Anyone know of a place that rents tri or road bikes on Kauai? I’ll be there for a week or so in February.
If no one replies here, call West Maui Cycles in Maui and ask if they know of anyone on Kauai. I rented from them when I was in Maui and they’re great.
BTW, the run on the last several miles of the dead-end main coastal road on the north side of Kauai is phenomenal, and it ends at a beach. At the end of the road is also the start of one of the world’s great hiking paths. Go early to avoid car traffic, which builds up by about 10 a.m. Jealous.
I don’t reckon there’s many places to ride that you would feel particularly safe on the roads… not familiar with the south coast but at least from the airport north to the north coast there is really only 1 main road, 1 lane each way for a lot of it. “Sketchy” would be one way to describe it from a cyclist’s perspective.
Mountain bike or hiking might be more realistic.
Or do a day trip flight to Maui and cycle up Haleakala… that will be a week’s training in one day.
From Lihue south towards Poipu area and beyond, is all one lane each direction. When we’ve been there I’ve really wanted to rent a bike and ride, but considering the roads, and that a lot of the traffic is tourists, seems it would certainly be sketchy. One of the two roads up Waimea Canyon is fairly steep and not much in the way of switchbacks, so would be an interesting challenge, but same traffic/road issues.
We were there in October and I saw only one roadie the entire week.
I´ve rented Mtn Bikes at Kauai cycles before. Riding around Kauai really isn´t that great, the main roads are really crowded and every time I´ve been there the powerline trail has been too muddy to ride. I´m headed back in February and will probably skip the bike rental this time.
not familiar with the south coast
It’s pretty much the same road the whole way around the island. I’ve ridden a couple times. From Kalaheo as far as the road goes to the west. Waimea is prob the best place to stop for water. There is a shoulder but pretty much everyone drives pick-up trucks and you’ll be blown about a little when they come past. It was pretty enjoyable though. If you go all the way to the west, the road will eventually turn to dirt, if you can stomach the couple of mile walk to the beach it is really nice, and empty.
A nice road bike ride is up the Waimea canyon, although I forget which of the two routes I took. It’s 10 miles and climbing. Google maps. If can get hot and dry and I don’t remember there being any water stops so be careful on that front.
I rented from http://www.outfitterskauai.com/bike-rentals.php a couple years ago. They were great to work with and even gave me a map of cycling routes in the area. I mostly stayed in the Poipu beach area where there are bike lanes and some other cyclist. Didn’t get a chance to climb Waimea Canyon. We drove up there and man I wish I had. Anytime I ventured out of the Poipu area it got pretty sketchy. Lots of narrow roads with blind corners and tons of traffic. Nothing like going up a steep climb at 8 mph with a line of cars behind you and big trucks coming the other way on a narrow road. Have a great trip! Kauai is amazing.
Watch out for the chickens they are freakin’ everywhere. Seriously.
I’d avoid the main road between Lihue and Hanalei. The road out to Waimea Canyon on the west side of the island is your best bet. Be prepared for the temperature drop at the top.
Kauai is an incredible place, have fun.
Did you ride Haleakala or Hana? I’m headed there after Kona this year and wondering if it’s worth it.
No clue on the bike rental, but make sure you hike some of the Na’Pali Coast. I’ve done the 22 mile round-trip hike twice, and it’s the most amazing scenery I’ve ever seen!
(Answering Maui question) I did ride Haleakala, ocean to summit. It was nice, if you think that grueling rides are nice, which I do. But I would recommend the West Maui loop instead – it was far more scenic, the most beautiful ride of my life, and with some very challenging sections. If not the whole loop, you can do the northwest and north part – i.e., the two-lane section as an out and back. The rest of the loop is on the shoulder of a fairly busy 4-lane highway. The loop is about 60 miles, as I recall.
Haleakala gets barren after a while, and it’s just switchbacks and desert moonscape, and not especially Hawaiian. Drive up it instead on a recovery day, as early as you can manage.
I did not drive or ride the road to Hana. The downside is that Hana is more heavily traveled than the northwest area, and is also more or less an out and back. You can do a loop of east Maui, but you might need a few extra tires from what I’ve read. (Tubes also, but maybe some tires.) You’d probably want a cross bike to do the loop of the east side, and it might take more than a day from what I’ve read.
Thanks for all the info everyone. I’ve been to Kauai a number of times but never brought or rented a bike. I hadn’t given much thought to the roads to be honest, but now you all are reminding me how annoying it can be. We are staying in Kapaa so it would be easy for me to go in either direction. Maybe I’ll sniff around when I get there and decide what my best option is.
And I couldn’t agree more on hiking the coast. Nothing short of amazing.
+1 on the West Maui recommendation. I rode the whole loop once - I think it’s close to 70 miles (?) - and it was also like dewman said, the most spectacular ride of my life. The roads are great except one section on the north side when they’re not well maintained. The best part about that ride was getting to the top of the climb and finding banana bread stand that this old lady had there for many years and it was the best banana bread I ever had (so bring cash with you on the ride). It might have tasted better because I was beat and tired and sugar deprived, but sitting there and talking to her was an experience I’ll never forget.
Maui is amazing for cycling just in general - lots of great roads, lots of other riders, few places to rent good road bikes (I got mine from West Maui Cycles)… The heat is the only issue but it was dry heat when I was there and didn’t take long to adjust to.
Yeah. Narrow roads, no shoulder, tourists in rental cars. Not a good picture.
For riding in Hawaii it’s Maui or the Big Island. The others not so much.
I have ridden south and west a few times from poipu.
Another thing to watch for is some of the roads get VERY slippery when wet on the shoulders. Especially watch the white lines - I almost dumped a coup,e of times in a shower.
I have ridden south and west a few times from poipu.
Another thing to watch for is some of the roads get VERY slippery when wet on the shoulders. Especially watch the white lines - I almost dumped a coup,e of times in a shower.
I’ve brought my bike a few times and ridden from Poipu - ok if you ride thru Omao to Kalaheo and then west. You’ll avoid some traffic if you divert thru Eleele vs staying on the main road. Climbing up Waimea Canyon is good if you take the road up from Kekaha - the one from Waimea is not only steep but carries most of the tourist traffic.
Agree with others that Maui and the Big Island are the most bike friendly. That’s a big reason that, much as I love visiting Kauai (been probably 20x), I wouldn’t live there.
I did rent a couple of times from a shop near Koloa. The road bikes were just ok; bring your own if you can.
Ian
So what did you do in Kauai for cycling? I am heading there next month and was going to bring my bike until I read this thread on the sketchy roads. Thinking I may just try a rental for one or two days rather than lug mine along for the week if the riding isn’t that good. Then fill in some workouts on the hotel stationary bike.
I ended up not doing any cycling. The other posters were right. There just aren’t many great spots to ride and tons of traffic. I ended up just running a lot.