<- Go back for more HEADLINE NEWS stories

On November 16 I had the ultimate opportunity. On a family trip to Maui, I had my FS with me and a willing crew to drive me to the summit of Haleakala Crater. A 22 mile winding, downhill road run lay before me. I had never ridden a road this long. I had never seen anyone ride a road this long. The longest run I'd ridden was a 20 km jaunt down from Silverstar in Vernon, BC, Canada. That run had many long straights and a few flat areas where skitching was necessary. Almost twice that long, the road down from Haleakala boasted countless corners, major switchbacks and although there were a couple relatively flat areas, skitching would not be necessary. Although my goal was to enjoy what I believed would be an epic ride and an amazing view of Maui, it was obvious this would be a major endurance test as well! Another important factor was the clouds. Haleakala's summit sits at 10,023 feet above sea level and the run finishes at sea level. Riding early in the day is no problem, but attempt this run in the afternoon and I'd be riding much of the descent within the clouds; meaning extremely poor visibility. We managed to get to the summit by 10am, 2 hours later than planned, but the clouds had not rolled in in full force just yet. As my family enjoyed the views from the summit, I tweaked the brakes on my FS and made sure all hardware was tightened. I should mention that I had brought the FS with the intention of riding some off-road terrain as well and thought the shorter turning radius would be advantageous considering I had no previous knowledge of any of Maui's runs. Had I intended solely to ride this road, I would have brought a GP or DH with slicks. The fact that I had only off-road treads for such a long turny ride, worried me a little, but I had planned to take it easy anyway. This was not about breaking speed records. This ride was about enjoying the Dirtsurfer experience in general.

I stretched out my legs for about 15 minutes, but knew that time was getting short and if I wanted to enjoy this experience to the fullest, I had to go soon. My family (dad mom, two brothers and two sister-in-laws) loaded into the rental minivan for the descent. I didn't envy them. This would be a long, hot and stuffy ride down for them, but hopefully I could give them some entertainment. A couple shots near the summit signs and I was off!



The first few minutes were fast and the turns came rapidly and consistently! I was worried a little about the lack of guard rails on many of the corners that ran atop dangerous cliff faces, but I kept my speed in check and the tight turning radius of the FS proved invaluable. I sooned regained my confidence and began to charge some of the banked corners letting them sweep me around to the next straight. Although it was tempting, it became obvious I could not attempt this run at full speed just yet. Many of the corners were blind and enough tourists were making the trip up in their cars that a washout could easliy put me under one of their fenders.



So, I played around and enjoyed the carving capability of the FS. The center lines were dotted with raised reflectors, so I did some slalom whenever the road was clear. I practiced my standing tuck. I practiced getting low in some of the tight corners. Of course I took as many opportunities as I could to look over the edge at Maui's incredible beauty below, but the long ride was straining my legs. Changing body positions and alternating between pumping, tight carving, long sweeping carves and straight riding was necessary to keep the blood moving without wearing myself out.



Although the run was extremely long and my average speed was only 40mph (about 65kph), the endless turns kept me on my toes. I had to pay attention to the signage as tall rock faces and trees made me blind to what was ahead otherwise. I have to say, the ride was amazing and the views spectacular, but the last ten minutes had me half-wishing the end would appear around the next corner, because I was worn out! With no idea as to how long I had ridden so far and how much further I had to go, it was imposible to pace myself and I had obviously done too much playing around on the upper section.



As I rounded the final corner I couldn't help but feel a little sad that it was over, but I was also filled with a rush of excitement from what I'd just done and the desire to head right back to the top for more. Not today though - my legs said no way! Time from start to finish: approximately 40 minutes. It could be done faster. It would definitely have been more exciting on a 20" board with slicks, but hitting this run hard without a few practice runs under your belt to gain familiarity would be foolish. Closing the road to ascending traffic would make for an amazing race! I guarantee there would be many, many lead changes. The run is the ultimate package of smooth pavement, banked technical turns (so many in number, it may be impossible to memorize the whole course), a mixture of steep and shallow pitches, incredible scenery and hey - Mai Tais on the beach afterwards!

Jeremy Bresciani

68 photos available in this gallery! Unfortunately they're all follow-cam through the windshield of the minivan, but I think my brothers did a great job considering they had to kneel on the floor of the van for 40 minutes to get these!