Club Member Spotlight
Haleakala is “Not that Bad”
Ed and I went on our family vacation to Maui, HI. Besides snorkeling, hanging out on the beach, and eating, I wanted to stay in shape and thought about riding.
Most visitors ride Haleakala downhill but I thought it would be fun to try to ride my bike UP Haleakala. The bike rental is easy. Check out http://www.gocyclingmaui.com/ Maui Cyclery. They rented me a Litespeed. I brought my bike shoes and pedals they set me up all I had to do was ride uphill. The folks wished me luck and said, "Slow and steady gets you there." Sounded good to me.

How I Trained
Riding these past 20 years, with our amazing bike club,http://ffbc.org/, was my basic training. I ride about 100-150 miles per week. Mostly it’s Al’s Wednesday ride, and a ride on the weekend. Each ride covers between 40-70 miles with 1,500-4,000 feet elevation gain. My Calfee, carbon fiber, is very close to the bike I rented.
If you can ride your bike up Mt. Hamilton, 18 miles, average 5- 8% grade, you can climb Haleakala, 36 miles, average 5-8 % grade. The difference is the distance and the elevation, Mt. Hamilton at 4, 200 feet vs. Haleakala at 10,000 feet. My ride up Haleakala took about 6 hours.
What Helped?
It was helpful that my dear husband Ed (probably the smarter of us), offered to provide support and guidance (SAG) for this ride. His SAG vehicle stopped every hour, important for two reasons. One, he carried the water/Gatorade and food. Two, there is no reminder to stop and rest anywhere on the route and there are no places to buy food/drink after Kula.
Who can do this ride?
I think with the right training, support, and willingness on your part, you can do this ride. After all, I’m a 55 year-old grandmother!
What Next?
I want to do this ride again, with the aim of less than 6 hours. I think riding up Mt Hamilton two times in a row would be good training. Maybe other FFBC members will want to join me in this training.
Keep the rubber on the road and may the wind be at your back,
Joyce
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