Downhill Tour Operators Fear Their Business Going Downhill

Just over a year ago, I wrote about the "downhill bike tours" in Maui.  Never having been to Maui, or anyplace else in Hawaii, I can't comment on the route or terrain.  I did, however, opine that "downhill tour" is an oxymoron.  Every multiday bike tour I've taken has included hills, or even mountains, that I rode both up and down.  And, save for a few downhill mountain bike rides I took in the '90's, when that first became a "thing," any time I've ridden down a hill, I've ridden up it, or some other incline.

So, in that sense, I have some difficulty in sympathizing with the "downhill tour" operators who stand to lose business after a new ordinance to limit them was passed the other day. That new regulation would limit which parts of the route can be used, the hours at which tours can operate and increases the minimum age limit from 12 to 15.

A line of riders on Hanamu Road in Olinda, Maui, October 2021 Photo by Matthew Thayer for The Maui News.

Tour operators are complaining about that last part because many tours include families.  They also feel that the parts of the route that are now forbidden have some of the best views. That is one way I can sympathize with them:  I would hate to lose those views, too.  

On the other hand, I have to think that residents may have legitimate complaints about the riders, almost all of whom are tourists from outside of Hawaii.  I would imagine that many don't have experience riding down long, steep downhills on roads with little or no separation from traffic or people's property.  And I have to wonder whether those tour operators are sufficiently vetting the riders, not only for technical skill, but for emotional maturity.  After all, a 15-year-old--or a 50-year-old for that matter--can be just as reckless as a 12-year-old, especially when adrenaline is rushing through them.  They are exactly the sorts of riders who give the rest of us a bad name, whether on a mountain road in Hawaii or a residential street in Queens.

Does It Matter Where They See Their Shadows--Or How They Get There?

 According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow when he peeks out of his burrow, there will be six more weeks of wintry weather. If he doesn't, Spring is just around the corner.

I wonder:  Does Phil--or any of his local counterparts across the country--have to pop out of the ground?  Does it count if he, or any other groundhog, peeks his or her head out of some sort of human-made vessel--like, say, a bike basket?

The question probably never would have entered my mind if I hadn't seen, again, the image of Bill Murray reprising his role as Phil (of course!) Connor for a Jeep commercial.  Although the ad is mainly for the company's four-wheeled vehicles, for a few seconds, Murray tries to escape the repetition of the time loop on a bicycle.

At least she's wearing a helmet!

All right, it's an e-bike.  But I had to admit that it was fun to see Poppy peek her head out of the basket.  I wonder what she's doing these days...or today in particluar.

Speaking of which...Phil saw his shadow.  Our local weather-hog, Staten Island Chuck, didn't see his.  Hmm...Six more weeks of winter or early spring? Does Poppy get a tie-breaking vote?

A Danger Nobody Talks About

When I delivered newspapers on my department-store Murray bike (shh...Don't tell anybody), I carried a can of pepper spray.  I wasn't worried about being robbed or jumped--not by humans, anyway. 

In the then-still-smalltown New Jersey where my family moved in the middle of my puberty (talk about changes!), many yards were unfenced and dogs roamed them--and outside them--freely.  Most were friendly or at least non-aggressive.  But every once in a while, one would violate any sense of personal space I had or even give chase.

Being young, I could outride them. But once, an Irish wolfhound managed to set on me before I could take off.  I was lucky, I guess:  the dog's teeth scraped me just above my hip but didn't leave me with a deep or serious wound.  

Justin Gilstrap is not so lucky.  The 11-year-old was riding his bike near his Georgia home when, according to reports, three Pit Bulls set on him and dragged him into a ditch on the side of the road.  Now he's missing part of his ear and 70 percent of his scalp.

The dogs have been euthanized and Justin’s family is suing their owners.  One can only hope that he has a good recovery.