Up to the top of Haleakala and back...
by Rick Schultz
posted 2006-03-10
Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii
I took the last remaining swig from the front water bottle and switched it with the full one that was attached to the seat tube. Now I was about half-way through the switchbacks and I was still feeling good. I could start to hear my legs a little, they were starting to talk. Even though the road was not too steep, I was constantly going uphill. I knew that if I had stopped pedaling, I would basically stop moving after about 3 feet. I had to keep the pedals turning. My plan was to get to the park entrance with 2 empty water bottles, then refill them using fresh water along with more of the energy drink powder mix that I had brought along in plastic baggies. I also planned to pick up a few of their brochures to put inside my jersey for insulation on the way back down.
Photo by Mitchell Silver
As I climbed through switchback after switchback, gaining altitude, the air was getting thinner and colder. 5,000 feet. 5,500 feet, 6,000 feet, 6,500 feet. I saw tour after tour heading down the road. You could hear their brakes squealing, I hoped that their brakes were in pretty good condition. Then I looked down at my front brake to check out how much of the brake pads that I had left. I could still see the grooves so I thought to myself, "they are in great shape." Then took another look down to make sure that the shoes were put on the right way. Just wanting to make sure... They looked good as well.
I had remembered reading that there are quite a few people that do brake maintenance themselves and every once in awhile, a crash occurs due to the brake shoes having been installed backwards. The pads should always be inserted (with respect to the bicycle) from the back to the front, then locked down. When installed correctly, the harder you brake, the more pressure there is keeping the pads in the shoes. If you install your brake pads backwards, during hard braking, the pads will shoot out the front. You will have brake shoes, but no pads - not a good thing, especially coming down this hill.
There were about 8-12 tourists in each of the downhill groups, all wearing rain parkas. Some groups wore green, others wore red, or yellow, or blue. At times, it looked like a bag of Skittles rolling down the road. Group after group riding by, all looking at me with that strange facial expression that said, "why is that guy going the wrong way?"
Three or so switchbacks from the visitors center, I saw 5 people sitting in the dirt next to the road. Three were from a tour company, their van parked 50 feet up the road. They were attending to 2 young girls in their early 20's that look like they skidded out and crashed on this hairpin turn. It appeared that one had broken her collarbone, and the other and broken her wrist. Going uphill at 10MPH, there is no concern of skidding out, but, coming down the road at 35MPH+, you need to be careful, especially those that are inexperienced.
It was my observation that the tour leaders, who do this ride multiple times per day and per week, go downhill a little too fast, and have often created a gap to the second person. In order to catch up, the tourists that follow try and push their speed a little too much and are at a very high risk of crashing, especially when the ground starts getting damp - which is often the case on Haleakala. Again, be careful on this ride!
I passed Hosmer Grove, a camp ground and picnic area just outside of the park. With the number of bicycle touring buses parked along-side the road, offloading bicycles, this looked like it was the staging/starting area for these "downhillers." According to my map, I was almost to the visitor center. As I looked up, the volcano was still getting bigger and bigger. I breathed in a sign of relief when I saw that just around the next corner was the actual Park Entrance. I reached into my back pocket, pulled up to the park ranger and handed her a sweaty $5 bill to enter the park. Yes, they even charge cyclists and hikers!!!
Photo by Amy Schultz
I looked at the sign to the right of me - 7,000 feet. According to my map, only 3,000 feet and 9 more miles to the top. After a quick 1 mile ride, I stopped to take a quick restroom break and filled my water bottles with water and the energy mix that I had brought along. My plan now was to use these two bottles to the top, then fill it them up with water - having 2 full bottles for the 35 mile descent.
Article Note: Once you have arrived at the park entrance, pay your $5 to enter the park. They will let you use the hose bib on the back of the booth to refill your bottles. This is the go-no go decision point of the ride. Turn around if you are not feeling 100%. The first part (23 miles) of this ride was the easy part... It only gets more difficult as you continue heading upward. Believe me, the ride gets tougher and tougher and tougher.
If you want to wait, it is only about 1 mile further to the actual Park Headquarters and Visitor Center where you can refill and use the "facilities". The elevation here is about 7,000 feet. Make sure that you get hydrated here since no more water will be available until you get to the top - approximately 12 miles up the road.
For the remainder of the ride, two things to watch are your heart rate and breathing. Since the atmosphere gets thinner and thinner, it is harder and harder to regain your heart rate and breathing if you push it too hard. When at sea level, you can push hard to elevate your heart rate and breathing, and after you back off, your heart rate and breathing return to normal pretty quickly. At altitudes above 8,500 feet, this is not the case. You can't seem to pull in enough air to get you breathing back down to a normal level. Remember, your breathing will be naturally higher anyway as a result of the higher elevation.
