https://mauinow.com/2016/03/16/flooding-forces-closure-of-%CA%BBulaino-road-in-hana/

That's the kind of day it was for Wednesday's ride. Except I wasn't doing the road to Hana, instead going from 0-10'000 feet to the top of Haleakala. The wettest and coldest I've been this year. I brought cloths for a cold descent but not for being soaked at same time.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/11164570

The day started dry out of Kihei but the first 20k was a stiff headwind heading to the base of the climb. By the time I got to the sugar mill at northernmost point, that same wind started working in my favor for most of the way up making the 50k climb relatively straightforward. But it also started getting wet and would not let up until I got back to Kihei 8hrs later. Moderate rain on way up, lashing rain on the way down, which made it really hard to judge turns with water streaming down my face. Add to that the wind tearing on me around every corner and shaking like a leaf from the cold, and it made for an interesting descent.

The uphill wasn't too bad with a very forgiving grade, just a very long slog. The section right before reaching the National Park road was the only hard part, with a 3km stretch of consistent 10-12% grade and red muddy water coming down the roard. Beside that the final km to the Red Hill summit was also a bit steepish but I don't think it was the 15% advertised. For the most part 6% or lower and the only mistake I made was going a little hard in the bottom half. Only caught glimpses of the top on occasion but mostly it was riding through rain and mist. A bunch of groups from "riding the crater" adventure tours were coming down on MTBs, all fully clad in what looked like rubber wetsuits. I was going up in short sleeves and was hoping to keep long sleeves and wind jacket plus extra base layer reserved for downhill but at 9,000 feet going up I had to dress warmer.

Apart from the downhill, the sketchiest part of ride was first cattle guard going up. With wet conditions, the rear wheel started sliding out and skidding into the guard, only barely got saved by the bell with the front wheel making it across. Walked the other three cattlle guards on way up; riding them down was no problem.

After the downhill, the best part of return to Kihei, wind full blast on back, must have been going 45kph minimum. 4.5 hrs for climb, 2.5 hrs for the entire way back to Kihei and about 8.5hrs overall. Not bad for a Wednesday in March.