I am doing the ride up and down Halekala from Paia next week.
It’s likely to be 78-80 in Paia at the start (around 7 am) and forecast calls for a high of 60 and low of 48 for Haleakala with showers likely.
I’m planning on taking a light rain coat and arm and leg warmers with me for the top and ride back down.
I’m still debating on my mix of gels and drink mix versus more solid fueling options. I’m a sea level athlete used to cooler temperatures so I’ll take salt capsules to help with sodium loss from sweating and cramps.
I don’t know how long it will take me. I would think I could hold about 220 W the whole way. Currently weighing around 220 lbs.
Does anyone who has done this ride or similar rides have any suggestions?
Edit: I have been training specifically for this ride all year. I did a 55 mile gravel ride last month with 6,600 feet of elevation gain and steeper grades than the Haleakala climb. My experience with heat is pretty much limited to riding the bike course at the St. George 70.3 last year. I came off the bike there dehydrated and feeling pretty crappy from having sweated out all my sodium, so I will be careful not to make that mistake again.
I think it could take you anywhere from 5-6 hrs based on the info you provided (for the climb only). Do you think you’re fit enough to do such a long and uninterrupted climb? I think it’s good that you’re considering temperature, because it does indeed get very cold at the top (I have driven up there, didn’t get the chance to bike it unfortunately). Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
Thanks! Having some example of a time prediction helps.
I do think I have the fitness. I have been training for this ride all year. I did a 55 mile gravel ride with 6600’ of elevation gain last month to gauge my current fitness level. The last time I did a ride in the heat was the bike section of the St. George 70.3 in 2021. That was a good lesson on hydration and electrolytes for me…
I’ll go edit the original post to include the fitness info. Thanks again!
A thin skull cap is a nice add - the descent can be really cold, and keeping your head warm helps a lot. A good rear blinky is also good in case you find yourself riding in the middle of a cloud like I did a few years ago.
Do you have a set date for the ride, or flexibility? The weather up top can vary drastically one day to another - I rode it in lovely weather one time, and two days later drove up there in wind so bad I could barely stand up when I got out of the car.
I don’t have much to say about food except use stuff that’s worked for you before, and don’t get behind on your calorie intake.
Have you confirmed what gearing your rental bike has? When I was there in March earlier this year, my SL6 rental from West Maui Cycles had a 52/36 crankset and 11-30 cassette. Lucky for me, I wasn’t planning to do Haleakala(done it before, didn’t have time for it on that trip)
I did this exact ride in 2017 starting from “Maui Cyclery” bike shop.
It took my wife and I 5.5hrs climbing and about 50mins or less descending it. I was 165lbs and we made lots of stops for her to either catch up, site see and making one large stop at Kula Market Place.
I didn’t have my power meter pedals on me so I imagine it was around 160w average so a 2.2kg/watt estimated average for the entire climb.
The best advice I can give you is have great gearing, stop at the first sign of needing a snack or water, and save energy for the decent because it is fast and can be technical depending on your skill level.
Don’t be afraid to stop at the little shops to grab a nice well deserved snack/treat. I would recommend trying to carry 3-4 bottles on your persons however.
Also - for the record I absolutely destroyed Café Des Amis after the ride - great food IMO
Be ready to grind… you just grind for hours at a time haha.
I rode it in 2017, and had a great time. The rental bike had 34/28 as the lowest gear, which was higher than I wanted but was fine, and only really difficult for the steep section at the very top. I weighed 170 at the time, ride with power data here: Follow Roy on Strava to see this activity. Join for free.
I brought extra water, as there aren’t that many places to get food or water on the way up. I don’t have the details, but at the time I went there were only 3 or 4 places to get water on the way up. Also, I recall that the entry to the park only takes credit cards, not cash, so make sure you have a credit card with you. Bringing extra clothes is a good idea, as it can be cold on the way down. It was very windy on the top part of the descent for me, which made it quite tricky, and not that enjoyable.
One fun thing - when I drove up Haleakala after biking it, I had bought a big bottle of water from the store, and drank most of it on the drive up. I capped it at the top and didn’t have any more on the drive back to sea level. At the bottom, the bottle was completely concave like I had crushed the air out of it, which went a long way towards explaining why my sea level-dwelling lungs were suffering so much at the top!
Add me to the list of people who used the support service from Maui Cyclery, once also renting a bike from them, and once riding my own bike but using their support van. It was really nice not to have to carry all my stuff the whole way, or worry about finding food, etc. If you’re going to do it on your own, some time researching places you can get food and water on the way up would be time well spent.
To follow up to my post above, I did it unsupported, but had one of those big ‘bikepacking’ saddlebags for my extra food, water, and clothing. Without support you need to carry quite a bit of stuff, even if you don’t sweat terribly. I also live at sea level, and did plan for my power to drop a fair bit at the top due to altitude and fatigue.
I’ve ridden Haleakala 2x - once with Donnie and the other self- supported.
My couple of tips: water is available at Kula Market (there’s a hose tap around back if they happen to be closed when you get there) and also at the park visitor center and the small visitor center just below the summit. I used two large bottles and had plenty of water with those refills. As for clothing, expect that it will be at least 30F cooler at the summit than in Paia. Bring appropriate clothing!
The ride is never really steep except for the short last bit. Dial in that “all day” pace and don’t go into the red.
I have been thinking about doing the West Maul Loop. I hate not to do it while I’m there, but I need to figure out if I can sneak away from my wife and kids for another big chunk of time.
