I never knew about Lorraine until I met the local Maui cyclists.
It's easy to miss as a tourist as you have to ride down the driveway to her house about 100 feet.
An ice cold coke was one dollar. Perfect on the brutal hot day I did the loop last summer.

For those reading this thread, the locals meet at the ABC in North Kihei (across from the Kihei Canoe Club) at 7 or 7:30 on weekends.

Lorraine's was great, and Lorraine herself is a delight! Locals recommended her place over the more popular Julia's.

+1 on West Maui Cycles. I rented a Spec. Tarmac (Ultegra group) there for my trip to Maui, and it was a great bike, much easier than bringing mine from home. I sent my measurements in advance and they set it up and made a few patient tweaks once I arrived. Great shop.

Also +1 on the northwest part of the West Maui loop being the good part -- roughly Napili to Kahului. The whole loop is nice, but the wider roads of the southern stretch aren't nearly as scenic. I look forward to the East Maui loop next time! When I was there, they told me the road bike wouldn't be adequate on the rough sections of the East, but that was the age of the 22m tire.

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<The Dew Abides>

Yes, I moved from the Bay Area after 22 years there. I've also lived in Dallas, Houston, DC and Boston at various points in my life, so I have some points of comparison. As expensive as Hawaii is, it seems less so when you come from the Bay Area, but that may be the only part of the mainland where that's true.

No island fever yet. That's probably partially because I work remotely for a Silicon Valley tech company, so I still get plenty of mainland contact and travel. We also have found the Waimea area to be a great, welcoming community.

Ian

For your next trip I would highly recommend adding Mauna Loa to your wishlist. This is a fantastic ride. Epic if you start at sea level! It is paved to 11k so no need for special tires or gearing as is required for most peeps climbing Mauna Kea.

I'm still waiting to see how the telescope fiasco shakes out. Before the protests U of H was angling to pretty much close down free access to the summit. They specifically mentioned no bikes?!? I think they received plenty of feedback on that BS and the last draft management plan said bikes allowed with permit. Lol. I can only imagine what they'd run you thru to get a permit.