Just got this nice email from a reader of our reasonably-definitive web page on climbing Haleakala–

Mike,

I’m sure you get lots of “Thank Yous” for your definitive web site on climbing Haleakala.  I do want to add mine because it helped me so much.  I went up Haleakala on Presidents Day a couple of weeks ago and it was actually quite enjoyable.  My family dropped me off in Paia at 8:30 AM and the ride was on.  I was on a nice Cannondale Six that I rented from West Maui Cycles.  It is a compact double but a bit more aggressive gearing that what I would have preferred.  No worries since the initial climbing is quite gentle.  I rode for a while with a gentleman that lives on the island half the year and he gave me encouragement.  He was only going up to 5000′.  Interestingly, I met the same person on my ride around the north side of West Maui on the road to Iao State Park.  “It’s no that big of an island” he told me.   All went well but at around 6500 feet I was getting concerned since my cadence had dropped to an uncomfortable level.  ” I should have gotten the Specialized Tarmac” I kept saying to myself since it is more relaxed.  Then I noticed that I had one more cog to drop to.  Man, that was like finding $20 in your pocked two days before pay-day.  With the lower gearing, I picked up the pace and motored up through the park.  I got to the top around 2:30 PM and met up with the family.  They had supported me the whole way up making sure I didn’t run out of water and in case I broke down.   The top was probably in the mid 50s and just a bit breezy.  I had on a light jacket and that was enough.

So, thanks again for the very informative site you put together for everyone else   And, don’t worry, you’re still ‘DA MAN’ of the mountain; with the extra climbing you did, no on will, or should, top that.

Thanks again,
OP, Sammamish (near Seattle), WA=

Clearly, I need to make another trip to Maui and verify the accuracy of my information! Sure, “Octavian Popa” implies that it’s still relevant, but can you really be too sure without checking it out first-hand? Didn’t think so!

After all, I’ve got my folding high-performance BikeFriday, so all I have to do is get a ticket and go. Cost? Well, for just me, not so bad. But somehow I don’t think I’d be going to Hawaii and leaving my wife behind, which means having to plan around things for the shop to. Meantime, don’t pass up the opportunity yourself. Read about it on our Haleakala web page!