[dirty_girl]

Hey everyone,

I'll be at Mililani for a week and I plan on doing some riding out there. Right now I am doing some research on some trails that I should hit. Based on the trail reviews, I figure that the Mililani Trail would be one that I am definitely going to hit. With the brief period of time that I will be staying in Hawaii, I know that I will not be able to hit all of the trails that Oahu has to offer. What are some of the other trails I should do? Aiea? Hauula? Maunawili? How well marked are these trails? Would I get lost easily? Would it too dangerous for me to venture out on my own? What bike shops do you recommend? etc. etc.

Anyway, my trip is not until September, but I feel like a little kid who is excited about going to Disney to meet Mickey Mouse. It makes my toes curl. I still have a lot of planning to do. I'm actually debating on whether I should bring my bike or rent one.

I'm open to any and all suggestions

Cheers,
dgirl

 

[mtnbkr4eva]

Howzit D-Girl

What kind of riding you into? Cross Country, Downhill, or freeriding. Most rides on Oahu involve climbing to get the descent. There are a lot of shuttle opps also. Post on this board when you get here, our group will be glad to show you some trails.

As far as renting a bike, the shops here dont specialize in rentals, although there are some bikes available, not sure of the quality of the rentals though.

 

[dirty_girl]

mahalo

I'm mostly intro cross country. As far as downhill goes, I wimp out on drops that are too steep to walk down, but I will manage to go down stuff like that if I'm patiently coaxed to do so.

As far as climbs go, the only practice I have with that are low gradient (considering that I'm from Florida). I am definitely going to work on building more stamina on climbing before heading out there.

Regarding renting, I am leaning toward boxing my bike up at a bike shop and checking it in.

I'll keep you guys posted when the time comes. :thumbsup:

Thanx mtnbkr4eva

-dg

 

[enduro808]

biking on oahu

ok here is my experience:

hauula is a pretty good loop although a lot of climbing, pretty technical with a lot of roots and rocks, people also hike there. pretty hard to get lost there since it is a loop, if anything you might have trouble finding the beginning of the trail and parking.

pupukea is a decent ride, goes up and down the valley, some places with lots of rocks, usually wet since most of the trail is covered by trees so if it rains it takes a while to dry up.

i have not been to aiea loop trail in years but i remember it was usually wet and muddy, i think its like a 4 mile loop.

i guess it all depends on what type of xc riding you are interested in. reason i say that is because got the peacock flats trail but to get there you gotta bike it up the access road which is a pretty steep climb. coming down you can take kealia which is a very rocky singletrack downhill, coming the side of the mountain.

you can ride the fireroad at the end of farrington hwy out past mokuleia and go towards kaena point, it is pretty flat but bumpy.

i have not been to mililani in years, so i cannot comment on that since i forgot what its like!

if that maunawili trail is the one off of pali hwy, i remember it to be very rocky with lots of roots, wet and slippery, especially in the beginning.

you can ride up the hill at makakilo and the various connecting dirt tracks. not much xc though, just tracks connecting off of one main uphill, in my opinion.

got downhill out in st louis heights, but i have not gone there yet.

my fav trails would have to be hauula and pupukea. although id rather ride out in socal.

i think you can go ride on your own as i ride on my own too. just make sure you park your car in a pretty safe area to avoid any breakins. even better yet post and see if you can get some riders to join you.

as far as bike shops, it all depends on what you are interested in buying. i find mccully bike to be the cheapest, they have some variety of components, for tires i saw kenda, maxxis, geax, panaracer, wtb, and ritchey i think.

the bike shop is terribly expensive but they are the only authorized specialized and kona dealers in the state.

bike factory has gf, and trek, bontrager.

barnsfields is the only santa cruz dealer. this is probably the store to get some higher end components. but i think all bike stores here sell shimano, if you are interested in that. barnsfields also rents bikes but i have no idea what they rent out. renting bikes here is most likely a bad option.

i think you are better off bringing your bike. dont necessarily need fs bikes here, just helps a bit going back down. of course make sure you bring enough water as most trails take you up the mountain and there is no amenities up there, and bring a spare tube or patch kit or just pray if you dont? haha. actually, i think theres more thorns out on the leeward side compared to the windward side. thats just my experience. most trails need quite a bit of climbing in rocks and roots. no big deal in getting off to hike a bike, i do that all the time!

i dont think you would get lost up in the mountain, but of course you dont want to ride late in the evening either on a trail you have never been on before. but like mtnbkr4eva said, probably a good idea to post in advance and set something up if you want to ride with company. if not, just go out and ride!

 

[dirty_girl]

what a wealth of information!

Thanks enduro for sharing this with me.

I'm really excited about the trip!

-dg

 

[enduro808]

no problem

just keep in mind that the selection of components at bike stores here sucks. you are better off buying online and have it shipped to you ground. basic stuff you can get at mccully bike unless you are picky on brands. but if you run tubeless and stans, then i think the only place you can get that is at barnsfields on the northshore. best thing is to post what stuff you might want to get or need then someone can reply here or i can give you whatever info i can.

i can ride with you, but i am not much of a xc rider, i dont have a xc bike so i try to ride uphill as much as i can, but end up resting then pushing. in fact, i think i do a lot of resting! i just ride.

laters

 

[racerzero]

ok here is my experience:
i dont think you would get lost up in the mountain, but of course you dont want to ride late in the evening either on a trail you have never been on before. but like mtnbkr4eva said, probably a good idea to post in advance and set something up if you want to ride with company. if not, just go out and ride!

Disagree you can get lost. Remember the 2 women tourist that were lost for over a week. They were lucky to make it out alive.

There are regular groups that head out to various trails including Mililani. If you like XC then Mililani is the place to go. There are also trails that are not in any guide book.

Post contact info. before you get here and I'm sure you can hook up.

You should also post at www.dhhawaii.com. Yeah, that's a DH forum but here are riders there, black cat, that ride Mililani. You might be able to hook up for shuttle runs at St. Louis. St. Louis has milder trails that can be discribed as aggressive XC and you can alway walk any section that's too agressive for you.

 

[dirty_girl]

I'll keep that in mind

Disagree you can get lost. Remember the 2 women tourist that were lost for over a week. They were lucky to make it out alive.

Knowing my sense of direction, I'll see if my brother-in-law will let me borrow his GPS unit while riding Mililani. I do plan on doing quite a bit of XC

-dg

 

[Fat Jeff]

Mililani

I would STRONGLY recommend that you hook up with some locals if you intend to ride Mililani. Since it's private land, there are no signs for the trailheads, no maps, and no help if you get lost. And it's easy to get lost in Mililani. Make some new friends and enjoy what is probably the best XC riding on Oahu. You can usually find bikers gearing up along the road fronting the Costco in Mililani on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

If you are still wanting to ride by yourself I'd recommend Aiea Loop Trail (near impossible to get lost) or Kaena Point (end of the highway in Mokuleia).

One thing you may not have experienced in FL is "exposure". That's when one side of the trail is a drop of a good distance. There's lot's of exposure on Aiea Loop so be careful if you ride there.

Whatever you do choose to do, be safe and enjoy.

 

[gmats]

Aloha Dgirl,

how long are you going to be out here for in Sept? What's the occasion? Are you going to make it to any of the other islands? If you make it to the Big Island or Maui, let us know.

aloha,
g

 

[enduro808]

yup

fatjeff is right, mililani is private land. and on those trails where it is not a loop, you can easily get lost up in the mountains. others, there is a main trail that you cant miss, and of course got the loops too. no big deal in riding solo, i do that all the time. just bring your cell phone along and hopefully it will work, and dont take unnecessary risks up in the mountain.

make sure you park your car in a relatively safe spot.

on another note, anyone know if you can mountain bike haleakala? and i dont mean going on the road.

thanks

 

[gmats]

Aloha Dgirl,

how long are you going to be out here for in Sept? What's the occasion? Are you going to make it to any of the other islands? If you make it to the Big Island or Maui, let us know.

aloha,
g

 

[racerzero]

on another note, anyone know if you can mountain bike haleakala? and i dont mean going on the road.

thanks

http://www.mtbvideos.net/video/house_of_the sun.mpg

 

[ArmySlowRdr]

what he said. mililani you can really get in a bind in. i opened an unsecure gate once and rode through and ended up on prison property.

aeia--yes it is exposed---i have been off the edge at least thrice--i never tumbled further than maybe 15 feet tho before vegetation safely stopped me.

huulua loop is very scenic and outside of some climbing is really nice---

pupukea area has a lot of rutted road from where moto bikes have tore it up. but cambodia trail juts off the forest rode from the boys camp and is good.

maunawili is technical and lots of hike and bike but scenic and long.

if u can pay to ride kualoa ranch-it is pretty good.

here's a tip: road cycling n Oahu is MUCH MUCH better than mt biking oahu. Hook up with the heavy breathers at Waikiki Elementary around 8 or 9 on Saturdays. They usu go 30 to 50 miles and some of the speeds can be quick but there is enough of a turn out you will always have someone your speed.

fatjeff is right, mililani is private land. and on those trails where it is not a loop, you can easily get lost up in the mountains. others, there is a main trail that you cant miss, and of course got the loops too. no big deal in riding solo, i do that all the time. just bring your cell phone along and hopefully it will work, and dont take unnecessary risks up in the mountain.

make sure you park your car in a relatively safe spot.

on another note, anyone know if you can mountain bike haleakala? and i dont mean going on the road.

thanks

 

[gsy971]

wow....check out the replies on this one! maybe i should pose as a chick on mtbr! hah! jus jokin.

 

[eric512]

Aloha,

There is a nice group that rides in the Kailua side each Wed afternoon. All XC, horse trails, etc, mix of guys and girls, beginner to expert. Some fast, some slow.

We also ride on weekends on service roads which are beautiful up to the waterfalls on the windward side.

Let us know if you want to join.

 

[dirty_girl]

Aloha Dgirl,

how long are you going to be out here for in Sept? What's the occasion? Are you going to make it to any of the other islands? If you make it to the Big Island or Maui, let us know.

aloha,
g

I'll be flying in the 4th and flying out on the 14th. I'm going there to see family. I'll keep you posted on flying out to Maui for this trip.

cheers,
dg

 

[dirty_girl]

Aloha,

There is a nice group that rides in the Kailua side each Wed afternoon. All XC, horse trails, etc, mix of guys and girls, beginner to expert. Some fast, some slow.

We also ride on weekends on service roads which are beautiful up to the waterfalls on the windward side.

Let us know if you want to join.

I will definitely have to check that out. :thumbsup:

Thanks eric

-dg

 

[SHAHEEB]

i'm a girl on maui can i come too?

 

[racerzero]

I'll be flying in the 4th and flying out on the 14th. I'm going there to see family. I'll keep you posted on flying out to Maui for this trip.

cheers,
dg

Hey perfect timing. The 24 Hours of Hell in Paradise is on weekend of 9/9-10/06. Unofficially join or help a team and you can probably sneak in some rides.

The race is at Kualoa Ranch which hosts the Mountainman Triathlon and mtb races. It's also where Jurassic park was filmed so the terrain is unreal. I heard a dinosaur escaped during filming and is known to prey on unwary mtbrs

Checkout this write up of Kualoa by Nicky Mata's old team:

http://www.warriorssociety.org/Racing/Report003.html