Haleakala on Doroname(Dirt Licker in Japanese) my Gravel 

Pre-Haleakala Training Ride

From the Haleakala cottage to the Cliff.

Mauna Kea Impossible Route(From the Sea to the Sky & From Dawn Till Dusk)!!!

Quick Gravel Warm Up

First off, thanks to Hawaii Epic Cycling for sagging the ride in all the best ways. Chris DeMarchi  is the man. Also, a big thanks to his two helpers, Jessica and Flo. They each gave their best to me and for my journey of a lifetime. Truly, none of this would have been possible without each and every one of them!!!

I was picked up at 530am. Then, we made our way to  Waipio Valley road and the beach beneath it. I stuck my tire on the ocean and then made my way to Waipio Valley Road through the beach access, straight into a .9 of a mile climb with an average grade of around 23%, but with section as high as 30%. I rode the entire way but had to dismount after losing balance. After a few attempts, I was somehow able to restart on the massive climb. I'm not sure how I did that one? After that, I made my way to Mud Lane, which was a muddy rock garden that saw me losing traction and dismounting more than I'd like to admit. It was one of the two most challenging sections I've ever done in my 6 years of riding bikes. There was a lot of beauty and hard riding after that, but nothing of note until we came to the next rock garden section. Thank god it wasn't wet as well. It was rocks as for as the eye could see on a very steep and technical climb, that honestly, went on for many, many miles.

After the last, thank god, rock garden, there were rollers for days, they reminded me of Unbound so much!! There were very sketchy and technical descents with big rocks and think gravel that would attempt to wash out the front end and even kick the reat end out sideways, I had to be high alert  for these or it would have been lights out. After about 40 miles of this shit I finally made it to Mauna Kea access road. The pavement was such a grand sight, considering this ride was at least 90% gravel, dirt, and mud.

Chari rode all the way, 45 minutes from the airbnb to bring me my Sram Charger. For some reason, it went from green to 25 % during the ride, Chari, you arw my queen, and you rock. Charged the battery, Chari made her way home, and I started my 15 mile climb up Mauna Kea to finish my ride from the ocean to the sky.

By this point, I was starting to drag a little, and you know why, because the rock gardens took everything out of me. I was drained physically and mentally from the absolutely killer technical nature of those climbs. So, I rode up in zone 2 and thwn zone 1 for the entire climb. Thank god for Hawaii Epic Cycling and the beauty that surrounded me the entire way to keep my mind off of my suffering. At one point, I thought of all of you and my wife, reminding myself that each and every one of you were angels on my shoulders, and the wind on my back, pushing me towards success!!!

Once I got to the gravel section that was just graded and full of powdery gravel, every effort and thought went into finding the best line, and it was almost impossible. At one point, I went sideways to get to some rock showing through, and my tires just washed out, and I went down, making a gravel ride complete.😁 No real injuries besides two scrathes and, thankfully, no damaga to my kit or my ego.

After the gravel came the last 2.4 miles and 2400 feet of climbing, that was super tough, both mentally and physically, especially because the 30 degree weather up there made my asthma kick in. I was going to stop at a porty potty, but Chris told me, "The rangers just told him I had 45 minutes to get to the top before sunset, or I wouldn't finish, needless to say, I gave up on the potty and got right back on the bike. I pushed as hard as I could and made it to the top right at sunset. 

When I got there, there was a shitload of people watching the sunset. Almost everyone cheered for me, and even some took photos, I was so touched, and as always, superduper blessed. I hugged Jessica and hugged the guys when we got home, I wasn't sure if that was their thing, but they came to me. At some point, I need to go over to Chris's place in Kona to get my teophy. How amazing is this guy, for real!!!

This is by, not miles, but by lightyears harder than anything I've ever done on a bike and in my life!! The only problem now is this. I made such a huge step this time in a challenge that I'm not sure if I can ever outdo it, and that sort  of saddens me,
 because these sort of challenges are what I live for!!

Let's just finish this with one final thought.

Like I always say, go out, on a bike or not, and push yourself to limits that you never knew you were capable of. Only when you do this can you ever really know thy self. There's so much untapped potential in every single one of us. All I want for each and every one of you is to experience the joy and adulation that I get to experience when doing these things. It will make you a better human, more self aware, and best of all, the life you live will forever be changed for the absolute better!!!

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Huckleberry "It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." — Sir Edmund Hillary

Mauna Kea Impossible Route(From the Sea to the Sky & From Dawn Till Dusk)!!!

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Haleakala on Doroname(Dirt Licker in Japanese) my Gravel

Pre-Haleakala Training Ride

From the Haleakala cottage to the Cliff.

Mauna Kea Impossible Route(From the Sea to the Sky & From Dawn Till Dusk)!!!

Quick Gravel Warm Up

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