Random Thoughts about Maui

1. Fresh Mint in Paia is a really amazing restaurant.  I ended up eating there every night I was here and ate a different meal every time and enjoyed every one.  All Vegan Vietnamese.  Highly recommended.
2. A 10,000 ft mountain in Colorado is not very big.  When you start at sea level on a bike though, it is really big.  Probably not the best idea to do it in the winter when you are out of shape, but really, when else would you come to Maui?  Again, highly recommended.
3. Riding past Kulu to the wine country and then the desert is really cool, but we have plenty of desert a lot closer to Boulder.   Also, riding it from Paia adds up to more than 7,000 ft of vertical, probably not the best plan the day after riding Haleakala.
4. When VeloNews says the road is rough, trust them.  I was thinking of riding past Kulu all the way to Hana.  I have never seen such a rough road that could still claim to be paved.  I imagine 5,000 people each with a bucket of tar dropping it on the road and smoothing it with their boots.  I turned around after a mile or so.
5. 6 foot waves don’t look like that much, especially when you drove to the sheltered side of the island after seeing the waves twice as big.  As soon as you try to body surf one you realize just how much power there is in the ocean.
6. The road to Hana is really cool.  An awesome ride.  Hana itself though is pretty boring.  Also, once you are there you realize you have to ride the 45 miles back.  Lots of little hills and some not so little ones make it really hurt.
7. 4 days on Maui is either to long or way to short.  I came here for riding, but I can’t do these rides day after day.  I’m thinking a month would be a good amount of time.
8. Paia is a really cool town.  It is however on the rainy side of the island. Cool health food store, vegan restaurant (see #1), lots of other cool shops.

Skating in the New Year

What could be better for New Years day than a little pond skating?  The good news of the cold month that we have had is that Wonderland Lake is frozen solid.  Its pretty bumpy because of the snow and the wind, but there were more than enough clear areas to be some great skating.

At one point a Boulder open space ranger came out to tell everyone that the lake is spring fed and the ice wasn’t necessarily safe.  We all figured it was a CYA sort of thing, because he was out standing in the middle of the lake when he said it.

Unfortunately Kate doesn’t own skates right now, so she was trying to keep up on foot.  Elizabeth is really skating well.  She has been really excited about skating this year.  And for me it was great.  It brought up all the great memories of growing up in New England.  Boulder is great in so many ways, but skating on the local pond is not typically one of them. 

2010 can’t be all bad if it started this well.  More pictures can be found here.

 

Maui

I got for a ride today around the western part of Maui.  The northwest part of Maui just might be the most beautiful place I have ever been. 

Several locals warned me against riding the loop.  I think they thought it was too big a loop (60 miles) and that the road is scary.  The road is in fact a single lane for 10+ miles, but that turned out to be a blessing for cycling.  The speed limit was 15 miles an hour and cars were super careful and respectful since they didn’t know who might be around the corner. 

The Kahakili Highway winds up and down all the little canyons on the coast.    It climbs up hundreds of feet and then back down constantly.   There are a couple of very steep and 1 or two fairly long climbs and a different vista.  The only ride I could compare it to for beauty would be Trail Ridge Road, back in Colorado.  I also had a lesson on Hawaiian trade winds.  They are incredibly steady at about 20MPH.  Being a loop around the island though, I did get some very nice tailwinds, but I more than paid the price.

The little village of Kahukuloa might be as close to perfection as I have seen.  It is in this incredible little valley with a single lane road as the only way in and out.  It also has an amazingly good fruit/smoothie stand that was very welcome at the point in the ride.  Surprise, the local fruit on Maui is pretty good…

Snow

This might be a little much for October.  Not sure what the official snowfall count is, but it’s a lot.  I sure am glad we bought the ski passes this winter.

 

Oh well, I am off on my bike to head to work.

Mt Sanitas

Elizabeth climbed all the way to the summit of Mt Sanitas today! And she did it the hard way - the steep goat path up from our house and then the east ridge trail. More than 1200 feet of climbing on an exceptionally steep and rocky trail.

More pictures here.

Longs Peak

Rob and I went up to the Keyhole today... Not expecting that much winter.

Got back to Boulder and 80 degrees. Best guess is that with wind chill it was about 5 up there.

More pictures here.

It was fun though...

Buffalo Classic

It feels like summer is winding down... Margaret came back from her 10 day backpacking trip excited about her fitness and wanting to test it more. We made quick arrangements to do the Buffalo Classic bike ride.

It's the 1st time we have done a full century on the tandem - 105 miles actually. Margaret did great - nothing hurt except for some saddle pain. 6:15 hours in the saddle is hard even if you are in pretty good shape. Overall we did pretty well - but it was much more vertical than I expected. Looking at the course map, it ended up being 4308 ft of climbing! Not too much per mile, but it sure adds up.

There were some decent pictures of us from Sundance Images, here, here and here.