mrosenlof

I've attempted Haleakala twice, made it the second time. Rented a road bike from the shop in Paia both times and was satisfied with the rental.

First time was early March, I was staying in Wailuku and rode from there. Started shortly after dawn, in decent rain. The rain mostly stopped after an hour or two, but I rode into the clouds and the wind picked up shortly after 6000 feet and gave up at about 6500. It was no longer fun. Had a great ride back to the bottom.

Second time was late October 19 months later. I spent the summer training. I was 56 then. For the March climb, I had spent the preceeding 6 months inside and not exercising much. We stayed in Haiku, and that's where I started. Started shortly after sunrise again. This day the weather was perfect all the way to the peak. I did feel that the hardest part of the climb was from about 5000 feet to the park entrance. After that it was less steep. I live at 5400 feet, which gave me an advantage. I wasn't feeling the elevation that much until about 8000 feet. It was a long climb, and I got driven down. I didn't have enough left for a safe descent. My wife drove sag this time. I honestly would have made it up without her, but would have been uneasy about the return.

Training made all the difference, but the luck of the weather certainly helped the second time. It wasn't very windy at the peak. That's rare.

h2ocowboy

One thing to add to the downhill portion.if returning at 330-5pm+ after a work day there is more traffic on Baldwin ave. from Makawao to Paia .A few drivers relaxing after work with a bit of Weed ,