Ride the steepest paved road on Earth… for a good cause.

Each year, the legendary Cycle To The Sun event takes place on 36 miles of roadway that is widely considered the “Steepest Paved Road On Earth.” The uphill trek begins in Pa‘ia at sea level and finishes up on top of Haleakala—just above 10,000 feet. Thousands of avid cyclists have taken on the challenge—and all for a good cause.

The 2008 Cycle To The Sun event will be organized and produced by Go Cycling Maui and Maui Cyclery. Donnie Arnoult, owner of both businesses, formerly owned the Vegas Professional Cycling Team on the U.S. National Race Calendar, and is himself a Cat One pro-racer.

This year’s Cycle To The Sun will take place on Sunday, Aug. 24, beginning at 6:30 a.m. at the bottom of Baldwin Avenue in Pa‘ia.

The cost to enter the event ranges from $100 to $200, and all entries must be received by Saturday, Aug. 23. Entries sent via mail must include a check made out to Maui Cyclery, or you can pick up a race packet at Maui Cyclery. All riders must sign a waiver in order to receive their packets.

This year, there will be three different race entries: Full, Half and Full-Relay. There will be a limit of 200 racers for the “Full” distance and entries for the “Half” distance race will not be capped.

The beneficiary of the 2008 Cycle To The Sun is the Lance Armstrong Foundation. For cyclists and their supporters, there will be a post-race barbeque at the Pa‘ia Community Center, beginning at 4 p.m. after the race. In addition, participants will each receive a pair of official race socks and an environmentally-friendly, reusable cloth shopping bag. Besides raising funds for an important cause, there will also be extensive merchandise prizes given to the top ten finishers in each race category. For more information, or to fill out an entry form, call 575-7469 or visit www.cycletothesun.net. Maui Cyclery is located at 810 Kokomo Rd. in Ha‘iku.