thanks for the fast reply, good luck wishes, and the inspiration for doing the ride in the first place.

one more quick question -- do you have any recollection of temperature when you started v. temperature at the summit? I've heard rule of thumb there is -2 degrees per 1k feet ... so if it's 75 at the ocean that'd be 47 at the top(+wind chill). Does that square with your experience?

Inspiring.

Tom, it was about 85F at the beach when we left and about 40F at the summit. You definitely need a jacket as the weather can change fast at elevation. I recall at this time of year snow (below 32F) is unhighly unusual....that's more frequent in Dec/Jan/Feb.

Here's a link of Mauna Kea summit temps and wind speeds.

http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/forecast/mko/

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Swim - ( x ) All good ( ) In the shop
Bike - ( x ) All good ( ) In the shop
Run - ( ) All good ( x ) In the shop

Very impressive Graham; thanks for putting those pics up and sharing the story.

I plan on doing your summit ride some time in the next couple of years given that it's easy to get the family to go to Kona for the diving and relaxing. What would you think about doing the ride on a hard-tail MTB. I'd start down at the turn-off rather than ride to it. (My S-Works is only 21 pounds, has a super low climbing gear, more float on the tires, and I can climb on it all day so that's the basis for my thinking. I also have a touring bike with a triple that has clearance for 38c tires.)

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Mr. Uncaptured External Costs

Fossil carbon is planetary poison.

OK, thanks for pointing back to this thread. It sounds like a 34x32 may not be enough (thinking about using my road bike with 28 or 32 mm tires). I am hoping to make the attempt on Wed Oct 10, 2012, from sea level to summit and have a friend who is willing to drive up and drive me off the mountain!

Awesome! Worth bringing back. I did not realize the mountains in Hawaii could be that high. Invisible cows is also a first.

This is AWESOME.