Kauai

I spent the week before Thanksgiving in Kauai with Gina. Before heading out there we made a quick stop in Cali to drop off Sagada with Grandma. To a five year old, a weekend with Gramdma vs. a few days in Hawaii is a no-brainer. Grandma is more fun than a bunch of palm trees. It didn't take much convincing to get her to stay behind.

We stayed at the Marriott Resort which was nice enough, but I couldn't walk anywhere without getting sand in my toes. And the weather over there is stoopid. It doesn't know that its autumn. At least they had a decent pool.



On our first day we drove West to Waimea State Park and found some spectacular views into Kalalau Valley



and Waimea Canyon.


On the way back we spotted some nice singletrack from the road and hiked around for a bit. I'm not sure if this trail was legally open to biking since there was a sign up the road that said "No Biking" but the many tire tracks said otherwise.



The next day we rented some bikes from Kauai Cycle and Tour in Kapaa and hit the local trails. After a four mile ride on a scenic coastal caning road (fireroad in Eastcoastese) we found some singletrack. Really nothing special compared to what we have around here, but it was nice to be out riding with friends nonetheless.



One thing I discovered was that old cane fields in Kauai double as de facto dumping grounds for old cars. We saw several by the side of the trail stripped to the frame.



After a few more days in Kauai I started to miss the rainy, cold, and generally miserable spell of East Coast weather that we had the day before I left. I started to dream of all those rides cancelled due to bad weather, the gripping cold that greets you at the trailhead as you step out of the warm car, the freezing of wet toes and fingers, the epic fireroad climbs, the spectacular rock gardens, the vision-blurring downhills, my riding buddies, my faithful singlespeed... yep, it was time to go home.