Mauna Loa Summit Road Repaving Info

Triathlon Forum
1

Hey guys,

I was told that the entire road from saddle road to the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii was freshly repaved last year. I have a number of questions:

Can anyone please confirm this?I am told that the gradient is much less drastic than Mauna Kea (not to mention that MK has all those miles of nasty gravel that are not passable by a road bike)How wide is the road and how technical is the descent. I assume that the wind up top is crazy, which can also make descending a bit tricky, but usually possibleAny other info would be great

A related question related to Hawaii peaks. How easily can you access Haleakala staying close to Maui Kahului airport without having to rent a car etc? Any info would be helpful. I am trying to figure out a tour of the peaks in Hawaii and trying to understand the logistics involved and I don’t have that many days to make it all happen when I go.

Dev

2

Yep, you can ride Haleakala from the airport, it will add about 11km of flat riding each way to Paia.

You can shorten it up by turning right early on Haleakala highway, but it’s very busy and not the “official” route up Baldwin.

3

Maurice

Thanks. Great to hear.

So you could fly directly to Maui, for the day, do the climb and be back out?

Just ride your bike to the KOA airport check in your bike at the airport by removing pedals, deflating tires, turn handlebars , arrive in Maui, put pedals back on, inflate, fix handlebars, ride up Haleakala, and ride back and reverse the process? How long out and back is the official climb to the summit from the airport. Would 6 hours cover the entire bike of adventure?

4

Maurice

Thanks. Great to hear.

So you could fly directly to Maui, for the day, do the climb and be back out?

Just ride your bike to the KOA airport check in your bike at the airport by removing pedals, deflating tires, turn handlebars , arrive in Maui, put pedals back on, inflate, fix handlebars, ride up Haleakala, and ride back and reverse the process? How long out and back is the official climb to the summit from the airport. Would 6 hours cover the entire bike of adventure?

The issue with the flights (as far as I remember) from Seattle, Bellingham, Vancouver are that the usually get to Maui in the evening between 7 and 10pm if you are flying there direct first. Not sure though because it looks like you will go to Kona first?

I would maybe fly in (get airport hotel) and leave early the next AM, then get a puddle jumper to Kona that evening?

In terms of time 6 hours is crazy tight, for reference a month ago I went 3:53 up, another local guy went 3:43. I am in about 5:25 IM shape and he is in about 5:10-5:15 shape, My girlfriend went 4:30 or so on her 23 pound (with water etc) cervelo P2 ALU, and a few days later went 4:06 on my bike with me carrying her water (I have a soloist, around 14lbs) for the same effort she was 24 min faster with about 10 pounds less!!!

3:43 took him about 200-210 watts, he is 158 lbs and rides a 13 pound or so EVO (with a power tap!!) the grade is a steady 5% but as you get above 7000 feet it feels more like 7-8%

The issue is the downhill, it is cold and can be a bit slow, I was shivering and had a bit of trouble braking. For our “all out attempts” we went minimal up and hitch hiked down.

So up and down from Paia might take you 6 hours without stops for picks etc add another hour or so from the airport and you are cutting it tight with no room for a flat etc, I would say minimum 8 hours unless your name is Ryder.

Cheers,
Maurice

5

OK, 8 hours it is. I was thinking about flying into KOA and then making a side trip to Maui, but maybe better to fly into Maui, arrive evening, spend nite at hotel, spend all of the next day riding, spend another nite at hotel, repack the bike into bike case and take a puddle jumper the next day to Kona. That would be a more efficient and relaxing option. Thanks for the input. Yes agree that once you get about 8000 feet, you may as well double the actual grade due to altitude. Last year we rode from Saddle road (6000 feet) to Mauna Kea visitor Center (9300 ft) and then jogged/shuffled to around 11,000 feet. So I understand what you are saying. What was cool is that once you get above the humidity in Kona, Haleakala literally looks like it is next door. Very weird, because you can barely see Maui from sea level.

Let’s see if I can make this work. Still looking for the Mauna Loa input.

6

Yeah, I think there might be better direct options from the west coast to Maui as opposed to Kona, sounds like a killer trip. Would love to ride the Kona “hills” one day!

Cheers,
Maurice

7

Dev -

Did you ever find out more info re: Mauna Loa, or did you ride it already? My wife is racing Kona and I was thinking about renting a road bike one day. I probably won’t commit a whole day to riding, but I was thinking of 1/2 day was doable. Could drive up part of the way and then bike the rest. Any insight you can share would be great.

8

Dev -

Did you ever find out more info re: Mauna Loa, or did you ride it already? My wife is racing Kona and I was thinking about renting a road bike one day. I probably won’t commit a whole day to riding, but I was thinking of 1/2 day was doable. Could drive up part of the way and then bike the rest. Any insight you can share would be great.

My brother rented a road bike race week two years ago, and all the shops wanted a one-week minimum on a bike rental (at least for anything other than a beach cruiser).

9

ohhh…Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely make a few phone calls before heading over. No need to lug pedals, helmet, etc. if one-week rentals is the only option.