Maui Wowee!

[pdedse]

Don't often get to see Hawaii experiences. Very nice.

[SneakyFast]

Well chronicled; very enjoyable read, MTC -

Did you go up to Haleakala for sunrise on the motorcycles? That is one twisty road - I can't imagine riding it in the dark

[emptysea]

The Rest of Our Day


Here's a picture of our route.

https://scenicapp.space/viewRide.php?rid=cqpGcpXJ
This link will allow you to zoom in and will show a few stats, but I did not think to set up my tracking app that keeps more precise data and which produces an interactive map. -- looks like I'll just have to go back sometime for the betterment of the Seat Time thread.

You'll see the town of Paia at the top centerish. Hana is at the far right side of the picture. The road that connects those towns is the paved section of the Hana Highway and it is a magnificent stretch of road. As I said, I think a very early morning run would be the best chance to have real motorcycle fun here, but it's so beautiful that entrance, exit, and overall speed were of no concern to us.

You may think for a second that we did a figure-8. We did not. You may have to look at the linked map to see that we kept the Pacific to our right the entire ride.


Just outside or Paia is Ho'okipa Park Beach. It's one of the more famous surfing beaches on the island, so therefore one of the more famous surfing beaches on the planet. I'm not a surfer. My brother is. He's surfed here many times by his text message to me that day said that now that he's a little older and a lot less bolder he surfs at a slighly quieter beach about 5 miles on the other side of Paia. BTW, I think the actual pronunciation is Pah-EE-ah not Pie-A-ah as previously reported. They took my money with a smile either way, though, so it's all good.

The weather was looking not as great as we would like and we still needed to get back with the bikes by 5:00 so my hope of having a cigar at Ho'okipa and watching some of the best surfers ride some pretty big surf was quashed by the time we arrived there. I did get a few photos here.




There is at least one surfer in the water in at least one of the above photos. You can play "Duude...where's Waldo?" if you would like.

Our timing for the beach stop was bad because the next set of big waves came in as we were pulling out of the parking area. I saw 3 or 4 surfers pop up on the waves, but could not get a pic while navigating the sandy uphill exit to the lot.

We navigated through the cute little town of Paia and then the not so cute or little airport town of Kahului and on to Kahekili Highway (HI 340), which Tony and I just called "The North Road", for the trip around the northernmost end of Maui. Hard to put a number to this, but I'd say that was 3-4 times as technical as any part of the Hana Highway, including the unpaved portions we encountered dropping down from upcountry to oceanside. Stunning views. Narrow but nicely paved road. Cars that generally pulled over to let us pass. All of that on the good side. A rain that had fallen just before we got there, washing the roads with a thin layer of wet red sand from the mountain walls was all that was on the bad side and that was enough.

I am not as skilled a motorcyclist as most reading this. Tony is and even though he was on a bike better suited for the conditions, he said it was nerve-racking. One-lane downhill switchbacks with signs on both ends saying "Yield to Oncoming Traffic". Pretty crazy stuff, but nothing that had me truly scared until the "oncoming traffic" was a small school bus whose driver either didn't see me or thought I was supposed to yield to him. I did. I yielded to him in the apex of a downhill left to right hairpin. Came to a complete stop, trying to keep my body weight back on the bike while the bike wanted to toss me over the bars like it was PBR Tour bull. But I stopped. Bus driver waved to me meekly as he completed his uphill left hand turn from the outside lane. Took me a second to get my confidence up to let off the brakes and get the bike turned around the rest of the corner, but I did it without dropping it which is to say that I successfully navigated the turn. Just not stylishly. Rear tire slipped out on the very next switchback and any self-confidence I had left slipped out with it. I sort of limped my way though a few more of these tight turns until the pavement was a little drier and the turns maybe not quite as tight. I began to feel like I knew what I was doing again.


This was the only yellow bus I was happy to see on the North Road. This photo was taken for my second-best riding pal (you know who the first is, I hope) who I wish was riding with us on this adventure.





Stunning Views. Nicely Paved Roads. All that was on the plus side.

From where it starts to get really twisty until it mellows out, about 22 miles from just north of Kahului to just north of Kapalua, Kahekili Highway is easily the most technical riding I have done. It was also the most beautiful route I've ever ridden.

We got the bikes back at 4:50 and that's when we learned about the road restrictions in the rental agreement. Steve seemed not care since the bikes were returned in good condition; not sure he would have cared that much even if they weren't.

We headed back to Paia the next day, but in our rental car, to have dinner at Mama's Fish House. I'll post a couple of pics from there later. Probably the best dining experience I've ever had.

I have a lot of friends who have been to Maui. My brother has gone there every year for the last 40 years. Since I've been back everyone has been asking me about the highlights. The conversation goes something like this:
Me: "We saw the sunrise at Haleakala"
Them: "Me too! It was amazing!"
Me: "We went to Mama's Fish House for dinner."
Them: "Me too! It was amazing!"
Me: "We had Mai Tais at Monkypod".
Them: "Me too! They were amazing!"
Me: "We rode motorcycles around the island from Ka'anapali to Hana and then from Hana all the way back along the north shore.
Them: "Wait, what?!?"

Lots of memories from this trip. Not a bad one in the bunch. I'm glad that I have similar experiences to share with so many of my friends and family, but there's something special in the relative rarity of what Tony and I did February 1, 2024. I hope that when my memory begins to wane that this motorcycle trip lingers. Except for the part about the school bus.

More, non-mc related, Maui photos to follow.

Thanks for following along.

[Gone in 60]

Man, what a cool trip! The roads look rather well paved and maintained. Lots of twists and turns for sure!
No doubt the memories of the ride will stick with you.
So, big question is, do you want an MT07 now? Or take-it-or-leave-it?

[emptysea]

MT07 mini-review. Fun bike. Very much "lighter" feeling than the CB1100. Ergos felt very similar to the CB, but I bet they measure out to be very different. I think that the CB1100 would have been less forgiving during my under-confident stretch, but then again, being on a familiar bike may have made up the difference. I liked the MT07, but I don't want to own one. Ask me about the BMW 850 GS I'll be riding for 10 days in Scotland, though. That might be a great second bike for me (although, I'm intrigued by the Honda Transalp, too).

[Gone in 60]

Thanks, Empty. I see a lot of MT07s running around in traffic here. Seems like a perfect commuter bike, but not cheap, even used (MY definition of "not cheap", not most people's).

Scotland? Geez dude, just keep makin' me jealous, why don't ya? I have lots of rental miles on the F750 and F850GS, running up and down the West Coast for MotoQuest. All-day comfortable for me, smooth, the only issue I have is fiddling with the windscreen to reduce buffeting at highway speed.

Get used to this view...

[emptysea]

Sunrise to Sunset


Haleakala Sunrise, January 27, 2004





Monkeypod...
...is a type of tree that is indigenous to Hawaii. It is also the name of a bar on Maui that serves one of the best Mai Tais on the planet.



A Mai Tai usually is a combination of light and dark rum, orange liquor, ogreat (an almond syrup), and lime juice. Monkeypod tops theirs honey-lilikoi (passion fruit) foam. The result is a fun, flavorful, and quite boozy drink; a combination that can lead to many poor decisions. Most of ours involved spending money at the stores surrounding the bar.


Purchasing Maui Jim sunglasses after a couple of Mai Tais would probably be considered one of those poor decisions on paper, but in reality, it was a pretty great one.

Castaway Cafe...
... is an "Old-Hawaii" diner. Family owned and run. Like stepping back into the 1940s.




EOM with SPAM, Portuguese sausage, and rice. Just about Hawaiian as a breakfast can be. Fun fact - A portion of SPAM has roughly 5 times the amount of sodium as a portion of bacon.

Mama's Fish House...
...is one of the most beautiful restaurants I've ever been to. Service was exquisite, food was delicious, the setting was stunning. I did not take too many photos here and almost none of our food. I regret that, but you can do a google search to see what we saw. It won't be the same as being there, though. You won't be able to taste the ocean breezes, or run your hand over the hand-crafted bar or sense that you are the most important person in your waiter's life at the moment he's talking with you. Or, but I have a photo of this, know what it's like to kiss your beautiful wife in such a beautiful setting.


My shirt was another "poor decision" made after the Monkepod Mai Tai stop.

Beach Time


Got to watch surfers from the beach in front of our condo. My brother says that it's very rare to have good surf along this beach. I took my time to enjoy the view and a very good cigar. Yes, I was more interested in a good picture of my cigar than a good picture of the surfer. LOL


Not all the beaches are sandy, but they all are beautiful. Note to my photogs: this shot was taken with my iPhone. the only adjustment aside from a slight crop was to bring up the brightness a bit. Pretty lucky.


Photographers talk about the golden hour. I guess I know what that is now. This one is only cropped - no adjustments at all as I recall.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Stellar images, MTC.


Note to self:

To get MTC to buy you sumthin', offer him sacrifices of Mai Tais, then together go shopping afterwards.

[Gone in 60]

Dude, you're killin' me with these pictures. That's the most beautiful place I've ever seen, and I've never been there.

Only consolation I do have is that Mrs. G makes one heckuva Mai Tai.

[pdedse]

Very fun photos...a cigar never looked so inviting.