Haleakala is the longest continuously paved climb in the world. I did the standard route, which leaves from the beach town of Paia, through the hillside, through the national park, and to the top of the crater. It's about 70 miles round trip and 10,000 feet of elevation gain. It's a long day. I started early, essentially right after sunrise, since the weather is unpredictable and at certain points you can get rain and fog just due to the natural topography. Many people drive to the top and often can't see anything due to clouds and rain. I pretty much had a perfect day, but I also specifically picked this day based on the weather forecast.
The ride up was pretty amazing and unique. I am used to to climbs, but I am not use to a climb that never really changes for 35 miles. It was a steady 5% grade the whole time. It starts out in some lush farmland at the bottom, which explains why the highway is littered with cow patties. After the lushness starts to fade, it turns more to neighborhoods and some small towns and then more like tundra as you approach the national park entrance. Eventually that changes to black lava until you get to the top of the crater.
The ride up was pretty amazing and unique. I am used to to climbs, but I am not use to a climb that never really changes for 35 miles. It was a steady 5% grade the whole time. It starts out in some lush farmland at the bottom, which explains why the highway is littered with cow patties. After the lushness starts to fade, it turns more to neighborhoods and some small towns and then more like tundra as you approach the national park entrance. Eventually that changes to black lava until you get to the top of the crater.
The ride was pretty hard, scenic, and a must do. The traffic was light and the road was great. I met two other cyclists. One that was just working out and turned back at the park entrance, and then someone from Portland at the top. It was pretty amazing to ride through all the different elevation zones though. I had driven to the top a long time ago, but you get a much better sense and feel for the area going 7 mph on a bike. The ride down was great too! Since it was a steady climb/descend, it was like 30 mph downhill for almost an hour. The road doesn't have too many hairpin turns either in my opinion, so you can just sit back and enjoy the ride!
