reverborama

First off, please leave this in the 50+ forum. I'm asking the question here because being 50+ I want the response from this crowd in particular.

We're going to Hawaii in a couple of weeks and wouldn't mind signing up for a one-day/half-day tour somewhere on Oahu. We have rented road bikes on Kona before and just ridden around ourselves. I hear Oahu is a little less bike friendly so we thought about just finding a day tour where they provide the bikes and take you to interesting locales. There are a lot of choices, of course, so it's hard to decide. If you rate difficulty from 1-5, 5 being the hardest, I'd prefer something in the 2-4 range over 1 or 5. The goal is more to site-see than get in a workout but we're not afraid of a hill or two. By the same token we're not interested in a toddle around town for non-cyclists either.

Has anyone on this forum done anything like that?

D1andonlyDman

Avoid Honolulu and Waikiki like the plague. The North shore is actually pretty bike friendly. There are several places - very laid back places that cater to the surf groupie crowd - that rent bikes along the North Shore. But I wouldn't know about organized bike tours.

Other reasonable venues would be between Hawaii Kai and Kailua, and near and around Ko' Olina.

Doug64

I'm on Oahu now visiting kids and grandkids. I saw this in a bike shop this morning: Outtabounds Hawaii, 808.372.4538.

I don't know a thing about them, but they had a good write up in the local sports magazine.

www.issuu.com/hawaiisportmag

scott967

I don't have any experience with tours, but did some quick searching to see what's being offered.

If you want some distance, I think the north shore tour would be nice. It's flat, but scenery is good. There is an off-street bike route, but for me I don't use it as you can't really go very fast, but this time of year (first leg of surfing triple-crown just finished in Haleiwa and Sunset is next) there is heavy traffic on Kam Hwy so it can be slower on the road (at least in spots).

For MTB the tours offered for Kualoa Ranch/Ka'a'awa are probably not too strenuous and lush scenery. Kualoa Ranch has a bunch of "adventure" activities, might seem a bit commercial.

I see some tours that take you to the top of Tantalus and you ride down. The Tantalus loop is the main climbing / descending route on Oahu. Only neighborhood traffic and some tour buses. You can actually just ride there from Waikiki.

There are cruiser rentals in Kailua. AFAIK, mainly for just meandering around Kailua town and Beach.

If you want to see typical tourist sites in town, I would probably just rent bike and follow a map rather than take a guided tour. Note that riding on sidewalk in Waikiki is prohibited and enforced. Sidewallk riding in business district is prohibited, not as tightly enforced. From Waikiki heading toward Diamond Head counter-clockwise loop is popular (in particular joggers). On east side of Diamond Head is Kahala residential neighborhood with decent streets for riding. Locals will head out east to Kalanianaole Hwy for an out-and-back to Hawai'i Kai. This is the route for Hono Marathon, TinMan Tri, Century Ride, etc.

Island Tri & Bike and The Bike Shop King Street are both close to Waikiki.

All city buses have front bike carriers that hold 2 bikes (first come first served) go anywhere for $2.50 (I have never done this, though).

Hope this helps.

scott s.
.

t4mv

I've only ever done two rides on Oahu (well, OK, maybe 3, then); the Tantalus loop I know like the back of my hand and I would recommend that as one of the more interesting rides that is not an out and back kind of deal. You're either going up or down and there's not much flat along the way. The unfortunate thing is that it's a somewhat short loop, like maybe 9 miles or so, but, you could always do multiple loops, which I end up doing, or you can just take your time and enjoy the scenery. For as close as it is to the big city, it doesn't take long before it feels like you're out in the middle of nowhere. Make sure you stop at Pu'u Ualaka'a State Park on the Manoa Valley side for a good view of the southern/makai side of Oahu from Diamond Head to HNL Int'l Airport and Pearl Harbor.

The other popular ride goes out to Hawaii Kai/Koko Head, and it's sort of flat with traffic, but the bike lane is wide so the risk is OK. It's a ride, as they say.

If you ever find yourself on Oahu on the last Sunday in September, then you can sign up and do the Honolulu Century Ride. It was on my bucket list and I finally scratched it off last year. It's an interesting ride and a good way to see the island, and see some parts that you otherwise wouldn't see (like Waimanalo), and it covers arguably the more interesting half of the island (since it doesn't go all the way around), but if you go, make sure you bring your own salt tablets or electrolyte replacements because I got the worst cramps e-var on that ride last year. I was hydrating OK, but not getting enough electrolytes. I probably wouldn't do the ride again, but it was definitely worth doing once.

If you want to rent bikes, The Bike Shop on King St. has bikes for rent, you can maybe check with them before your trip to see what they have/reserve.

reverborama

Cool! Thanks for the suggestions. We've had some really cold weather the last week or so. I've been riding the fat bike all bundled up. Looking forward to some nice riding weather. My wife is all behind a day of riding so I am going to check out the options and report back on what we decide to do and how it went.

It's funny you mention the Honolulu Century Ride, t4mv. I have a jersey from that ride although I've never done it. The day I turned 50 was a Saturday with a local ride around Lake Minnetonka. At the time they didn't offer a century option but if I rode to the start and back that would put me at about 87 miles. That night, across town, a couple of instrumental surf bands I liked would be playing. If I rode there and back that would put me at 106 miles for the day. I figured this all out about 2 weeks beforehand. But to go the surf show, I wanted to wear a Hawaiian shirt so I searched on line for an appropriate bike jersey and found some leftovers from the Honolulu century ride that had a nice floral pattern. It all worked out great!

t4mv

Here, let this be a teaser for you.

Pobble.808

Definitely worth checking out the Hawaii Bicycling League's rides calendar:

Hawaii Bicycling League

Since you have specified that you're looking for 50+ action, let me particularly commend to your attention the Red Hot Ladies rides on Sundays. This is a predominantly 50+ crew and, name notwithstanding, they do welcome guys to ride with them. Very friendly, and a great way to see some sights that are off the official tourist beat.

WuLingZhi

I live on Oahu, and can help you out with both tours, rentals, etc. PM me for details...