Hawaii Offers Scenic Routes for Cyclists

Christiane Oelrich
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

Matthias Nyquist plucks a tropical fruit off a tree native to this South Pacific paradise and holds it up to delight his guests.

As their mouths water, Nyquist, a Swedish-born transplant to Hawaii, gives the fruit's thick, pock-marked peel a practiced squeeze and the fruit opens up. To their surprise, a beastly stench emerges from the harmless looking tropical fruit.

"A glass of noni juice every morning, that will keep you healthy," said Nyquist, winking as his guests looked on skeptically.

Hawaii is full of exotic things and landscapes that can set one's soul free--the long sandy beaches, the foamy waves and the bars of the world-famous Waikiki Beach. Nyquist, who drifted around the world before settling down in Hawaii, is a true believer, and he's found a different way of showing people around his new home: on the saddle of a mountain bike.

It isn't exactly "hell in paradise" as the name of a 24-hour bike race on Kualoa Ranch on the west coast of the Oahu island suggests. Modern mountain bikes actually are an ideal means of transportation to explore the Ka'a'awa Valley with its thick green cloaked hills.

"In the distant past the valley was a refuge with healing powers," said Nyquist. According to folklore, anyone who ran afoul of Hawaiian customs but reached the valley ahead of his pursuers and stayed a year was considered purified and could return to Hawaiian society a free man or woman.

The valley's special ambience might look familiar to some visitors. The owners of the ranch regularly rent the area to filmmakers. Parts of the dinosaur thriller Jurassic Park were filmed here, as were scenes from Pearl Harbor, Godzilla and 50 First Dates.

A log that actors in Jurassic Park hid behind to escape a rapidly approaching raptor is still lying in the place where it was filmed.

Views Reward the Rider

The 1,500-hectare (3,750 acres) ranch stretches almost seven kilometers (approximately four miles) along the east coast of the island and includes three mountains. Ancestors of the current owners, brothers John and David Morgan, bought the land in 1850 from King Kamehameha II.

Traversing the terrain on a mountain bike takes the rider over rough and smooth patches, and the effort required is enough to produce pearls of sweat. But the reward for the exertion is usually just around the next curve where suddenly a grand view opens up from the edge of a cliff or across a meadow, revealing a breath-taking beach with the deep blue Pacific Ocean in the background.

Nyquist is a walking encyclopedia of Hawaii. For example, he explains that the greeting "aloha," which quickly replaces hello when visitors arrive in Hawaii, has a deep meaning.

" 'Alo' means share and 'ha' is the spirit, the soul," he said. According to ancient Hawaiian belief, the breath is the soul. When Hawaiians greet one another they rub foreheads and noses and blow into each others faces at the same time.

In addition to the noni fruit, Nyquist also shows visitors the place where the kukui nut grows. The nut's pits are already known to tourists who visited the souvenir shops. They are made into tough necklaces, which serve as a sturdy alternative to the ubiquitous floral lei given as a welcome.

Mountain bikes can be rented on Hawaii. Tours can be arranged through various organizers (bikehawaii.com is one example). After touring for many hours, often sweating much of the way, the soul-salving waves of the Pacific are the perfect ending.