Day 2 - Naalehu to Volcano

From Pahala. it is still a 20 mile ride with an elevation gain of 4000 ft. Sounds easy but we never expected the headwinds. Another curve ball nature threw at us. The group would occasionally regroup to relieve our sore butts and gather stregnth from each other. On some stretches, the winds were so strong that walking your bike was faster than trying to pedal against the wind. The biggest spirit lifter was seeing the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park sign at about 10 miles from the end point. We took the obligatory pictures and again proceeded for the final destination. We were so tired and butts so sore that we would regroup every couple of miles. One of the magical moments was when a rainbow appeared that seemed to be guiding us to our final destination. Hopefully, there was a potfull of gold at the end. At about 5 miles to go, it started misting as we got closer to the 4000 elevation. What was once blue skies turned into gray dark clouds. The mist became so thick that it later turned into rain. My glasses got so wet that riding without them was almost as clear. Again we underestimated nature. Today it was no longer the heat, but the wind.

Return to Big Island Main Page

Previous Page / Next Page