This was an experience. No, not because we were on Haleakala for a bike tour but the lack of organization and utterly horrible condition of the equipment.
When we arrived at the office there was nobody to greet us or the other patrons. The office is actually behind another building. We met our contact, Lou, who took us up in the beat up, loud van that had a hole in the exhaust and trash from previous guests.
Once at the start location, Lou unloaded a bunch of beat up, squeaky, bicycles with torn seats, bald tires and No Gears!
He told everyone to pick whichever bike they wanted and then handed out helmets that were beat up, scraped up and smelled like gym socks.
As our self guided bike tour started we figured out that some of the tires wobbled and that the brakes were so worn out I had to drag my feet to slow down and stop.
Then, it happened, my rear tire went flat. Total baloney skin on an aluminum rim. I called Lou, who came to my location and the first bike he gave me to replace my original bike also went flat right in front of us. Hoping that third times the charm, that bike seemed to be the one but then a couple of miles later, the chain came off. Luckily, I was able to fix that myself with having to call Lou again.
Two guys from another bicycle company even offered to keep an eye out for us if we needed further help getting down the trail.
Finally, we all made it back to the office safely and in one piece.
Through all that, we still had fun and laughed our asses off at the whole experience. The views from Haleakala were amazing.
And believe it or not, Lou was the bright spot of this operation. He was laid back, apologized for everything and even offered a contact for the owner to try and get a refund. I didn’t do that as we still had fun and now have a great story.
Lou, thanks for the help with my bike and your hospitality.
All that being said, I can’t in good conscience recommend this company. The equipment is absolutely terrible and unsafe. If you want to bike Haleakala, pony up the money and go with another tour company.