Pi'ilani Highway kicked my butt!

I set off from the campground at the Y after a late, lazy start because of sitting around talking with a family from Calgary.

I continued riding up and down all day past nice water falls.


There were some right by the road that I stood under to cool off.

I passed some taro fields.


Taro is a plant that the Hawaiians brought from Fiji. They cook the tuberous root and mash it into this stuff they eat like potatoes called poi.

I got to Hana and called ahead to reserve a B and B for the following night in Kula.

I rode a few more ridiculously steep hills to Kipahulu campground in Haleakala National Park. This part of the park reaches all the way down to the ocean and is a legacy, in part, of Charles Lindburg, who lived the rest of his life in Maui and is buried here.

My phone battery was dead the next day so I have no photos of the crazy Pi'ilani 'Highway' on my phone.

The road started out right on the ocean with fantastic views. Then, the road turned to dirt, which wasn't too bad. Then came the hills. These things were crazy steep with some around 20%! They were scary to ride down because I felt like I would fall over my handlebars so I hung my butt off behind the seat to put my center of gravity farther back like I've seen them do in cyclocross races. That really helped stabilize the descents. Of course, it was impossible to ride up these monsters so I pushed the bike, which was also really hard. And, When I got to the top, I rolled straight back down again to the ocean. This on a day that finished in Kula at 3500 feet elevation.

Then, things got bad. The road switched back to 'pavement'. This stuff was the most god awful surface I've ever ridden on except for Dempster Highway mud. It was all patches with no original pavent visible. And the patches weren't smoothed out at all so there were little humps and divets about every six inches all over the entire road. It felt like both Sam and I would be shaken to bits. I named it Pele's Pavement, Pele being the Hawaiian fire/ volcano goddess, since the road was about as smooth as a lava flow. And, of course, the ridiculous hills continued, pushing up, and slowly, rattling back down. I rode up some of the less steep (12-14%) ones, but it made my legs and arms scream after a few of them.

Then, it got really hot. This part of the road is back on the leeward side of the island, so the jungle with it's nice shade is gone, replaced by scrubby, brown bushes. By noon, I felt like I was riding in an oven with the heat radiating off the asphalt. Several passing cars gave me water, fruit, and lots of encouragement. Finally, the road became normal pavement as it began the climb up the side of Haleakala to, what they call The Upcountry.

I always find it hard to eat when it's really hot and I made the mistake of not eating sooner. By the time I stopped on a ridge for lunch, I was well on my way to bonking.

Bonking is basically running out of energy during a long distance run or bike ride. It feels like my legs have turned to jello, I can't really catch my breath, and every hill is next to impossible to get up.

I crawled into Ulapalakua Ranch, the first bit of civilization, ate some snack food, and pushed on uphill another 10 miles to Kula. I crawled in after dark, scarfed down a nice sandwich the owner prepared for me, showered, and slept 12 hours straight. I can't remember the last time a road kicked my butt that badly.


-- Post From My iPhone