Biking

It's not even close to dawn, but here you are, rubbing your eyes awake, riding in a van up the long, dark road to the top of Maui's dormant volcano. It's colder than you ever thought possible for a tropical island. The air is thin. The place is crowded, packed with people. You stomp your chilly feet while you wait, sipping hot coffee. Then comes the sun, exploding over the yawning Haleakala Crater, which is big enough to swallow Manhattan whole -- it's a mystical moment you won't soon forget. Now you know why Hawaiians named the crater the House of the Sun. But there's no time to linger: Decked out in your screaming-yellow parka, you mount your mechanical steed and test its most important feature, the brakes -- because you're about to coast 37 miles down a 10,000-foot volcano.

Cruising down Haleakala, from the lunarlike landscape at the top past flower farms, pineapple fields, and eucalyptus groves, is quite an experience -- and you don't have to be an expert cyclist to do it. This is a safe trip that requires some stamina in the colder, wetter winter months but is fun for everyone in the warmer months -- the key word being warmer. In winter and the rainy season, conditions can be harsh, especially on the top, with below-freezing temperatures and 40 mph winds.

Maui's oldest downhill company is Maui Downhill (tel. 800/535-BIKE [2453] or 808/871-2155; www.mauidownhill.com), which offers a sunrise safari bike tour, including continental breakfast and a stop for lunch (not hosted), starting at $149 ($119 if booked on the website). If it's all booked up, try Maui Mountain Cruisers (tel. 800/232-6284 or 808/871-6014; www.mauimountaincruisers.com), which has sunrise and midday trips for $110 to $144 (check the website for discounts). Mountain Riders Bike Tours (tel. 800/706-7700 or 808/242-9739; www.mountainriders.com) offers sunrise rides for $135 ($100 if booked on the website) and midday trips for $125 ($104 on the website). All rates include hotel pickup, transport to the top, bicycle, safety equipment, and coffee and pastries (there is a stop for food down the mountain that guests pay for themselves). Wear layers of warm clothing -- there may be a 30° change in temperature from the top of the mountain to the ocean. Generally, tour groups will not take riders under 12, but younger children can ride along in the van that accompanies the groups, as can pregnant women.

If you want to avoid the crowds and go down the mountain at your own pace, call Haleakala Bike Company (tel. 888/922-2453; www.bikemaui.com), which will outfit you with the latest gear and take you up Haleakala.

Note: Not all tours go to the summit. If you want to start your bike ride at the summit, be sure to confirm. The cheapest trip starts at around the 6,500-foot level (about two-thirds up the mountain). After making sure you are secure on the bike, the staff will let you ride down by yourself at your own pace. Trips range from $70 to $115; bicycle rentals (from $35 a day) are also available if you'd like to tour other parts of Maui on your own.

Moratorium on bike tours in Haleakala National Park -- As of this writing, a National Park Service moratorium on commercial bicycle tours inside Haleakala National Park was in effect due to a September 26, 2007, death of a tourist who lost control of her bicycle and struck a van inside the park.

Some bike-tour operators circumvent this moratorium by staging their bicycle tours outside the park's boundaries. There are also a handful of companies who have "road-based" tour permits, which allows them to transport their clients within the park boundaries by van, but does not allow their clients to bike inside the park. If you want to see the sunrise from the Haleakala Crater, be sure to ask your tour operator if it has a road-based permit; otherwise, you will not be able to get inside the park.

The moratorium does not affect private citizens riding their bikes inside the park boundaries. For information on bikeways and maps, get a copy of the Maui County Bicycle Map, which has details on road suitability, climate, trade winds, mileage, elevation changes, bike shops, safety tips, and various bicycling routes. The map is available at bike shops all over the island. A great book for mountain bikers who want to venture out on their own is John Alford's Mountain Biking the Hawaiian Islands, published by Ohana Publishing, 2010. Buy the book at www.bikehawaii.com.