Ken: Yes, they are still having the downhill bike rides, but probably not like the one you did.
I have done the ride from the summit to sea level twice, once with my son. We went with Maui Downhill, but I remember Cruiser Bob as well. It was a great adventure, starting in the cold air of the summit after watching sunrise, then cruising through lava fields, rain forests, cattle ranches, eucalyptus groves, fields of pineapples and sugar cane, and small upcountry towns. We ended in Paia for breakfast before 10:00 AM. A few years ago, the Park Service banned the bike tours from the park. Now, they have to start outside the park boundary, at 7,000 feet above sea level, instead of the 10,023 foot summit. Some operators take you up in a van to watch sunrise, and then back outside the park in a van to mount the bikes. The trips are still being run, but they are not as popular as when they started from the summit. Other companies will not take you up in a van, give you a bike, and leave you there to come down on your own. That is not as safe as the group trips, which protect the bikers by having a van follow the group down the mountain, so no cars run into the "peloton." I guess some still enjoy the shorter ride, but it is not the same "thrill" you and I experienced. Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola On Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 4:48 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Is anyone still offering down hill bike rides from Haleakala? > > I've done it several times - but not recently. They started at sunrise and > ended up in town in time for brunch. > > I believe one was offered by a company called 'Cruiser Bob' but I know he > stopped years ago. > He advertised specially built bikes - including 'mega-brakes' which could > have been used on motor scooters. There was only one place you really had to > pedal. > It was quite a thrill. > > Kenneth Waller > http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daniel J. Matyola" > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: PESO: House of the Sun > > >> Thanks, Dave. >> >> There were a few people who biked up to the summit, from s/l, and a >> lot who hiked across the valley filled with craters, but I don't think >> anyone hikes all the way up for sunrise. >> >> >> There WAS a 36 mile race from sea level to the Summit called The Run >> to the Sun, but the National Park administration has prohibited it. >> There is still and unofficial run to the sun every year, burt it is >> not the same. >> >> >> http://www.hurthawaii.com/2011/02/unoffical-run-to-the-sun-haleakala-on-maui-march-20th-maui-charm-march-18-20th.html >> >> I may be a Marine, but I am far too old for that nonsense. >> >> Dan Matyola >> http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola >> >> On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 2:15 AM, David Mann <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> On Feb 8, 2012, at 7:25 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote: >>> >>>> To get this image, I had to get up at 3:30, drive 2 hours in the dark >>>> over twisty, winding roads to the summit, and wait over an hour in the >>>> cold and the dark until the first glow of light brightened the eastern >>>> horizon. >>> >>> >>> And here I was thinking you'd hiked up and camped overnight :) >>> >>> Very nice photo, too. >>> >>> Dave > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
