPUU ST toward KAUMAKA PL. 0.1 miles Map
2: Turn RIGHT onto LUNALILO HOME RD. 1.1 miles Map
3: Turn RIGHT onto KALANIANAOLE HWY/HI-72 W. 5.2 miles Map
4: Stay STRAIGHT to go onto INTERSTATE H1 W. 7.8 miles Map
5: Merge onto HI-78 W via EXIT 19B on the LEFT toward FORT SHAFTER/AIEA. 4.0 miles Map
6: Take the I-H1 W exit toward PEARL CITY. 0.6 miles Map
7: Merge onto INTERSTATE H1 W. 4.0 miles Map
8: Take the I-H2 N exit- EXIT 8A- toward MILILANI/WAHIAWA. 0.7 miles Map
9: Merge onto INTERSTATE H2 N. 7.1 miles Map
10: Take EXIT 8 toward WAHIAWA. 0.3 miles Map
11: Merge onto S KAMEHAMEHA HWY. 8.5 miles Map
12: Stay STRAIGHT to go onto JOSEPH P LEONG HWY. 1.9 miles Map
13: JOSEPH P LEONG HWY becomes KAMEHAMEHA HWY/HI-83. 10.4 miles Map
14: End at 57-091 Kamehameha Hwy, Kahuku, HI 96731-2149 US

https://www.mapquest.com/directions/m...6731-2149&2ah=

Pfoot

Josh, I sent you a private message. Hopefully it'll work. - Paul

Shifty

Yea, you definately do not want to get on H1 or H2, are you coming out of Waikiki?

Shifty

If you are coming out of Waikiki, or any where around Diamond Head you need to stay near the shore through Waikiki, then out onto Ala Moana Blvd, avoid rush hour here, get an early start (because you're coming from NY you'll be up at 3 am anyway, so take off by 5). As you get toward Chinatown (you'll smell it), Ala Moana becomes Kamehameha (KAM) and runs parallel to H1, and even runs under H1 for a while. This takes you by the Honolulu airport, then Pearl Harbor and on to Pearl City. This is just about all high traffic, however, you don't have much choice going out of town this way. As you get out of Pearl City you need to find old KAM hwy, going into Mililani Town then past Schofield Barracks (big Army base) and into Wahiwa. Joseph Leong hwy then back on KAM. When you get to Haleiwa kick back for a while.

Pfoot, this way is busy and confusing, take a look at the road map of Oahu, and think about leaving Honolulu over the Pali hwy, goes over the mountains into Kailua, where you pick up KAM hwy and up to Northshore that way. After you look at the map let me know what you think. I can help with that too, will be a lot nicer.

squeegy200

My friend just returned from his vacation in Hawaii. His primary purpose was to climb Haleakala. Sea level to 10000 feet in ~40 miles!

Shifty

Pfoot,
Here is some information for you to look at before you go.
https://www.hbl.org/maps/maps.html

Pfoot

Shifty, thanks for the help. I'll be trying this ride on Saturday, so I'll check out the maps on Tue or Wed and let you know what I'm planing. I appreciate your input.

- Paul

Pfoot

Shifty, I've been here for a few days, have done some cycling and now have some sense of orientation. I am staying with friends in Hawaii Kai, east of Honolulu and Waikiki and close to Koko Head and Hanauma Bay. I think my plan to ride to the north shore on Saturday will be to head east on Kalanianaole, through Waimanola, through Kailua, and the take the Kam highway up the windward coast to the hotel we'll be staying at on the north shore (Turtle Bay). A triathlete coach I met the other day said he thought it would be about 3 hours from Hawaii Kai to north shore on that route. Since I'm slow, I figure i'll take a break for lunch and the do the whole thing in a little over 4 hours.

Sounds like a good plan?

- Paul

oldskoolboarder

I'll actually be in Kauai next Wed for 10 days. As an FYI, road riding in Kauai is pretty much non existent. There aren't a lot of long roads that are bike safe. Bear in mind that I ride in the Palo Alto, CA area, which is pretty much bike friendly heaven w/ all the bike lanes and roadie clubs around, so that should give you my perspective. In Kauai, MTB'ing is probably a better bet. Or golf at Princeville and take some surf lessons...

There's a fixie rider from Oahu on the fixed board. You might want to ask him for ride suggestions too.

Shifty

That is great Pfoot, You will have a much better ride as you describe it. Have you experienced those tradewinds yet?, hope they are at your back! Have your wife and friends meet you at Sunset Beach on Northshore, that's where the best surfing is, where the waves are monsters if conditions are right.
BTW in Hawaii Kai, I always enjoyed Roy's Resturant, gots to keep the energy up.
Have fun, keep us posted.

Shifter

ImprezaDrvr

I rode from Kihei up 9000+ feet of Haleakala. That extra hour on the front and back of the trip made a trip to the top a bit out of reach. But damn, it was miserable fun! Enjoy your trip! And if you don't go to Volcanos NP and watch the Big Island get bigger, you're missing something that everyone should see in their lifetime.

Shifty

Hey Oldskool, Kauai may not be the best, but I have biked both ways out of Lihue and had fun. If you ride out toward Barking Sands you can ride up Kokee rd and climb to about 3500 ft to the state park at the end of the road. At the park they have a cafe with great Portugesse Bean soup and Hawaiian sweet bread. Kokee road goes up along the grand canyon of Kauai. Traffic is heavier from Lihui toward Hanalei, but nice if you pick the right time. The general rule of biking in Hawaii is watch your ass, and stop and jump in the ocean as much as you can!

bkrownd

No, the locals toss the bottles. It's a rural state, so you get the same sort of
rural mentalities as any other rural area. Finished your beer and don't want to smell up
the inside of your monster truck? Just toss the empty out the window. Heck, everyone
else does. (Also when you're done with your monster truck you can just dump the rusting hulk
in the weeds off of some rural road and remove all the VIN plates so they can't trace it...)

bkrownd

Actually this is an EXTREMELY dangerous winding road that is legendary for its accidents, with speeding traffic, short sightlines, narrow/no shoulders, broken pavement, frequent rain/fog and poor visibility. Particularly, watch out for the big water tankers that barrel down the road to fill up in Hilo. The road conditions on the Kona/Waimea side of the saddle road are even worse, with one very rough lane of pavement. It's OK in a car - pump up your spare tire - on a bike I'd be very worried. You'd need to be VERY aware of traffic in front of and behind you, need a good mirror to watch your back, and bright night lighting in case the clouds take over. Also, it is a HUGE climb. Better start early in the morning because clouds usually take over in the early afternoon.

PS, if you have a bike with sturdy blowout-resistant tires I'd recommend turning left off the saddle road and biking up the Mauna Loa road instead - less traffic, the views are better than Mauna Kea, and the view from the Mauna Loa weather observatory at about 11,500 feet is super in clear weather. I can't imagine the temperature of your brakes after coming down either of these roads.

Shifty

Yeeeee,Haaa! ride'em cowboys! Waimema cowboy, that is. I lucked out on my sabdle ride, man was I huffing at the observatory visitor center. Do you do Puna on your tours? I'd love to ride with you sometime.