December 2015

The West Maui loop is one of the must-do rides for road cyclists when visiting Maui.  It is a magnificent coastal ride around West Maui.  You will ride along major highways (bike-friendly lanes thankfully), two-way suburban and rural roads, and even single-lane roads – be careful!

I was visiting West Maui with my family and had planned to ride the West Maui loop after reading many blogs on what a wonderful ride it is.  The ride is spectacular especially on the northern side between Kapalua and Waihee-Waiehu.  This is a ride not to be missed if you are a keen road cyclist.

Distance: 93km  Elevation: 760m  Time: 4:00

I hired a bike for the day from West Maui Cycles.  It was one of their top-of-the-range Specialized road bike and they spent plenty of time making sure the bike was set up properly for me.  West Maui Cycles also have a good blog post on the West Maui Loop ride which was a great reference for me to know what to expect.

My ride with my Strava link and map is below.

https://www.strava.com/West Maui Loop

I started my ride from the Kaanapali area around 7 am to avoid any traffic.  There was hardly any and I was soon off major roads and onto narrow coastal country roads.  I rode clockwise around the loop as I was advised this is the best way.  It was raining and barely dawn when I started but it soon became warm and sunny and luckily there was no wind.

The northern side of the loop has spectacular scenery but it is also a very lumpy ride with many rolling hills and descents.  Two significant safety issues to be aware of on this side of the island are the slippery road from the Maui clay and single two-way lanes.  I came around one bend only to encounter a car reversing back up the hill towards me to let a truck pass.  You need to stay aware and don’t let the lovely scenery distract you.

One of the key stopping points on the ride is Julia’s Banana bread which is on the KKKK highway just past Kahakuloa beach.  I was really looking forward to this banana bread as I was pretty hungry by 8:30am.  Unfortunately, the shop doesn’t open until 9:00am so I missed out.  Maybe next time.

Even though I had a map on my Garmin I got a bit lost traversing from the northern side of the island to the southern side.  Fortunately, I was given clear directions when I stopped at a small village shop for some much-needed banana bread.  Don’t forget to take plenty of water and food with you on this ride as the hills can be quite energy-sapping.

I have to say the last part of the ride, probably the last 30km back to Kaanapali, is not all that interesting.  You are on major highways with plenty of traffic.  No time to stop and look at the view – which is not really worth stopping for anyway.  There is a suggestion on the West Maui Cycle blog that in order to miss this more busy part of the ride you can do an out-and-back ride with the turning point being Waihee.  However, I had done enough hills for the day and I really wanted to complete the loop.

I got back to the hotel around 11am after 4 hours of riding and only a short stop to refuel.  I probably should have taken a bit more time, and photos,  to take in the beauty of the northern side of the island but I really did enjoy the ride and would highly recommend it.

… and Beers

My favorite Hawaiian beer is Fire Rock, a delicious malty ale.