A recovery ride from the hotel in Wailea to the Iao Valley. Last year I did not do this ride as I took the day off to be with my family. I was excited about a new route, and to just ride in recovery mode instead of nearly full-gas as we’ve been every day so far. The pros might disagree that we were full-gas but such is the life of a pro. The East Maui Loop was a terrific experience and an awesome challenge for my legs. I needed an easy day.
The Iao Valley is beautiful. And just about the only road that actually goes into the West Maui mountains. The road itself is also very nice – new pavement with great flowing turns. It’s a steady climb from Wailuku (one of the only ‘cities’ on Maui) but nothing thigh-busting. Averaging just 4% over 4.5km. The first stretch feels steeper but from then on it’s a fun road to ride. I rode with the group for the first 1.5km and then took off to chase down one of our riders that went on a flyer. I ride much faster when I have a target.
After refuelling at the top of the climb we retraced our route back towards the hotel. Again we cruised along at a nice speed, riding as a group and chatting the whole time. It’s funny how quickly the beach scenes start to all look the same while you’re riding past at 35km/h. I tried to take in as much as I could but don’t have many memories of it now…
We rolled past the hotel and continued along the coast heading for Makena. There are some folks with mega-money living in these parts! 10,000 square foot homes on the ocean – nice. Very nice.
As we neared the end of the road we stopped for some photos and conversation. It was clear that everyone enjoyed the recovery ride, and that we all needed it.
