Hawaii: Surf to Summit

Cruising Maui's Coast and Mountain Roads

For a lesson in atmospheric physics, riding a motorcycle up a volcano is tough to beat. And Maui provides the perfect lab: the 40-mile, helter-skelter Haleakala Highway. Rising 10,000 feet in 40 miles, it's the longest continuous climb in North America. And they say it's just as long coming down.

Riding the volcano
Atmospheric physics? The temperature falls by 36 degrees from sea level to the viewpoint on the rim of Haleakala's crater. It was a balmy 70 when we hit the Highway at 4:00 am. You do the math. The air at the top was so thin, the oxygen atoms were joining singles' clubs.

Retreating from the summit in the early morning sun, I didn't begin to feel warm again until the tiny horse-ranching town of Makawao. Even so, I let my gloves linger on the Sportster's engine to force some heat to my fingertips while we idled at the town's only traffic signal. Sunday morning and awake since 3:00 am: I had an urgent appointment at Charley's Diner with a large mug of Kona coffee and a plate of huevos rancheros.

This was going to be a long day. They call it the Iron Butt – Island Style. OK, so it's only some 300 miles by road around Maui's coast (even if you add the assault of Haleakala), but you spend a lot of time in second gear. Thirteen hours would be a fast time....

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