The Big Island by bike
Ironman triathletes come to Kona to tackle the steep “grind” of Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, said Meg Lukens Noonan in National Geographic Traveler. But there are “more than 350 miles of smooth paved roads” on Hawaii’s Big Island that don’t require triathlon training. Orchid Isle’s eight-day Tour de Paradise lets the average cyclist “spin—mostly grimace-free—along 300 of them.” Pushing off at Kona on the “dry west coast,” the ride heads north through the Kohala Mountains and across the “rolling grasslands of the 150,000-acre Parker Ranch before reaching the Hamakua Coast on the island’s wet, green side.” There’s easy riding into Hilo, the island’s biggest town, past “waterfalls and rocky coves”—until it’s time to crank 30 miles uphill to Kilauea crater in Volcano National Park. Cyclists can roll out and relax on the final leg of the tour, which entails “cruising 4,500 feet down to Punaluu on the south shore.” And for those still entertaining Ironman dreams, “faster-paced,” four-day tours are also available.
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