Dan's Bucket List Ride
Ride up Mt. Haleakala in Maui
note: Click on thumb nailed pictures to expand
Last December 12th, 2020, while visiting my step son who lives
and works in Maui, my wife and I had to get in some riding. And I’ve always
wanted to ride UP Mt. Haleakala. Most people ride down the 10.023’ peak using
bike touring services. I had no use for that or the mountain bikes they provide.
So, the plan was to ride from the surfing coast town Paia at sea level to the
top. A 37 mile ride with an average of 6% all the way up. Luckily for me, my
wife was going to provide SAG support for me in our rented SUV, carrying food,
water, etc. She took her Breakaway as well in case she wanted to ride some. She
never did but got in some great hiking while waiting for me to text her for
support. Thankfully, we were able to text each other the whole way up.
I started at 7 am
in Paia on Saturday December 12th.
It was 80’ but the weather can change on a dime that time of the year and it was
sprinkling as I started but that was OK. The weather was forecast as nice in the
70’s with a chance of rain in the morning which was accurate. Also, I knew it
would be cold at elevation so my Topeak bag attached to my seat post was filled
with a long sleeved windbreaker, a long sleeved base tee shirt, leg warmers, a
full jacket as well as my usual five Co2 carts and three tubes that I always
carry. I was loaded to bear!
I do endurance riding back home in Northern California (to
date I’ve completed 41 double centuries and usually ride 7-10,000 miles
annually). However, in the winter since I hate to ride in the wet and cold, I’ll
walk 7-10 miles a day instead. Bottom line, in the winter, I usually ride once a
week as opposed to 5-6 times a week in the warmer months. Still, no substituting
for actual riding…
So, after kissing the wife, I headed up. The gentle and
gradual climbing starts immediately. Also, the chickens!!! So many chickens in
Hawaii, especially Maui. After 12 miles in, I texted my wife for some water. I
had two bottles with my electrolyte powders and plenty of energy gel packets.
Plus there were bananas, few gallons of water and a burrito in the car! After
riding for about hour and fifteen minutes, it was good to see her waiting for me
at a safe spot. Traffic for a Saturday was light and I was starting to see
cyclists coming down the mountain. I filed my bottles and got back on the
Ritchey. BTW, the Breakaway was riding well as it always does. Love that bike!
Eventually, I made a left turn to the entrance of the climb at
mile 15 at around 3,400’ elevation. The actual entrance to the park would be at
6,700 feet at mile 25. The views are incredible as you would expect. It was
starting to get a little chilly but I kept riding. The 6% average grade is
pretty accurate so it was a grind. I was surprised to see no one pass me on the
way up except for one cyclist at 9,000’. I guess going up isn’t a real popular
ride. I did see a lot of people riding down. And that was my plan, to get up
there and then back down for a 75 mile day. That was the plan anyway.
I stopped at around 3896' to take a picture of my computer to send it to a close friend who I ride with. This was at the elevation of the top of our local mountain in the Bay Area. And it also meant that only had 6,129' to go!
Once I got to the 4,000’ mark, the beautiful houses
disappeared and it started getting real chilly. At 4,500’ I stopped to put on my
windbreaker as temps were in the low 60’s. Also, I was getting tired of my
energy gels and needed something solid, so I texted wifey poo who brought me my
huge burrito at 5,000’. I took a few bites while sitting in the SUV warming up a
bit. It was getting to be a long day and I was starting to feel the altitude.
Great, only 5,000’ to go.
Back on the bike, I kept wondering where the actual entrance
to the park was. I texted my wife since she went ahead to hike. She got back to
me quickly and told me the entrance was a couple of miles ahead. It’s funny,
when you are expecting two miles, it takes forever to get there. At least it
seemed so… Finally, I saw the entrance. All vehicles, including bicycles have to
pay an entrance fee. Thankfully, my wife Kathryn, paid my fee for me so when I
rolled up, the nice park ranger told me my beautiful spouse had taken care of
the fee. She ROCKS! Continuing on, it was getting quite cold (in the 50’s) so I
pulled over at the visitor center and used the bathrooms (no longer trees like I
had been) and took out my cold weather gear. I sat down (it was great to be off
the bike) and put on my base layer tee, leg warmers, and windbreaker. All that
was left was my jacket. I was saving that for the cold and besides, the sun was
out. I also put on a ear warming beanee I was carrying. Since I’ve done many
double centuries in all sorts of weather, it’s better to be prepared. I was!
I’m a stickler for making sure I get my rides documented so I
had my Garmin, my phone and Apple watch all humming. Since the Garmin usually
lasts up to 12 hours, I thought I was good. But since I had been using
navigation (which I never usually do), it drained the battery quickly so my
computer reminded me at 8,000’ that I had a low battery. Great! I didn’t realize
the Nav function had heavily drained the thing and I had no Garmin specific
external battery (I do know). No way was I going to lose my data. Strava can be
sketchy, especially when you least expect it to. I did have a power brick for my
phone (which I didn’t need) but I had forgotten to pack a micro USB cable for
the Garmin. DOH! And I thought I was prepared. I texted my SAG vehicle to bring
me a cable and five minutes later, there she was! I plugged it in and put it in
pocket (that’s the great thing about having a GPS cycling computer that doesn’t
use a magnet as a sensor). Satellite’s! You gotta lov’em. It’s funny, without my
cycling computer in its cradle, I felt somewhat incomplete. It’s funny how that
works. My wife pulled away back onto the road to the top and would meet me
there!
At the 9,000’ marker I pulled over and put on my jacket
because I was cold and my phone confirmed that it was 49’. I took advantage of
the stop and took a nature break behind a rock and was amazed by the view.
Simply awesome! After taking some lunar landscape pictures (I was above the
clouds and it did look like the moon up there. I guess the volcanic rock
reminded me of that). Haleakala actually is a non-active volcano as are most if
not all the mountains in Hawaii. Back on the bike, this is where the lone
cyclist I mentioned earlier buzzed by me headed in the same direction. He told
me that he thought he was the only crazy person on the road. I told him, “NOPE”!
It was getting real windy. At times, I could feel the wind
pushing me aggressively. Thank goodness it was a tailwind. That would change!!!
Finally, I could see the top (many observatories up there which is where I was
headed). I checked on the Garmin in my pocket and was pleased to see it now had
80% power. Certainly enough to complete my ride. It went back in its cradle on
the handlebars and I now felt complete again. I took a final left hairpin
turning into the wind and then I saw the main parking lot for the crater ahead.
Odd, as I was only at 36.4 miles. I thought I was being cheated! And then I saw
a sign say ¼ mile to the summit. I wanted it to be over BUT since this would
probably the only time I’d ever do this (well maybe), I decided not to call
Kathryn to come down and pick me up where I stood. I plugged ahead. It was only
a quarter of a mile…yeah, well it seemed like it was three miles because all of
a sudden, I had to struggle to stay on my bike because the wind was intent on
not permitting that. Also, this is where I really felt the altitude! So, I
continued on and then boom, a wall! My Garmin said 13% which I was not ready
for. I had been on the bike for seven hours, was altitude depraved was not
prepared for the steepness into the wind! BUT, I did it.
My wife was waiting for me at the very top. She shot pictures
and video of me riding up. It was beautiful, cold and very, very windy! I found
out later that winds were gusting to 47 MPH! It felt like it. Especially on that
last 13% climb into the wind before the parking lot at the top. I got off the
bike, hugged my support crew member and loaded the Breakaway into the SUV. Then
we walked up some stupid amount of steps to the observation tower which
overlooked the volcano crater, took our selfies and went back down to the car.
Sitting and shivering in the passenger seat, I ate the rest of my burrito (I
swear it had ice crystals in it) and knew exactly what I was going to do next.
NOT ride down! I was done! Seven hours ride time was enough. I didn’t want the
cold or the fatigue to get the best of me, especially after completing one of my
true bucket list items. Did I mention that I’m 67 years old?