It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:35 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 13 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Aloha from the Aiea Loop
PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 10:06 am 
Offline
Active Participant
Active Participant

Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:18 pm
Posts: 165
Given: 12 thanks
Received: 954 thanks
Bike(s): Intense 6.6 / Spider
Favorite Trails: Palm Canyon
I love it when things just fall in place. I had to "work" in Hawaii this week and was hoping squeak in a ride during the trip. I had a early flight on Tuesday and found myself on the ground at lunch time. There was no delay in getting my baggage and the rental car thing went really smooth. I already knew where I was renting a bike during this visit so went by there picked up and decently equipped hardtail that was basically brand new. It was right about this time that I realized that I forgot to bring my clipless pedals. Cleated bike shoes and flats pedals don't mix well so my next stop was to local bike shop where I picked up a set of SPD pedals on the cheap. I was all set to squeak in that ride when the opportunity presented itself. A look at my watch revealed that opportunity was now and the trailhead was just a few miles a way. The sky was filled with ominous looking clouds but what the heck, the temps were nice and it was not raining right now so time to get some trail while I can.

Image

I had done the Aiea Loop before which was good as I did not have much of a daylight buffer for exploring. Having all much my gear stuffed into luggage it looked like a yard sale around my car I was pulling stuff out all over the place to get to everything. Soon I was in the correct garb and ready to head out. The last time I rode here was in 2004 and I remembered lots of roots. Yeah lots of roots. Back in 2004 this trail was my first exposure to roots galore and I remembered it being monumentally frustrating. Since then I have had a lot more exposure to riding this type of stuff so the roots where down into the challenging category.

Image

For the first 1.6 miles of of this loop you are climbing some good and twisty singletrack. I have been fighting off some chest and sinus congestion for the past week so the "redline" on the cardio side of the house was much lower than normal. Get anywhere near that line for line would quickly turn into a wheezing, hacking mess. This meant I really got to enjoy the climb as despite the overcast, the scenery was nice with lush vegetation all around.
Image

That lush vegetation however does hide some often precarious exposure that could net you a long tumble down a steep hillside should you blow a move or turn.

Image

Once I reached the highpoint , the fun really got to going as a good chuck of the rest of the route was downhill. The flowing singletrack typically bench cut in the side of the steep hillsides so there was little room for error along the trail. I had gotten into flow of the trail and was zipping along quite nicely when the bike gave me a quick reminder that it was not one of trusty full suspension bikes. I took a root drop that was a little bigger than it looked from up the trail and soon found myself riding a compressed fork nose wheelie for way too far before slamming the rear wheel back and nearly jolting myself off the bike. After getting the bike to a stop, I starting laughing so hard that I sent myself in another round of congestion hacks and coughs. Any near miss that you can laugh at is good in my book.

Image

It was not long before I was back at the trailhead where I cleaned up a bit and did the yard sale thing in reverse and headed out for the hotel. What a great way to start a business trip.

_________________
www.MountainBikeBill.com


Top
 Profile  
 
The following 15 users would like to thank MTBBill for his or her post:
24v, bajamtnbkr, Brian, Canaan, evdog, kettlebell, OhNooo, OldDogDan, quiksilver_ben3, Ratigan, Red Hot Sloth, sierragoldens, singletrackmitch, slingshot, wirk242
PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 10:26 am 
Offline
Moderately Obsessed
Moderately Obsessed
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:35 am
Posts: 695
Location: San Diego
Given: 781 thanks
Received: 783 thanks
Bike(s): Pivot Firebird, Highline
Favorite Trails: All
The last time I rode on the Islands was in 1995, your photos are motivating me to book a fight out there.
It looks like your remote camera setup is working vary well.
Have a fun and safe trip Bill :cheers:

_________________
"No matter where you go there you are" BUCKAROO BANZAI
My Pinkbike page http://www.pinkbike.com/u/lambertphoto


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 10:44 am 
Offline
Obsessed
Obsessed
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:39 pm
Posts: 3407
Location: Ocean Beach
Given: 2423 thanks
Received: 7322 thanks
Bike(s): Revel Rail, Spur, Carver Ti,
Favorite Trails: Hmm........
I've always read Hawaii doesn't have much for good MTB trails. Do you find that to be the case Bill, or is there stuff that's kept on the DL? Thanks for the pics


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:29 pm 
Offline
Active Participant
Active Participant

Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 7:45 am
Posts: 359
Given: 173 thanks
Received: 240 thanks
Two questions:

1. What do you do for a living?
2. Is your company hiring?

Great pics...


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 12:32 am 
Offline
Active Participant
Active Participant

Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:18 pm
Posts: 165
Given: 12 thanks
Received: 954 thanks
Bike(s): Intense 6.6 / Spider
Favorite Trails: Palm Canyon
evdog wrote:
I've always read Hawaii doesn't have much for good MTB trails. Do you find that to be the case Bill, or is there stuff that's kept on the DL? Thanks for the pics


I hear that the best trails are not on Oahu but on the Big Island and Maui. I have only ridden a couple of places over the years so I can't assess the island overall. I'm going to be out here for a month this summer so I sure I get a better feel then. I have not cracked the code on DL but I understand there is a bunch of it.

_________________
www.MountainBikeBill.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 9:30 am 
Offline
Moderately Obsessed
Moderately Obsessed
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 4:51 pm
Posts: 1600
Given: 666 thanks
Received: 1790 thanks
Favorite Trails: teh gnar
nice tr.

_________________
strava:instagram:activejunky


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:19 pm 
Offline
Moderately Obsessed
Moderately Obsessed
User avatar

Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:56 am
Posts: 857
Given: 1973 thanks
Received: 1352 thanks
Bike(s): Mojo HD140, Niner One
Favorite Trails: Sierra High Route
Nice pics Bill. Roots, rocks, reggae.

Pics remind me of local stuff actually....as in the bottom of Trubuco/Horsethief and lower Holy Jim......the tunnel of vines, large ferns, lush veg, etc.

Cant tell for sure, but is that left-over carnage on the right knee? :)


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 9:18 pm 
Offline
Active Participant
Active Participant
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:27 pm
Posts: 174
Location: San Diego
Given: 75 thanks
Received: 172 thanks
Bike(s): Intense
Favorite Trails: Anything
Looks amazing!!!

What Island where you on?

If it's Oahu, I got to do it next year with my cousin, he's a loal there and rides an Intense Tracer.
Great pics.

Cheers, Harry

_________________
http://www.imountainbiketrails.com/Site ... _Home.html


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:00 pm 
Offline
Active Participant
Active Participant

Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:18 pm
Posts: 165
Given: 12 thanks
Received: 954 thanks
Bike(s): Intense 6.6 / Spider
Favorite Trails: Palm Canyon
sierragoldens wrote:
Cant tell for sure, but is that left-over carnage on the right knee? :)


No carnage on this one, just dirt. I put a knee down while digging through my pack. If you wipe out on that red dirt, it pretty much stains/dyes your clothes a shade of that color. Tough pigments in that stuff.

_________________
www.MountainBikeBill.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 9:58 pm 
Offline
Obsessed
Obsessed
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:35 pm
Posts: 3769
Location: Variable
Given: 5013 thanks
Received: 5052 thanks
Bike(s): Carbine
Favorite Trails: The Googliest
Me and the wife are headed to Maui tomorrow. So far, I have her agreeing to ride a mountain bike with me - first time in 4 years! We will probably do the Skyline trail down from Haleakela later in the week.

_________________
"We'll ride it until they pave it."

-Big Clyde

Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 7:19 pm 
Offline
Moderately Obsessed
Moderately Obsessed
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:09 pm
Posts: 1100
Location: Ramona
Given: 442 thanks
Received: 2590 thanks
Bike(s): RIP9, Nomad
Favorite Trails: Backcountry
MTBBill wrote:
I'm going to be out here for a month this summer so I sure I get a better feel then.

Sounds like a great family vacation paid for buy the boss.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 7:42 pm 
Offline
Active Participant
Active Participant

Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:18 pm
Posts: 165
Given: 12 thanks
Received: 954 thanks
Bike(s): Intense 6.6 / Spider
Favorite Trails: Palm Canyon
GP_pilot wrote:
MTBBill wrote:
I'm going to be out here for a month this summer so I sure I get a better feel then.

Sounds like a great family vacation paid for buy the boss.


That is certainly the plan. With the current state of the economy there is a good stock of vacation rentals chasing the tourist bucks. I'm looking to bring the family out for two weeks while I'm working there.

_________________
www.MountainBikeBill.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:19 pm 
Offline
Obsessed
Obsessed
User avatar

Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:38 pm
Posts: 2036
Location: Bonita
Given: 223 thanks
Received: 848 thanks
Bike(s): IH 6.6 & Sunday,Giant XTC
Favorite Trails: Any ST with nice flow.
Great TR Bill :bang:

_________________
If you have any Real Estate questions, or looking to buy or sell a home, PM me.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 13 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group