Speeding down a Volcano! - Hawaii

The continuing tale…

I made sure every inch of my skin was covered with some form of padded clothing – In the early hours of the morning, at the height of 6,000 ft or more it can be very chilly on the side of a volcano.   The island of Maui was still awakening from the shadowy darkness and I think we were too?

Perched upon our bicycles my boyfriend, our mates and I released our brakes and let our wheels roll down the volcanic mountain towards the turquoise waters of the Pacific ocean.  Pedalling was not necessary.  The steep gradient quickly increased our bicycle speed ensuring that we concentrated on the twists and turns in the road…

We couldn’t escape the icy cold air buffering our padded clothing at the speed we were going.  We simply grinned and bared it.   As the road carved itself down the mountain we gazed at the edges of the island below, witnessing the sun stem into the sky warming the land with her glorious rays.

We all hollered and shouted out in delight like kids chasing each other.  The thrill of being chased enticed each one of us into wanting to be at the front.  The tactic of slip streaming  and then over-taking one another easily became a game of cat and mouse.

My huge helmet bobbed about and made it difficult to see at times,  my brakes were used on these occasions and I was grateful for them.  Keeping on the correct side of the road was a must.  Some of the tight bends could easily have you hit an oncoming vehicle if you were on the wrong side.

At one point one of our mates decided to cycle off-road for an extra thrill of excitement – he went around a corner and then I saw him go flying up off the road and onto the grassy mountain side.  He whizzed over the grass at top speed resembling Evel Knievel.  He cut out half the road with this crafty technique!

As the gradient of the road became less steep we found ourselves using the pedals more and more.  On a single speed low geared bike pedalling looks very comical.  All of us had our legs jutting out to our sides and were spinning non stop like a hamster running in its wheel!

As we began to warm up, racing each other became more of a challenge .  The padded clothing began to be stripped off and tied to our bodies.  The removed clothing flapped about behind us in the warming morning breeze like crazy moths fluttering in the breeze.

Civilisation began to pop up on the lower part of the volcanic mountain and we stopped at one of the few eateries for a belly warming breakfast.

We indulged on fluffy pancakes with oozes of maple syrup and enjoyed watching the playful birds from the window.  Back on our bicycles we continued to roll like balls down empty roads and past sleepy homes.  By now the sun had become very warm and the thought of the ocean appealed greatly.

We wheeled into a very picturesque village having its market day and enjoyed the buzz of the market. Lots of local produce was being sold and we purchased a couple of the many fresh coconuts.  The store holder happily opened the coconuts and we drank its delicious water greedily.

The smell of the sea was in the air… the rolling lessened and the pedalling increased.  The last leg of the cycle bought us to a rocky outcrop with crashing waves,  Waves that cruised in from the depths and hit the land with a force that made you sit up and notice…

As sat on our bicycles watching a small handful of brave surfers artfully riding the waves the sun beat down on our exposed skin.  It was almost as if the cold and the dark had never happened?

Wow! What a ride…

About these ads