Cycling Maui for Imua Family Services
190 miles.
22,600' climbed.
16 hours, 20 minutes.
$31,180 raised for Imua Family Services.
More specifically, funds went to their Dream Imua program, a program that grants wishes for Maui children facing challenging circumstances. You can check out the GoFundMe page by following this link.
I’m not sure I can completely articulate my gratitude to each and every one of you for pitching in to help spur on this ride project. This was an all-timer of a ride - and I'm not just talking about the bike.
Six weeks ago, I was nervous to launch this project. I'd never fundraised before, and I'd certainly never ridden a bike around this entire island. In fact, in talking to folks about the route since making this public, I know of only two who have done the 'Big 3' in one effort (West Maui Loop, East Maui Loop, and the Haleakala Climb), and none who have done this exact route. How would this idea be received? I wasn't sure.
I feel humbled by the amount of support and encouragement I felt from this community. Seeing the volume of donations come through, the positive replies to social media posts, and the increasing excitement I felt from my new friends at Imua Family Services...it all only helped continually refine my focus on driving every aspect of this project forward. And I'm shocked at what we were able to accomplish together.
We blew the doors off my initial fundraising goal of $2,500, and through all of your help in spreading the word, we generated over $1000 PER WEEK over the course of fundraising. Knowing that it all goes to benefit children on this beautiful island - and feeling the dedication and passion of the folks directly involved in managing Dream Imua - makes me feel SO proud of what we accomplished.
Locally, through the buzz we created here, I had a riding buddy (or motorcycle buddy, or tail vehicle) for all but about 10 of the 190 total riding miles. One of my goals in this project was to rally the cycling community here around an event, and hopefully inspire others to see Maui as a world-class place to ride a bike. I'm proud to feel like that goal was accomplished, as well.
And then there was the ride itself.
Huge thanks to my sister, Carrigan, and her partner, Jacob, for volunteering to shuttle me to the start location for a 1am go time - on my sister's birthday, no less. They then drove behind me from 1-5am - around ALL of West Maui - before heading back to bed while I zoomed on to my first Aid stop, 77 miles in.
I made extra sure to eat, eat, eat through these first few critical hours of the ride - the level of difficulty of the ride (from a climbing perspective) only increased the deeper in I'd get, so I could not let myself fall behind on nutrition early. For those interested, here's a list of what I consumed through the first 5 hours of the ride, including my first aid stop:
- 6 full bottles of water...each with 60g of carbs and 800mg of sodium in a hydration mix.
- 2 PB&Js
- 2 Clif Bars
- 2 Chocolate chip cookies
- 2 bananas
- 2 sports gels
- 1 sleeve of Clif energy chews
...and that's less than half of the ride length. Ultra-long rides are as much of an eating contest as they are about riding a bike! After a warm welcome by Imua staff at 5:45am at Aid 1 - and a quick hello from a fellow cyclist who had ridden across the island at 4:45am to say hi (THANK YOU, JUDE!), I continued east. In Haiku, I met new friend Josh, who had flown in from Oahu the previous night, built up his bike, and was ready to roll at 6am. He'd become my riding buddy for the next 110 miles around the East Maui Loop (otherwise known as the Road to Hana). The sun slowly came up as we cruised along the tight, windy, lush rainforest roads, casting dramatic colors and shadows on the vegetation-dense, misty coastline. At that hour on a Sunday, vehicle traffic was particularly light, making for a breathtaking ride.
After a quick Aid 2 stop near the town of Hana - highlighted by Rainelle from Imua Family Services having coconut water to drink...from an actual coconut - we curved around the easternmost point of Maui and headed west again. My body and mind were still feeling strong, now 120+ miles in. Riding with a friend, having stocked aid stops, and riding in a truly spectacular place helps in that regard.
A ripping tailwind helped Josh and I power through the wide-open, dry, hot, prairie land-like landscape that defines the south side of Haleakala volcano, known as the backside of Hana. The hills were punchy and frequent as we slowly started climbing up from sea level, but huge gusts of wind helped propel us onwards and upwards...indeed, I did not have to pedal the final few feet of a couple of short climbs, as the wind simply carried me. I've ridden in a lot of wind on Maui...this was one of the strongest winds I've experienced.
We hit Aid 3 at mile ~155, where we picked up another local rider, Pete. Two friends of mine also zoomed out on their motorcycles to say hello, zip around us for a while (roads are quiet out there!), and take some fun footage that I'm excited to share when we get that dialed in.
Pete, Josh, and I pushed onward and began to spiral up (north and east) toward the turn onto Crater Road, which kicks off the final 22 miles of the famous 36-mile climb up Haleakala. At the turn, we said goodbye to Josh, and picked up two other riders...new friend Jake, and Oli from Oli Oli pizza - decked out with his e-bike, t-shirt, and purple flip-flops. We cruised up with Oli for a mile before he turned around...his world-famous pizzas needed tending to!
The final few miles of the climb were brutal. I expected nothing less. 12+ hours of steady riding into a relentlessly uphill climb, one in which it only became colder, wetter, and windier as we ascended. The gradient naturally caused pace to slow dramatically, which made the summit feel horribly far away. Stops became more frequent. I could feel my stomach starting to turn. Food and water became increasingly difficult to consume. Oftentimes, I found myself just staring at Pete or Jake's wheel ahead of me on the road. Just follow that wheel. Just pedal, and follow.
The motivation to continue came from my fellow riders, and friends who started driving past on their way to the summit. This was not something I'd thought about in the planning of this ride...that anyone who would be at the summit for the finish would HAVE to pass me as I climbed. Many made the effort to drive up and down past us as we climbed, shouting words of encouragement, or blasting music. That support brought tears to my eyes more than once.
And then, it was over. A brief (it was freezing!) yet beautiful celebration of success at the summit with a wonderful collection of people announced the end of this project.
It's one I'll never forget for as long as I live. Thank you for being a part of it. I deeply, deeply, appreciate it.
While this may be the end of this particular ride project, the fire within me to inspire and create community through cycling burns brighter than ever. I'll see you for the next one!
