I am heading out to Big Island and planning to rent a bike to do some cycling. As a goal I thought maybe it is worth doing the climb to Mouna Loa from the Kona side (62 miles). I am an ok cyclist but live at see level and ride mostly flat to rolling hills. I have no concerns on the length of the trip but have a few questions which I cannot really find when googling (could be my searching skills).
Altitude is approx. 3300 at the end what is the impact to someone that is living on see level?
I do not want to do this alone but want some support. Anyone here that can share some detail on how to get a support vehicle (of course as a paid service) joining me.
I heard some stories on traffic not always being nice to cyclists on the road. How careful should I be?
Best place to rent a quality race bike (not TT of course) preferably a Specialized Tarmac/Venge or similar
are there any group rides around that might be interesting to join on a Saturday morning
I am heading out to Big Island and planning to rent a bike to do some cycling. As a goal I thought maybe it is worth doing the climb to Mouna Loa from the Kona side (62 miles). I am an ok cyclist but live at see level and ride mostly flat to rolling hills. I have no concerns on the length of the trip but have a few questions which I cannot really find when googling (could be my searching skills).
Altitude is approx. 3300 at the end what is the impact to someone that is living on see level?
I do not want to do this alone but want some support. Anyone here that can share some detail on how to get a support vehicle (of course as a paid service) joining me.
I heard some stories on traffic not always being nice to cyclists on the road. How careful should I be?
Best place to rent a quality race bike (not TT of course) preferably a Specialized Tarmac/Venge or similar
are there any group rides around that might be interesting to join on a Saturday morning
Any other advice is much appreciated. Thanks!
Best place to rent: Bike Works in Kona (I don’t even know if there is any other place to rent a bike)
I would propose not climbing to Mauna Loa (which may not be bike friendly), and try this:
I have very little advice on the climb itself as I haven’t done that but I’ll add what thoughts I have.
First, is it open? With the recent volcanic activity I’m not sure.
There’s a bike shop called Bike Works in Waikoloa beach (they also have a branch in Kona) that rents really good bicycles. They’re super nice and experienced I’m sure you could call them and ask them all your questions.
About cycling in Hawaii. I was there for the Ironman and the roads aren’t particularly safety inspiring to me, not even the one with the shoulder for cyclists. Cars are very big and are going very fast but the roads are wide and mostly straight. Some cyclists do cycle there so I’m certain you wouldn’t be the first one to attempt it.
3300 meters of elevation isn’t terribly high. I’ve hiked to Mount Teide (3600+) in Tenerife starting at 2300 when we were sleeping near sea level. We had to go slow and felt the heart beating faster but it was fine.
When people cycle to Stelvio (2700+) everybody seems ok without specific precautions but you usually sleep at 900-1200. I think people cycling Stelvio from lower altitudes are also fine without specific precautions.
I think in general as you cycle you’re not going so fast that you need to stop specifically to acclimate. You might stop anyways to take a breather, drink, eat a gel, etc. Cars going up Mauna Kea (4000+) are advised to stop for 30 minutes at the information center but you drive very quickly from sea level. Most people don’t have any issues when they drive to the top if they stopped to acclimate.
You still need to be careful because everybody is different and if you get proper altitude sickness you need to get to a lower altitude relatively fast. And if you’re so sick that you can’t cycle you need someone to take you there.
An idea for a ride. While driving, the Kohala route seemed a lot more interesting to me than the saddle road that takes you to Mauna Kea/Mauna Loa which is a never ending road surrounded by lava fields. The higher part of Kohala feels like being in the Alps.
I would reach out to Chris at Hawaii epic cycling, I had a great experience doing Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa with him.
Mauna Loa, fwiw, isn’t the most fun climb in the world. It is interesting to see the lava fields, but that’s all there is for ~2hrs. The top is pretty anticlimactic. I’d nut up and do Mauna Kea.
I am heading out to Big Island and planning to rent a bike to do some cycling. As a goal I thought maybe it is worth doing the climb to Mouna Loa from the Kona side (62 miles). I am an ok cyclist but live at see level and ride mostly flat to rolling hills. I have no concerns on the length of the trip but have a few questions which I cannot really find when googling (could be my searching skills).
Altitude is approx. 3300 at the end what is the impact to someone that is living on see level?
I do not want to do this alone but want some support. Anyone here that can share some detail on how to get a support vehicle (of course as a paid service) joining me.
I heard some stories on traffic not always being nice to cyclists on the road. How careful should I be?
Best place to rent a quality race bike (not TT of course) preferably a Specialized Tarmac/Venge or similar
are there any group rides around that might be interesting to join on a Saturday morning
Any other advice is much appreciated. Thanks!
Good input from others already. I 2nd reaching out to Chris from Epic as he would also be able to update you on the Mauna Loa climb, which I believe is closed because the access road was taken out by the recent eruption.
Another scenic ride is from the Waikoloa Resort area, or Hawi, up and over Kohala Mtn Rd. Not a ton of traffic and the views are amazing.
Is it an objective for you to do a climb like that? Or more to have a fun week with some riding? I ask this because there is plenty of other great riding on the big island other than climbing the volcano. And the other riding is NOT the Queen K. There is a road above town that goes north and south. Can ride up towards or past Waimea, or South to the Captain Cook area. For my $, I would do Captain Cook almost every day! Also a steep road climb above town that goes up to 4000+ feet.
I find those big climbs to be over-rated. I have done Haleakala, it is just a long climb. Not cool or epic like some other climbs that I have done.
But I get it if it is a bucket list type thing for you.
First - You are going to have a GREAT TRIP. Very Jealous.
Can’t comment to all you wrote, but either Mauna Loa or Mona Kea (or, both) have dirt roads beyond a certain point if my memory is correct (either way check). So, if you are bringing your road bike (or renting one), might be an issue. Didn’t do either mountain, but did Haleakala on Maui (4,000m lower). It kicked my ass!!! And, I’ve raced 5 Full Irons (9/10ish hours) as well as lived in Colorado and rode in the mountains there. Granted I was out of shape when I went to Maui, and I was ill-prepared for the weather and time it would take me (apparently I still suffer from Rookie mistake syndrome from time to time). Anyway, the weather was in the 40’s and raining (it was summer). Point is - plan for the weather… As for Kona, Riding Queen K was excellent. Although, lets face it, it can get boring… You may want to stay away from 11 south of Kailua as its narrow and cars go fast there. Also, Hina Lani Road is a nice climb out from the Queen K. It’s pretty close to Kailua. From there you can take old Mamalalahoa to Kaloko as it’s safer than the other road. This isn’t a mega ride or anything, it’s just a nice ride / climb that is close to Kailua I thought was worth mentioning.
There seemed to be a lot of good stuff east of Waikaloa and out near Waimea (a little cooler in weather). Though, didn’t ride too much in Kona as it was a couples trip as well…
BTW, I am sure I am spelling some of these things wrong…
Is it an objective for you to do a climb like that? Or more to have a fun week with some riding? I ask this because there is plenty of other great riding on the big island other than climbing the volcano. And the other riding is NOT the Queen K. There is a road above town that goes north and south. Can ride up towards or past Waimea, or South to the Captain Cook area. For my $, I would do Captain Cook almost every day! Also a steep road climb above town that goes up to 4000+ feet.
Yes - all kinds of OTHER cycling in the area. We just spent 3 weeks there over Christmas and New Year riding 2 - 4 hrs/day. All kinds of little roads here and there that once you get off the main roads are awesome riding
The Observatory Road up Mauna Loa was run over by the most recent flow - what it’s status now a month later since it ended? Not sure.
The Kohala Mtn Road Loop from Waikoloa is exactly 100km and a great ride. I’ve done it both ways from the Hawi side and the Waimea side. The descent on the Waimea side has been recently re-paved almost the whole of the way down! Super smooth!
Bike Works is your Go-To for all things cycling - they are in the Pack & Save Plaza now on the south side of the plaza - can enter off Palani or Henry. I don’t know the status of the Local Velofix Franchise Owner. He did have a fleet of rentals in the past and was very high profile and active in the community.
It is not really an objective I just thought it would be fun to go up to Mouna Loa. For someone in the metric world… 100.1KM climb sounds nice. I gather form all the answers that there are many other great cycling routes. I will investigate as indeed the recent lava flow will stop me from riding to the top of the Mouna Loa. I am there for 10 days and want to do some riding for about 5 days (keep my significant other happy:-) from 2-6 hours per day.
I am staying in a Hotel in Waikoloa village so I guess Bike-works near my hotel is the way to go. I will reach out to the local cycling club would be good to do one group ride at the other end of the world and meet some people in such a beautiful place.
Again thanks for all the information, much appreciated.
I highly recommend Hawaii Cycling Club too. I get an annual membership every year, even though I live a million miles away, just because I want to support them and want to do the occasional race there (they do organize some great events)
I had intended to ride to the very top (gravel roads) and from Hilo but the top roads were closed to wind all week and large sections of the road from Hilo were ripped up due to road works.
I also live at sea level and did not specifically notice altitude but the cross winds on the Daniel K turned into headwinds after I turned off for Mauna Kea…and with 5 hours of riding, I really felt it at the end (and was relieved the top road was closed!).
My longest typical hills are 3-4 km (2-2.5miles) but do okay on 10ish k (6mile) climbs also…I was very aware that I was pretty well climbing non-stop for 5ish hours so you need to moderate your power early on (if you’re used to distance, you know this already)…gearing is your friend. I had down to 34-30 but 32 would not have gone astray.
I went solo and had no issues with traffic (though warned about it)…but I live in a big city and am pretty used to traffic so maybe it’s to do with what you are used to.
I timed it to watch the sunset and then star watching at the observatory with my family (who drove up)…and certainly needed warm clothes up there at night!
Long sections have a sameness to them but this was one of my most fun days on a bike.