I don’t see the point. You go around in a circle and over the top a few times and that’s that. It rains without warning and off-roading involves riding on lava which is treacherous in a fall. There are a lot of miserable-looking folks on Harley’s sitting in Kona traffic behind locals who drive below the minimum speed limit, wet as cats in their shorts and bandannas and not much else. Hardly anyone wears protective gear, and if they do, it’s partial. I’ve seen people without eye protection, people with helmets and gloves wearing shorts and flip-flops, people in leather chaps and boots and bikini tops. If I lived here I’d ride in full rain gear, the light stuff, constantly. Maybe would use the ferry system to explore more islands. Most likely I’d have an ATV for the beach. I saw a BMW with a Ural sidecar. That might be practical!
Map courtesy geology.com
Well — i am moving there in a couple of months, so I hope it is not that bad 🙂
Seriously, I rented a bike for a day when there in June and it was fun. Weekend rides along the windward side are rewarding — though not for the technical challenge or speed. I will let you know how the other islands are when I get there.
Northwest NM is the most fun I have had for high speed and technical fun + views