A Quick 2019 Update

February 1, 2019

The journal that follows was written mainly in January and February 2016. Not only does that make it "old", but it begins with an old story. That is the story of the Grampies looking around their frozen farm and speculating about warm spots to go cycling in. In this year of 2019 it is the same thing, except that we are waiting for Dodie's second replacement knee to strengthen, so we are going nowhere this time.

This did not stop my mind from wandering back to Hawaii, and to another old story for there - the destructive effects of Kilauea lava flows. In 2014 we had shied away from the town of Pahoa, expecting it to be overrun by lava while we would be there. But Pahoa was spared, and in 2016 we returned, stayed in the town, and much enjoyed cycling a triangle of roads from Pahoa down to the coast and back.

So it was that while in France in Spring 2018 we watched in horror as yet another eruption threatened the district. We put a mention of this into the 2014 blog, and now here we are again, updating the 2016 blog.

The essence of the update is that while Pahoa was spared again, that triangle route and the coastline it accessed was not. Most upsetting, the Ahalanui Hot Spring - a wonderful fish filled warm pond with the sea splashing in at one end, is gone. But it does seem the lava just missed the Issac Hale beach park.

Whenever we do return, it will be very interesting to see in detail what happened. But for the record now - here in two images are that superb triangle route as it was, and what we have now:

Highways 130, 132, 137 made up one of the nicest cycles anywhere.

Ahalanui is gone, the coast is gone, Kapoho and 700 homes is gone. But Pahoa survives. There are some other bright spots. Route 137 has been opened between MacKenzie Park and Issac Hale. And a black sand beach is forming in front of Pohiki. So it looks like perhaps 50 km of the former 70 km ride is still there. It's just no longer a circle route out of Pahoa.

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Scott AndersonThanks for the update, Steve. I’ve been meaning to go back and look myself. We couldn’t believe that this eruption occurred just a few months after we toured this area last January. The Red Road and this triangle was probably my favorite ride on the island. I’m sure that the place we stayed by Lava Tree must have been destroyed, either by lava or earthquake.

Interestingly, it’s not that easy to find accurate current information. Google Maps, for example, still shows the whole triangle as intact; and RideWithGPS will allow you to draw a route around the triangle.
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