Haleakala downhill bike riding halted

[Miulang]

Re: Haleakala downhill bike riding halted

Got some info from sunrise tour drivers. Seem the bike companies are trying to set up a deal in which the sunrise tour company would take their people up to the summit for sunrise. After sunrise take them down to the 7000 ft. elavation where they would begin there bike tour, since the bike tours are banned from the Nat`l Park. Will keep you posted if any more info becomes avail. OGGBOY

Wouldn't that be around Hosmer Grove? I think Hosmer Grove is right outside the Park boundary and would make an OK place for a lot of cars/people to be dropped off. I don't think that solves all of the bike/nuisance problem, though it probably will cut down on the number of injuries to neophyte bike riders. If I remember correctly, the route they use when they get to the junction of Halekala Hwy and Upper Kula Rd is they take Upper Kula Rd all the way down to almost Pukalani and then go on Olinda Rd all the way down to Baldwin Ave. and end up in Paia. There are a lot of houses on the lower part of the stretch between Hosmer Grove and the Upper Kula Rd. junction and there are no bike paths on that part of the road, so I think local residents are still going to be complaining about riders hogging the road. There is a bike path now on Baldwin Ave up by Rainbow Gardens so that part is safer.

I read in today's Maui News that one bike company was shutting down for the time being and laid off 17 employees and another one was going to concentrate on bike tours going the other way towards Keokea, down to Tedeschi Vineyards. That route would be more scenic than coming down Olinda Rd. to me, and there's free wine tasting at the end of the rainbow!

Miulang

[dick]

Re: Haleakala downhill bike riding halted

Wouldn't that be around Hosmer Grove? I think Hosmer Grove is right outside the Park boundary and would make an OK place for a lot of cars/people to be dropped off.

Miulang

Hosmer Grove (at least the entrance anyway) is inside the park.

[oggboy]

Re: Haleakala downhill bike riding halted

Alot more problems if the bike tours end up traveling from the winery back to Pukalani. Kula Hiway with all those bikes I don`t think so!!!

[Miulang]

Re: Haleakala downhill bike riding halted

Alot more problems if the bike tours end up traveling from the winery back to Pukalani. Kula Hiway with all those bikes I don`t think so!!!

They wouldn't have to go through Pukalani, though. From Keokea, just go on Lower Kula Rd. until the Pukalani junction (by the high school), then down to Makawao Rd., go through Makawao (stop and have a Komoda cream puff) and then connect to Baldwin Ave. just like before. At least Lower Kula Rd. has wide shoulders on the side of the road (I've seen lots of bikes on Lower Kula Rd). I know lots of locals from Upcountry take Makawao Rd. down to Paia in order to avoid the craziness that Haleakala Hwy is with its stupid and dangerous reversible lanes during rush hour, but Paia is such a mess anyway now at that Baldwin Ave. intersection (even with the Paia bypass) so that would force the Upcountry guys back on the main highway, which at least has 2 lanes going both ways. Of course, if those bike tourists taste too much wine, maybe they shouldn't be on the road anyway!

Miulang

[dick]

Re: Haleakala downhill bike riding halted

Alot more problems if the bike tours end up traveling from the winery back to Pukalani. Kula Hiway with all those bikes I don`t think so!!!

I doubt the tours would make the bicyclists ride back from the winery -- too many uphill sections.

They wouldn't have to go through Pukalani, though. From Keokea, just go on Lower Kula Rd. until the Pukalani junction (by the high school), then down to Makawao Rd., go through Makawao (stop and have a Komoda cream puff) and then connect to Baldwin Ave. just like before. At least Lower Kula Rd. has wide shoulders on the side of the road (I've seen lots of bikes on Lower Kula Rd). I know lots of locals from Upcountry take Makawao Rd. down to Paia in order to avoid the craziness that Haleakala Hwy is with its stupid and dangerous reversible lanes during rush hour, but Paia is such a mess anyway now at that Baldwin Ave. intersection (even with the Paia bypass) so that would force the Upcountry guys back on the main highway, which at least has 2 lanes going both ways. Of course, if those bike tourists taste too much wine, maybe they shouldn't be on the road anyway!

Miulang

Lower Kula Rd. doesn't reach the junction of Haleakala Hwy, Kula Hwy and Old Haleakala Hwy. The last part ends near Kula 200. And it doesn't have wide shoulders. And it crosses Kula Hwy several times. Oh, and it doesn't begin anywhere near Keokea. I'm not sure what road you're talking about. Do you? I'd love to see bike tours on a nearly flat Makawao Ave (or them pushing their bikes up that one steep stretch just past the riding stable/Cleghorn vet).

I don't follow you on the upcountry commuters thing. Everyone I know takes the highway. Why drive all the way through Makawao, for a slow, winding two-lane road to Paia, then have to drive from there to Kahului?

First you say Haleakala Hwy is crazy "with its stupid and dangerous reversible lanes." Then you say the messed-up Paia intersection "would force the Upcountry guys back on the main highway, which at least has 2 lanes going both ways."

Huh?

[Miulang]

Re: Haleakala downhill bike riding halted

I doubt the tours would make the bicyclists ride back from the winery -- too many uphill sections.



Lower Kula Rd. doesn't reach the junction of Haleakala Hwy, Kula Hwy and Old Haleakala Hwy. The last part ends near Kula 200. And it doesn't have wide shoulders. And it crosses Kula Hwy several times. Oh, and it doesn't begin anywhere near Keokea. I'm not sure what road you're talking about. Do you? I'd love to see bike tours on a nearly flat Makawao Ave (or them pushing their bikes up that one steep stretch just past the riding stable/Cleghorn vet).

I don't follow you on the upcountry commuters thing. Everyone I know takes the highway. Why drive all the way through Makawao, for a slow, winding two-lane road to Paia, then have to drive from there to Kahului?

First you say Haleakala Hwy is crazy "with its stupid and dangerous reversible lanes." Then you say the messed-up Paia intersection "would force the Upcountry guys back on the main highway, which at least has 2 lanes going both ways."

Huh?

We have a house right above the junction of where Upper Kula Rd and Lower Kula Rd meet (by the Botanical Garden). That part of the Lower Kula Rd. (Hwy 37--down to the Pukalani Junction by King K High School) has wide shoulders. Hwy 37 goes through Keokea to Tedeschi. Hwy 377 is Upper Kula Rd.

Lots of upcountry people go through Makawao now (I do when I stay in Kula too) since that Pukalani bypass was put in because that reversible lane thing on Haleakala Hwy is totally suicidal. I'm amazed that no one has been involved in a head on collision yet, because people are going 60 mph or faster up and down that hill. The other route I take sometimes is from Lower Kula Rd. to Pulehu Rd. where you end up by the landfill in Puunene. As much as possible, I avoid Haleakala Hwy.

Driving on Baldwin Ave. (2 lanes, one lane each direction) is fine until you hit the intersection at Baldwin Ave./Hana Hwy in Paia. That stoplight there is the bane of everyone's existence. Everybody thought the temporary bypass would help redirect traffic around Paia, but it's not open all the time.

The tours already go through Makawao (they get off Hwy 377 at Olinda Rd). It's still mostly downhill. One of their rest stops is at the Makawao Veterans Cemetery. The bad parts of Hwy 37 are between Tedeschi and Keokea because there are some up and down spots. But the views from that stretch of road are way more spectacular than the views from Hosmer Grove down to Makawao, IMO.


Miulang