West Maui Loop
This ride was one of the most ambitious I have taken on. It was a pilot ride with recording much of the ride with footage. There is a ton to go through, but figured I would share all then trim it down.
This ride went Kaanapali - Kaanapali around Maui’s west side. I departed in the morning, and began riding towards Kahului. Once reaching Kahului, the ride turned from East to North, and unfortunately for me, directly into the wind.
The portion heading north was brutal, I was pushing a decent amount of power, but chugging along at 8mph. I didn’t really feel like at this time I had what it took to complete the full route, let alone with all the climbing ahead of me.
After Kahului, I was going to have to be self sufficient for quite some time, since I was entering parts unknown- with no guarantee of water or food stops. I knew once I got near Kapalua there would be some small banana bread stands, but between Kahului and then - about 40 miles in the heat and a couple thousand feet of climbing, I was a bit nervous.
Nonetheless, I exited what felt like society, to a go through a working class series of towns on the North Shore. Once I arrived at the North Shore, the wide ceased being in my face, and that was a major mood boost. The North Shore, seen in the video clip 2, is a far cry from the resort towns, and is a closer insight to how most Hawaiians live. Most of the people here are doing just what they can to get by- and in some ways seem less friendly to tourists, but nothing left me feeling concerned.
After a few miles of taking in the towns of the North Shore, the ascent up the West Maui mountains began. This was one of the more surreal portions of the ride. Long, mid-level grade, steep cliffs off the side with stunning views. I tried to keep my eyes on the water to spot whales, but didn’t catch any.
The roads on this portion are like time-traveling. They are NARROW, winding, traverse stone bridges, sparsely signed. There isn’t much around besides some roosters, ranches, and sporadic homes. The roads were damp, as if it had just rained a few hours before - but never encountered the rain itself.
The climb to the top of the mountains was long, challenging, but not the hardest part of the day. I began running low on water in my bottles and hydration pack, so began to look for place to stop. Eventually- I entered a small village, with two banana bread shops. One was set back from the road, the other on the side. Luckily it was open, I was able to get a whole slew of water and coconut ice cream (they were out of banana bread- unfortunately). And this fueling stop couldn’t have been timed any better. The previous 10 miles were largely descending - trying to maintain a safe speed with the moist condition, tight roads, and steep cliffs.
After my water and snack stop began a series of rolling steep climbs. Until I got back to Kapalua, it felt like I was in a loop of challenging hills, and challenging to go down to contain speed. At this point, I also re-entered the strong Sun. I had been nicely sheltered for the last few hours - now it was blistering and hot. By my assessment, given that I was 40 miles in, had already exerted a ton of energy, this was the most challenging portion of the day. The heat, gradient, and fatigue all contributed to making this part a struggle.
Re-entering society, and cell service to let Caroline know I was ok - you are met with a mile long 7% climb, which really is when I hit the wall. All the effort throughout the day finally got me to what felt like my breaking point, but the fascinating thing is- you keep pedaling because you know you’re close. One pedal stroke at a time.
One more water stop in Napili, then I was home free to enjoy the rest of the day in beautiful Maui. Looking forward to sharing the video and clips from this amazing day.
Without further adieu, here’s the video: