Our first morning in Maui was a fun one. We got up at 2:00 am Hawaii time and headed up to meet Haleakalā Bike Co. for our bike trip starting in Haleakalā National Park.
We chose the “Sunrise Special Trip” that included a sunrise experience. If you are ever in Maui, this is the one thing I recommend you MUST do. I was scared at first when I was told I was going to bike 23 miles down a mountain on a road that cars frequently drive on. This experience was safe, fun and definitely something I will do again!
After we checked in at Haleakalā Bike Company, we suited up for our adventure. We picked up helmets, jackets, gloves and backpacks. We got in a van with about 15 other people and headed up to Haleakalā’s 10,023 feet summit to view the sunrise at the rim of the crater. You probably wondered why we needed gloves and jackets in Maui, right? This is why. It is freezing at the top of the mountain. It is recommended that you dress in layers for this trip. I started with the jacket they gave us and a sweatshirt. By the time we reached the bottom, I was in a tank top.
The freezing temperature and lack of sleep didn’t matter when the sun started to rise. The view was incredible.
After snapping pictures and time lapse vides of the sunrise, we headed back down to our drop off location. We started outside of the Haleakalā National Park entrance at 6,500 feet. Our group consisted of my two brothers, their friend, my sister-in-law, my boyfriend, my dad and me. Of course the boys started full speed down the mountain while the girls and my dad stayed in the back. It was scary at first trying to adjust to the bike heading fast down a curvy mountain but I eventually got the hang of it. We could see the a portion of Maui’s coastline and land. It was insane how high up we were!
We got a few drone shots of the family heading down and then made our first stop at Maui Lavender Cafe. This little shop was just outside the path of eucalyptus trees and attached to a lavender field. We stopped in to pick up a few Lavender treats and toxic-free products. I had lavender lemonade and a slice of banana bread. My family also shared a few cinnamon rolls that were delicious!
We hopped back on our bikes and continued to ride down the mountain. We were on main roads so we had to be aware of cars passing. Luckily, this wasn’t an issue for us as the locals see bikers everyday. We passed churches, schools, farms and homes on our path. We even saw a sweet horse that we stopped to take pictures with.
The bike down was so much fun. We arrived back at the meeting spot around 10:30 am. We were asked to be back before 4:00 pm so we could’ve explored more if we wanted too. However, I think we saw a lot that morning.
I will say it again…you must do this bike tour if you are in Maui! Do not worry about it being strenuous if you are not active. I am far from being active and this adventure was not challenging for me. Also, if you think the early morning schedule just won’t work for you, try scheduling this trip on the first or second day you arrive. Since we were traveling from Eastern Time Zone, the Hawaii-Aleutian Time did not bother us much.
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