Sunday, March 12, 2023

The Hardest Bike Climb in the World | Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaiʻi. Its peak is 13,803 ft (4,207m) above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaiʻi. Moreover, measured from its base at the bottom of the ocean, Mauna Kea is 30,610 ft (9,330 m), and some argue the largest peak in the world. Along with all that, Mauna Kea is "Biggest Climb" you can do on a bike (Strava Mauna Kea Segment).
The sun rising over Mauna Kea from our Airbnb
There are five volcanoes on Hawaiʻi that are revered as sacred mountains; and Mauna Kea's summit, the highest, is the most sacred. For this reason, a kapu (ancient Hawaiian law) restricted visitor rights to high-ranking aliʻi. Hawaiians associated elements of their natural environment with particular deities. In Hawaiian mythology, the summit of Mauna Kea was seen as the "region of the gods", a place where benevolent spirits reside. Poliʻahu, deity of snow, also resides there. "Mauna Kea" is an abbreviation for Mauna a Wākea and means "white mountain," in reference to its seasonally snow-capped summit.

With its high elevation, dry environment, and stable airflow, Mauna Kea's summit is one of the best sites in the world for astronomical observation. Since the creation of an access road in 1964, 13 telescopes funded by 11 countries have been constructed at the summit. In 2023, there are 11 observatories active and operating. The Mauna Kea Observatories are used for scientific research across the electromagnetic spectrum and comprise the largest such facility in the world. Their construction on a landscape considered sacred by Native Hawaiians continues to be a topic of debate to this day. 
The observatories at the summit of Mauna Kea
A July 2022, state law responds to the protests by removing sole control over the master land lease from the University of Hawaiʻi. After a joint transition period from 2023 to 2028, control will shift to the new Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, which will include representatives from the University, astronomers, and native Hawaiians. [1]

Biking Mauna Kea
This is hands down, and by far, the hardest bike climb in the world. My route begins at Waikōloa Beach, with the waves of the Pacific Ocean lapping at the shore, and my goal is the summit of Mauna Kea, 55 miles away and 13,803 ft above sea level. This ride is nearly always going up, along the 55 miles, there are only 275 ft of descent. The environment on this route is ever changing, starting at manicured resorts and golf courses to lava fields and up to the lunar landscape in the final 10 miles of the climb. At the top of Mauna Kea, you will have 42% less oxygen available as you climb the final miles at grades reaching 16%. The last 14.5 miles, on Mauna Kea Access Road, goes from 6,588 ft to the summit at 13,802 ft averages 9.5% (this segment alone qualifies as the #4 hardest world bike climb).

Something for the number nerds, statistics for the climb from Waikōloa Beach to the summit of Mauna Kea: 
1.02 miles at -7.5 to -2.5 %
15.27 miles -2.5 to 2.5%
25.94 miles at 2.5 to 7.5 %
7.88 miles at 7.5 to 12.5 %
2.97 at 12.5% and more
Planning 
Biking up Mauna Kea has been an idea in the back of my head for many years. The ride was spurred into action when Cory (an ultra-endurance biking buddy) reached out to a few like-minded folks to schedule a trip. Cory and I made plans to ride it together in late-February 2023. This worked great since this is our traditional week for vacation and Hawaiʻi is our favorite destination. Cory was working with a local service for ride support and I was happy to have Lisa's support. Support is a key part of this ride since there are no places to stop for water or food along the route and you should expect it to take over 8 hours on the bike and likely 10+ hours total time. 

We had Lizz (our daughter) and Shea (our son-in-law) to join us on this trip. Making for a fun family vacation. 

Training/Prep
August 22, 2022 I rode up Old Fall River Rd in Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, CO. This was a solo training ride to get ready for Mauna Kea. I had a few goals, starting with making sure my body could handle the effort of climbing at high elevation; testing out my new bike travel bag; and test the tires I bought for Maua Kea. 

The day before my ride up Old Fall River Rd, Lisa and I took a 9 mile hike from 7,400 ft to 10,600 ft and back, and my heart rate averaged 100 bpm. So with hiking, I never felt stressed by the thin air. 

Early in the morning, I got on my bike at our hotel in Estes Park and rode to Rocky Mountain National Park to find Old Fall River Rd. The 8.5 miles of paved roads getting to Old Fall River Rd were nice and quiet in the early morning and had me climb over 1,000 ft just to getting to Old Fall River Rd. 

Old Fall River Rd is a one-way gravel road that climbs from 8,600 ft to over 11,500 ft with an average grade of 6.8%. I could feel the effort of the climb, but never felt over stressed or unusually out of breath. Also, I was grateful to have Lisa follow me up the road with our rental car to offer support and capture some great photos.
Old Fall River Rd above the tree line, near the top
Reviewing my training goals:
  • I'm totally happy with my fitness and ability to handle biking steep roads at high altitude.
  • My new Thule RoundTrip bag worked great for my bike, and this bag includes a simple bike stand making assembling/disassembling the bike so much easier.
  • I was very happy with my Bianchi on 32mm GravelKing SK tires, but after this ride I talked with some experts that let me know that the unpaved parts of Mauna Kea will demand 38mm or larger tires ... since my Bianchi is maxed out with 32 mm tires, I'll bring my Breezer gravel bike with 50mm gravel tires (sorry Infinito).
The Ride | February 27, 2023 

Starting at Waikōloa Beach
The Start at Waikōloa Beach
We planned to meet Cory and his support driver at Waikōloa Beach for a 6:00 start. But Lisa and I could not find the public access to the beach (the entire Waikōloa resort area is a maze of dead-ends with security gates, not the Aloha Spirt at all!) I contacted Cory and told him that he should start without me, and this worked out best for both of us, because Cory is a stronger rider than me. We saw Cory rolling out but still couldn't find the beach access ... pro tip: just look for the Lava Lava Beach Club to find the public beach access. We finally found the beach access after many wrong turns, and I rolled out at 6:20. The first couple miles getting out of Waikōloa had me very focused on my map, there are so many options to get lost with a gate blocking your path, but I was able to get out without a wrong turn. Of all the things I obsessed about for this ride, finding the start point was never on my mind, not once. 

Waikōloa Road
The first leg of the climb felt great and I was so happy that the winds were mild after days of gale warnings. Lisa stopped to check on me right before Waikōloa Village, about 45 minutes into the ride. I felt great and wanted to push on, getting as many feet below me as possible while I was fresh and the day was cool. 

Mamalahoa Hwy
This short 3-mile leg was very stressful, with narrow/no shoulder and highway speeds. Traffic was light and only a couple stressful vehicle passes. This road offers the only significate breaks in the relentless climb. 

Daniel K Inouye Hwy - Saddle Road
This road has a nice wide shoulder but with 60 mph speed limit. Saddle Road was a long slog of 6% grades with long stretches of 7% and 8%. I felt fine, but had a hard time keeping my power down to my at my target pace, and my heart rate was above my goals. I'm not sure exactly why I was riding above my pacing targets, and I knew it at the time and still couldn't get myself to slow down without constantly checking my numbers on the Garmin. Around mile 39 (4 hours from the beach), the road flattens out for a short while, but I was hit by a strong headwind and some light rain. What should have been an easy section of the route was anything but easy battling into the wind.
Saddle Rd and one of the countless trucks passing
Mauna Kea Access Rd
Turning on to the access road, I felt good, but I knew I had put a lot of work into my legs. Lisa was stopped there and I used this stop to get my warmer layers out, including long-sleeved wool jersey, wind vest, and gloves. Also she let me know that Cory was at the visitor's center, waiting for them to reopen the summit access road, it was closed due to ice/snow.
As I started up the access road, it didn't take long for the road to kick hard, and I had the first thoughts that this ride was going to be too much for me and my bike on this day. 
Riding up the access road, it's amazing as the terrain starts to looks like the Colorado Rockies, and nothing like Hawaiʻi. I rode up into clouds, through the mist, before looking down on the clouds ... I've never experienced anything like that on a bike. 
In the last mile to the visitor center, the road holds 16-17% and kicks to 18%. I dismounted to walk the stretch, I was outta gears and I couldn't get my heart rate down. I'd take 5 minute break to recover, and as soon as I rolled out, my heart rate would be right up to the redline in a minute. Adding insult, I noticed that my pace slowed so much that my Garmin went into auto-pause and lost some of my effort on this steepest part of the climb. 
Feeling Crushed
Getting back on the bike and started again is HARD with these grades, this helped me understand why the pro riders get a push when the need to change bikes on a steep climb. 
Just after remounting my bike, I see Lizz come running down the road from the visitor's center, cheering me on ... making my heart so happy! I rolled into the visitor's center to find Cory under a blanket in the back of the support driver's vehicle. He's trying to stay warm until they reopen the summit road. 

Visitor's Center
9,200 feet of climbing from the Pacific Ocean
The Mauna Kea visitor's center is at 9,200 feet, I rolled in feeling rough and decided to call it the end of my ride. I'm happy I didn't wreck myself going too deep. I could've started the ride past the visitor center, but I can't image I would have made it very far. 

Chris, Shea, Lisa & Lizz at the Summit of Mauna Kea
I changed into warmer gear and we drove our Jeep to the summit. Only 4WD vehicles can go to the summit, and there are park rangers there to check that your vehicle is qualified and that you know how to use it. The road above the visitor's center is steep, exposed, and very intimidating. At the summit, I was feeling weak and a little light headed with the altitude and fatigue. We saw Cory on his way up, we stopped to get some pictures ... super impressed with his effort climbing to the summit! 
Cory near the summit
Thank you! 
Big mahalo to Lisa for all the support and planning out our vacation around this crazy adventure. Lisa is a passionate and well-qualified support driver, I couldn't ask for any better! Also loved having Lizz and Shea drive up to join us for the last miles to the visitor's center and the drive up to the summit. 
Tonka Cycle & Ski was great help getting my Breezer in top form for this ride. 
Lisa with her trusty Jeep Gladiator (rented through Turo with specific permission for Mauna Kea - rental car companies will not approve you using their vehicles past the visitor's center)
Odd & Ends ... and Random Stats
My route 
My ride was 5:09 moving time; and 6:22 total time from the beach.
My ride was 47 miles and total of 9,462 ft of climbing (some data lost with my Garmin auto-pausing).
I burned an estimated 3,900 calories. 
The roads on this route are heavily traveled, I rode with my Garmin Varia (radar) and it counted 571 vehicles that passed me on my ride. 
Temperatures ranged from nearly 80°F climbing the Saddle Rd to 50°F at the visitor's center. 
I found it challenging to grab a bottle since there's no freewheeling on a non-stop climb. I had to think more about my hand position while grabbing the bottle to avoid conflict with my leg. 
Strava segments statistics, this highlights the limited number of athletes riding Mauna Kea:
My climbing experience:
  • The biggest climb I can ride to from my house is 298 ft over 1.3 miles (Ohio St in St Paul) 
  • The biggest climb I've done in Minnesota 1,018 ft over 7.4 miles (climbing out of Grand Marias)
  • The biggest climb I've ever done prior to Mauna Kea is 4,088 ft over 17.5 miles (Estes Park to Alpine Visitor's Center RMNP)
  • My climb to the Mauna Kea visitor's center is bigger than Chris Froome's biggest climb! (Froome is four time Tour de France champion, and a long list of other pro wins)
Froome on the left and me on the right from Strava - see the bottom line
Food & Drinks: 
My Bike | Breezer Radar Pro
This is my steel frame gravel bike, purchased new in 2017. This bike has carried my on my longest bike adventures, including The DAMn (twice); The Royal; and The Last Call Challenge. 
The drivetrain is SRAM Force 2x10 with 48/32 chain rings and cassette range 11-36 (not enough gears for this climb)
It's rolling 700x50mm GravelKing SK tires, the width is overkill, but that's kinda my thing ... riding extra wide tires (but likely too much for this ride)
I used a new set of Garmin Rally XC100 power meter pedals to track my effort (but still failed to pace myself)

Revisit ???
I'd like to revisit this challenge. I'm debating starting from the beach again or start with the hardest part from Saddle Rd to the summit. Either way, I know a lot of things I will do differently if/when I get to try this challenge again: 
  • I will need smaller gearing, either smaller chainrings or possibly a new bike
  • Better focus on my pacing
  • Fewer distractions and more focus on the ride on the trip
  • Plan for a longer day, somehow I thought I'd get to the summit in 8 hours ... I'll never be that rider! 
  • Ride later in the season, like September or October, this is when I'm at my peak conditions and will have the best fitness for this ride
I'm very grateful that I was able to test myself on this mountain and that there's a chance I could revisit for a second attempt. 

YouTube edit 




Sources: 
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauna_Kea and related pages
2. https://pjammcycling.com/climb/1.Mauna-Kea 
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