I used to feel ambivalent about bike tours and guided tours of any kind. What could a tour guide do for me that I couldn’t do on my own? That changed during a 2002 bicycle tour of Vietnam.
Now that I know better, I’ve added interesting commercial tours to the hit list. The Maui Triple Challenge is offered by Rob Templin’s Second Summer Tours, and has gained a certain amount of infamy because it combines spectacular scenery and difficult cycling that comes in the form of hills and challenging road surfaces. Unfortunately, a busy work schedule has kept me from doing this tour, but I’ll get to it sooner or later.
The three challenges:
1. Day 3: A 75 mile loop through the southern portion of Maui on good to excellent pavement. While this route includes miles of spectacular scenery, it’s on a very narrow roadway that requires undivided attention. Rob recommends triple chainrings or a compact gearing for the entire tour, and this is the day where the lower gears start to get a workout.
2. Day 4: Is the 40-mile-long ascent to the 10,000-foot summit of Haleakala. Now we’re talking. A friend who did the tour a few years ago got lost on the way to the ascent road, which made it a 100 mile day.
3. Day 6: Is a tough 100-miler through lush tropics, semi-arid desert, and Maui’s beautiful upland country. Although this ride doesn’t have the cachet of the Haleakala climb, it’s infamous for its challenging road surfaces and narrow lanes, and includes 15 miles of very rough pavement. Rumor has it that this ride can also have strong winds. Perfect.
To qualify for The Hit List a ride has to be hard, beautiful, or both. If I haven’t yet done the ride, I have reason to believe it has the qualifying characteristics. Got a suggestion? Email me.
