After last week's holoholo, the #SundayMorningCoffeeJam crew from leeward Oahu contacted Joe about doing a ride together -- adventuring into roads seldom taken. As we curated the ride, we thought it would best if the experiences and opinions didn't come from us. Therefore, we present the unedited reactions of a few of the riders who got in on the act and spent the better part of a Sunday with us.
The La Chasse Coffee Jam crew. Photo: Mike Abbott using Colin Cross' awesome camera
Words by Jonathan Lindstrom (@jlindstr808):
This ride definitely goes into the books as one of the most memorable and mystical rides I've done. Having lived on Oahu for all my life, ascending one of the primary highways traversing the Ko'olau mountain range in a single paceline of more than 20 cyclists wasn't something that I would have thought to do; descending that highway, overlooking the majesty of a morning-sun lit Kane'ohe bay was something else entirely.
After regrouping long enough to enjoy a cup of coffee and talk about what we had just experienced with the other riders, we continued our ride by re-approaching the tall, green, vertical corrugations of the Eastern Ko'olau cliffside- from where we had just descended.
I'll never forget the look of the decrepit chain-link fence, galvanized in moss and time: makeshift guardian of a world long gone. Our single group of 20+ riders dismount and cross the threshold- awestruck and eager at what we'd discover.
Old Pali Road has a rich role in modern Hawaiian history. Having not been used since the late 1950s the highway route had been left to decay naturally. Riding along this 2-mile stretch of about 10% elevation grade- through the vast undergrowth, beneath the overgrown rainforest canopy, we rode in silent observance and awe. The cool humidity, the mossy, rain-debris-littered, cracked-concrete pathway: it was as if we had pedaled our way into the past.
We turned off of the long-abandoned freeway and rode/hiked through more forest, crouching and navigating under the *new* Pali Highway- the same that we had descended 2 hours (and 60 years into the future) ago.
After finally summiting at the famed Pali Lookout, we had but one more thing to do before finishing our day in the saddle. A 7-mile descent of 1200ft into downtown Honolulu; open freeway; no red lights; no intersections. And just like that: 60 years into the past and back, and a mystical morning in the saddle that I won't soon forget.
Ian Rothwell and Sau Hsu helping each other out. Photo: Jonathan Lindstrom
Words by Sau Hsu (@nextelevatortrip):
Every once in awhile someone tells you to join an "adventure ride" on a road bicycle. It is a confusing thing - the recent trend to take road bicycles off-road - but darn appealing to fracture the predictability of road cycling.
When the gentlemen of La Chasse Sans Fin decided to rally an assembly of cyclists it was fated to be interesting. With the guidance of local bicycle tour guide Carl Brooks - of OuttaBoundsHawaii - the gentlemen lead a steady group of unassuming cyclists through steep jungle foliage of Oahu's east mountains. Many muddy cleats and goofy grins were had.
Road bicycles off-road is not a new notion, but the camaraderie made during is.
Photo gallery below is by Sau Hsu. Also check his personal blog Here.
Photo gallery below by Kawika Samson.
Above photo gallery by Joseph Kennedy