Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea

Posted by Conor Collins 

Travel day to Hilo, Big island of Hawai’i

Hilo the Morning of the Mauna Loa Climb

     Plane left Maui at 1:17…. However, because some problem with some passenger, we didn’t leave until 1:35. The flight was smooth, and quick, only lasted 20 minutes! Ha, 80 miles in 20 minutes, maybe that should be a new cycling goal! In Hilo it was dumping rain, and really gave us a warm welcome when I checked my phone, and it said there was a flood warning! Enough of that, time to get ready for Mauna Loa tomorrow.

 Mauna Loa Climb: Worlds longest Paved Climb

Riding on Saddle Road. Hilo is in the background 

     6:00 a.m. wake up, and immediately go to the window to see the weather. Thankfully, it was partly cloudy, and surprisingly NOT Raining!! After getting ready, and a quick continental breakfast (when they say continental, they mean it! Ha, nothing more than juice, coffee, and toast!) at the hotel. Then comes a quick pack up of cycling gear, and a 2-mile drive to the start of the ride. Literally, at the main intersection in Hilo the ride starts (Elevation 0). From there it goes 6 miles through residential communities, before connecting with Saddle Road. From then on, its 22 miles of rainforest, and winding road. The road was wide, and with nice shoulders. It climbed 6,500 feet before leveling off at the top.

Saddle Road just before the Mauna Loa turnoff

From then, a left turn onto the “Mauna Loa Observatory road” this at first glance doesn’t look like much… a terrible single lane pot holed road. After about a half a mile the road changes to new pavement, but remains a single lane. The road remains “fairly” level for about a mile, traversing the lava fields of Mauna Loa, up and down… felt a lot like a roller coaster. After about 2 miles, it begins to aim towards the summit. With an average grade of 4-5% as seen on Strava, and out of Leon’s climbing book, I thought this ride was going to be long, and steady all the way to the top. Well, truth is, the climb was long… yes, 45 miles, but steady, not so much. Crossing over old, and new lava fields, the road would have 0.1-mile

sections at 20-30%. At first, they weren’t that bad, until the wind began to pick up. Unlike Haleakala, Mauna Loa has no trees, or wind blockers. The wind would rush over the lava fields, right into my face, making the final 5 miles exceptionally difficult. The sounds the wind made was very spooky, something like an old house, with very poor insulation during a windstorm.

Finally after being on Mauna Loa Observatory for 17 miles, and a total of 45 miles of riding, I passed some spray paint on the road, marking the 11,000 feet elevation. The only other thing up there other than lava, and road was some very expensive weather equipment, and tents for the scientists to stay. The view over the Big Island was indescribable; looking down over the land from 11,000 feet has to be experienced first hand.

Riding on Mauna Loa Road

I thought about descending, but being barely able to even finish the climb, and having terrible side winds, the safe bet was to get a ride down. Along the way off of Mauna Loa, there were two other riders attempting to make the ascent (they started where Mauna Loa road begins, not in Hilo) they flagged us down, and asked to have us take their picture. I don’t know how far they actually made it, I hope telling them my story about starting in Hilo gave them some inspiration!

The decent of saddle road was scary, even in a car. The clouds moved in, and visibility was

At the top of Mauna Loa Road, 11,010 feet of climbing in 45 miles

down to about 75 feet. Going 60 MPH down a curvy, unpredictable road was not enjoyable. Once back in Hilo, and a stop at a burger joint, it was time for a nice shower, and relaxation!... until the next adventure arises.

 Rest day: Waterfalls 

"Rainbow Falls" right outside of Hilo

 Mauna Kea Climb… incredible

     In the morning comes packing up, and heading out for Kona. Along the way I have planned to stop at the Mauna Kea Access Road, and ride the final 7 miles of the climbing challenge. Since I have already done Mauna Loa (Literally the whole thing above ground at least… 45 miles and 11,010 feet of vertical ascent) I found it impractical to repeat the 27 miles of Saddle Road the two climbs share. The road up Mauna Kea is notorious for high winds, and steep climbing… incredibly STEEP climbing!!

Before the start of the climb. My challenge is in the background...
waiting....

After the 27-mile drive up Saddle Road, we turned off to a small parking lot used by hunters… I’m guessing they hunt Pigs, and Goats that run wild in Hawai’i. We then reassembled my bike, which actually turned out easier than expected, since things tend to go wrong when nothing can be done to fix them (which is the case 30 miles from the closest town). From then the ride began, I did a quick warm-up by going about a half a mile down saddle road, then back up. After the warm-up, and a quick photo before the ride (Just to prove I did actually attempt to start, just incase the winds blow me off the road). I attempted to go into the climb with the most momentum possible. I got my speed up to 19~20 MPH, which came down to a climbing speed of about 12 MPH directly after crossing the most poorly designed cattle guard in the world, with about a foot of space between each railing, I’m surprised it didn’t swallow me whole!

Mauna Kea Road at about 14%
(Mauna Loa is in the background with snow on its summit) 

After the cattle guard, the grade began to pick up. It remained 5-7% for about a mile, until the real Mauna Kea arrived. From then on, it was a grueling 10-17% for the remainder of the ride. My speed was around 5 MPH on the gnarly sections of road that would traverse “resting” cinder cones. It was ironic how I would call the 10% sections a “recovery period” but that’s how they tended to act. My legs would be able to recover, (as well as increase in cadence) helping me go a little faster, and get this ride from hell to heaven over with! But naturally, who wouldn’t save the best for last? The last 1.0 mile of paved road on Mauna Kea were the most difficult out of

At the Mauna Kea Visitors center.
the end of the ride for me,
"Hurricane force winds at the summit"

any ride I have ever done. Climbing from 8,359 feet to 9,100 feet, at about 15% Grade, the pain was incredible. I found myself going about 4.5-5 MPH, and drifting across the lane. It took me a total of 12 minutes to complete that ONE mile. Reaching the top (the visitors center), and having a road barrier to stop me from going any farther was a big relief! My final time for the access road climb was 43 minutes, and 45 second, pretty good despite the terrible windy conditions. At the visitors center, a man had set up a very large telescope, that was aimed at the sun, it was very interesting to look through, and see the “sunspots” and miniature solar flares.

Overall, throughout these climbs I felt surprisingly unaffected by altitude, being at 11,000 feet on Mauna Loa, 10,023 feet on Haleakala, and 9,100 feet on Mauna Kea, I expected to show signs of that elevation…  This adventure was incredible, showing the incredible challenges and beauty the world has to offer!

From Mauna Kea, the real size of Mauna Loa can be seen
The little line seen going up its side is Mauna Loa Access road ridden previously