SCOTT'S SPIN: Maui Wowie



RoadBikeRider.com Newsletter
Issue No. 282 - 02/15/07: Indoor Hill Climbing
ISSN 1536-4143



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SCOTT'S SPIN: Maui Wowie



Years ago there was a TV commercial for shampoo. It featured a gorgeous model cooing, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."



In that spirit: Don't hate me because I spent last week cycling in Maui.



While my riding buddies back home were doing lactate-threshold intervals in meat-locker temperatures, I was pedaling past lush Hawaiian hillsides and sparkly waterfalls while wearing shorts and a short-sleeve jersey. Believe me, having to apply sun block day after day was no picnic. Except for the times when I did it at a roadside picnic.



I was in Maui on a trip organized by Second Summer Tours, a bike-touring company run by an old friend named Rob Templin. This was no "ride 30 miles, eat 8,000 calories" tour. You wouldn't expect that from a Race Across America veteran.



Dubbed the Maui Triple Challenge, the weeklong trip boasted three deliciously daunting rides:

  • the 75-mile West Maui loop hugging the dramatic coastline
  • a 36-mile climb from the beach to the top of the spectacular 10,000-foot Haleakala volcano (followed by, yes, a 36-mile descent)
  • a century on the famed road to Hana along the rugged, remote, McDonald's-less eastern shoreline

So rugged was the Hana century that a 10-mile section of potholed, patched and re-patched pavement cracked open my seatpost clamp like a coconut. Then again, maybe I'd just eaten too much fresh banana bread and pineapple.



And poi. No . . . probably not too much poi, a starchy paste that looks like sew-up tire glue.



Anyway, the trip was awesome, and I'm not saying that to make you envious. I'm saying that to inspire you to get out of your frozen rut and have a cycling adventure, soon. You won't regret it.



So, go ahead and hate me. But go.



(Scott Martin wrote feature articles for Bicycling magazine for a dozen years. You can reach him at scottmartin@roadbikerider.com)