This entertaining, challenging, and supremely beautiful ride has Kahului, Maui’s largest city, as its axis. It features a short out-and-back on the island’s famed Road to Hana as well as a full loop around the beautiful West Maui region.

Aloha, island riders. This escape from the bustle of Honolulu is a figure eight that features most of what makes Oahu great. The ride includes the can’t-miss twists, turns, and views of Round Top/Tantalus Drive. It also boasts miles of coastal riding and two passes through the impressive Ko‘olau Mountain Range. This is a year-round ride, but extremely variable weather is to be expected, especially on the east (windward) side of the island.

When I finally booked my ticket to Hawaii for the first time, I had no idea what was in store for me or how it was going to change my life. Honestly, I would have never bought the ticket if it weren’t for a friend that I met four years earlier—Chris Puder, or “Mendo,” as the Californian transplant is called.

Hawai'i. The name sounds like a sweet song and my inner eye sees gorgeous girls in hula-skirts moving slowly to tinkling ukuleles. I think about pristine beaches lined with endless rows of palm trees, daredevil surfers waiting for the perfect wave and the heroes of the Ironman Triathlons. But of course there is much more to the Aloha State.

For a lesson in atmospheric physics, riding a motorcycle up a volcano is tough to beat. And Maui provides the perfect lab: the 40-mile, helter-skelter Haleakala Highway. Rising 10,000 feet in 40 miles, it's the longest continuous climb in North America. And they say it's just as long coming down.