My flight stopped in Chicago where a recent covering of snow made the area look forbidding and, made me glad to be headed for the tropics. A long layover in Los Angeles gave me a chance to go for an extended walk. The LAX airport abuts the city and a few steps from the terminal I was walking down palm-lined city streets. That unexpected little bit of vacation in California was to be my only exercise for the day.
Delta put the kibosh on my plan to bike from the airport in Kona to my hotel by losing one of my bags. I had unfortunately packed the pedals in that bag and a bicycle without pedals is like an outrigger canoe without a paddle. I spent a day in paradise trying to be grateful as I watched people pedal by and, I couldn't ride. The bike came late the next day and I was soon exploring the island. To their credit Delta allowed me to leave my box in the baggage claim area, a courtesy airlines won't usually provide. The road to Kona from the airport is busy but sports a wonderful bike
lane. It actually forms a portion of the famous Iron Man
Triathalon course. Minutes after liberating my bike I pedaled by a welcome sign
and down to a small beach used by locals. Looking back I could see the airport
beyond a field of lava. A unique Hawaiian graffiti consists of pieces of white
coral arranged in a pattern on the lava. The sun set while I was
exploring the beach. I watched locals playing spirited volleyball and a big surf
roiling white in the fading light. I turned on my lights and enjoyed the ride in
the warm evening air.My biological clock stayed on a mainland schedule so the next morning found me pedaling for a hour or two before daylight. I rode down busy XX street and had it to myself. Due to astronomical observatories on tops of Mauna Kea volcano the island restricts lights and it is wonderfully dark. At one point I looked out over the utterly dark ocean and saw Orion just above the horizon. As dawn broke I joined a group of friends for a self-help group meeting on a beach looking
over a popular surfing area. My hotel was a very pleasant and moderately priced
place right on the waterfront. I had breakfast in the open air restaurant
and enjoyed reading on the deck. As I looked
across at a visiting cruise ship I almost felt as if I too were on a boat. One
of the most popular parks is an abandoned airport a short walk from Kona with
lots of beach. The road ran along under palm trees
and by a precious little St. Petes church. Down
toward the end of the street I followed a trail through the weeds that took me
to a rocky beach on Kamoa Point with a nice
view looking back 
toward
Kona. The beach exemplified the "salt and
pepper" beaches of Hawaii made up of black lava and white coral. Here
it was big pieces in other areas the grain are as fine as spices. North of Kona
sits a fascinating national park consisting of thick vegetation and once the
site of an old settlement. Here the native peoples fished by building a wall
that trapped fish with the outgoing tide. I saw some stilts, endemic birds the
target of vigorous protection efforts. Shortly before I left for Hawaii Paula
told me of an article about the U.S. Marines' efforts on a Hawaiian base to
protect the stilts. A nearby marina is home to
dozens of boats available for charter trips for diving, whale-watching and
deep-sea fishing. I enjoyed watching the boating skills on display as the boats
entered the narrow harbor among the crashing surf.The next morning I packed up my gear and headed out to see if I could pedal around the big island some 260 miles. I could handle the distance but had some concern about places to spend the night and the condition of the
road. One road circumnavigates the island and as the only way from Hilo, the
capital to Kona, the tourism area, it carries a lot of traffic. I discovered day
by day that it has a serviceable shoulder all the way around so it is quite
satisfactory for cycling. As I left Kona I climbed and climbed and climbed. Soon
the beach and a resort on the south end of town were far below me. Along the way
I met a couple of bicycles who were headed in the same direction but with a
different schedule. 
We
would see each other off and on for the next few days. I pedaled through some
less touristy areas making my way to the comfortably worn Manago Hotel in the
modest town of Captain Cook. After lunch I left my bags in my room and rode
down, down down to Napoopoo on the bay where a monument sits to Captain Cook,
the English explorer who found Hawaii from a European perspective. He was killed
by native people during a dispute over a stolen boat. A big part of a bike trip
for me is finding interesting roads to ride on (especially if they have little
or know car traffic) and from Napoopoo I took a wonderful strip of tarmac
that ran though some undeveloped "badlands." I saw no houses or
utility poles and only a couple of cars passed me. I arrived at a National
Historic Park with a long name and small entry fee. I paid it and went in to
absorb some natural beauty and human history. The native people had a harsh
judicial system that frequently condemned people to death for crimes. However,
in an ancient version of Monopoly's "Get out of jail free" card, the
condemned could escape their fate if they could make it to this refuge. They
have reconstructed some walls and buildings made of palm fronds. I saw a
reproduction of an old game that involved a
board and pieces of white lava and black coral placed on a slab of lava and
looking like an early version of chess.
As usual my favorite things were from
nature. Green sea turtles swam in the
clear water munching on green weeds. Watching those turtles made my trip a
success right there on my first day of exploring. I also enjoyed the palm
tree with crazy roots, little yellow birds
and a wonderful lava beach. The price I paid for my lovely excursion was a
demanding ride back up some 2,000 feet to Captain Cook. Along the way I passed
the painted church, lovely homes hidden
behind dense native plants and a great view
of the bay. The Manago with its sloping wood floors, creaky stairways and shared baths contrasts with the glitzy resorts a few miles north in Kona. It exudes the singular charm to be found in a family owned hotel slightly off the beaten path. The dining room turned out to be very popular with local middle class folks who filled it that evening with a family ambiance. The next morning I left soon after breakfast to head down along the southern tip of the island. Opposing traffic was heavy with local people driving to work in Kona but was light on my side. I pedaled along high above the
ocean
with lovely views and lots of sun. I rode mostly on pavement but took a
short detour on a rough road of lava rock
and found a peaceful place where ferns grew in seemingly impossible conditions.
As I began to turn to the east I encountered a fierce wind. Eventually I made it
to Hawaiian Ocean View Estates or HOVE. I had read about this housing
development before my arrival and looked forward to seeing it. Built on top of a
fairly recent lava flow with few trees the houses have no water and some no
electricity. Having lunch at a health food store with a small outdoor seating
area, I met a resident of HOVE. He said that people use
cisterns and when it hasn't rained for a while they have to pay for trucks to
bring water. He pedaled around the community which he found a challenge due to
it being on the slope of Mauna Lau volcano. He recommended a beach that I could
visit when I got back around to the Kona side and told me about a strange road
near Waiohinu, my destination that day. He laughed when I talked about the wind,
called it a trade wind and said it would get worse. He said it came up later in
the day so I made a mental note to get an early start when I left Waiohinu.
Riding away I came to a huge area of lava with few signs of life and fierce
wind. Life seemed harsh at that point. I ran into the cycling couple having a
break in a sheltered area and stopped for a short visit. Soon I began a long
descent with a view of Waiohino. I stopped
to check into my room at the modest motel which bills itself as the southernmost
motel in the United States. I visited the local store
and then pedaled past a tree planted by Mark
Twain to the Naalehu, the next town, where I found a wonderful coffee shop/bakery. The next morning I pedaled to Naalehu early but no breakfast places were open so I explored the road the HOVE bicyclist told me about. It turned out to be a long, persistent climb over a terrible washed out track not deserving the
name
road--mountain bike heaven. Delightful views
rewarded my efforts. Eventually I got to the top and then, as he said, I
encountered a smooth paved road that ran parallel to the main highway but a
couple thousand feed above it. Only a rare car used the road and I wondered why
it was here. Fields and pastures lined the road and seemed intent on taking it
over. Later I was told that Cane Haul road existed for hauling sugar can from
the fields but that the plant that produced the sugar had closed. I rode east
about 10 miles and came upon the little town of Pahalo which, my HOVE friend
assured me had a restaurant. It was a semi-open place called Tex-Burger and I
feasted on a great breakfast. The road, its glorious view and Pahalo had all
been serendipity: one of the basic ingredients of good bicycle trips. After
breakfast rode down to the main road and headed back toward Waiohinu. I came
upon the bicycle couple who
work shocked to see me coming from the east when I had spent the night west of
them. I cruised on down to black sand beach.
From there I rode along to a resort and then saw an unmarked dirt track into a
mass of reeds. It led to an isolated section of beach with lots of lava, coral
and surf but no people. I looked back up on the side of the volcano and could
see the low hills I had passed on my ride along the cane haul road. I climbed on
the lava and made some graffiti of my
own. The next day I left Waiohinu by moonlight taking the shore road. I made my way to Pahalo for breakfast
determined
to get an early start in case those trade winds came up. My next destination was
Volcano National Park on top of the Kilauea volcano. Visiting the park had me
concerned because it is on the Hilo side of the island which is as wet as Kona
is dry. I read about some cycle tourists having a miserable day as they rode up
hill against the wind in a cold rain. The bright sunshine alleviated some worry
but I knew I had to carry a lot of water as the trip was literally 
all
uphill and there were no services of any kind between Pahalo and the park. So
after breakfast I turned left and pedaled up hill for 21 miles. The wind didn't
trouble me and the view was grand as I looked at Mauna
Loa, one of the world's highest volcanoes on my left and the sea far below
on my right. Mauna Loa has such great mass that it doesn't look very steep, but
I felt very small. My water and strength seemed to be holding out okay but I was
still glad to come to the entrance of the park. It was to
be continued
