I listened yesterday to a news report on the local public radio news station detailing growing gripes from locals over the bike tours that descend from Haleakala each morning after sunrise. The tours ride the serpentine descent down the 10,000 foot dormant volcano wearing ridiculous jumpsuits and crash helmets befitting pro motocross racers rather than weekend warriors on the loose in the dangerous confines of Maui. Locals are complaining the tours are clogging up traffic on the road, particularly the trailing buses that follow the bikers down to the conclusion of the tour in Paia. There are now 19 tours that leave each morning, most with 10 riders (each paying between $100 and $125 for the privilege) or more, in staggered descents, according to one of the bike tour company owners.

That’s down by half from last fall, when Haleakala National Park administrators cracked down on the tours after witnessing first hand horrendous traffic congestion on the road up and down the mountain. One interesting tidbit that did surprise me – according to Maui hospitals, 1-3 tour riders lose control of their bikes and end up in a local ER! That blew me away. When I took this tour it was painfully slow going down. But maybe the downhillers are actually doing something more intrepid than I imagined – or they are rubbernecking the ocean views too much and wiping out in the lava strewn pastures at this alarming clip.

AP Article on Haleakala Controversy

Image via Maui Downhill

—Alex, 10/31/06