Unescorted, or "self-guided," tour companies haven't participated in the bicycle-tour industry's efforts to address residents' traffic and safety complaints.

Now they've become a target for criticism by lawmakers and community activists, and they're on the defensive, saying they've been made a scapegoat for problems created by guided tours.

"They say we're the problem," said Haleakala Bike Co. owner Ben Hall. "We are the problem — in that we're competitive. We're growing, and they're not."

Critics complain that unguided tours rent bikes to too-young children, and that riders often cruise down the middle of the road, blocking traffic.

"A lot of these guys will look back, they'll see you and they won't pull over," said Jon Thuro, owner of Maui Mountain Cruisers, who noted that his company and other guided tours now try to keep bikes on the shoulder wherever possible in residential areas.

For Upcountry bike tour critic Paula Holroyde, the issue is "safety, safety, safety."

She said watching families with young children weaving in and out of traffic was her biggest concern.

"It just scares the bejeebies out of me," she said.

Bike rental companies do have fewer restrictions on riders than guided tours do, but say they don't see a safety issue in renting bikes to children accompanied by parents. They also say they instruct customers at length on the "rules of the road," but acknowledge many riders may ignore the lectures.

"The bottom line is," Hall said, "when you rent someone the equipment and they walk out the door, there's nothing you can do — period."

Guided vs. unguided

Hall said he felt bike rentals like his were being targeted because the guided tour owners "envy" his more profitable business model.

"I had one driver and one cruise leader today, and 50 customers," he said. "That's what makes me competitive."

He said the large, slow-moving guided tours, and aggressive driving by escort vans, are the real cause of traffic and safety problems.

Paolo Baricchi, owner of Maui Sunriders Bike Co., agreed.

"In terms of who exacerbates the situation, it's been more them than us," he said.

Not only are the small groups of independent riders less intrusive, they also give more back to the community, he added. They're more likely to stop at shops and restaurants they find along the way.

"They definitely contribute more to the economy of the area than the guided tours," he said.

While guided tours involve a string of riders led by a guide and followed by an escort van, "self-guided" operations drop riders off to ride down on their own.

Since unescorted tours are not permitted to ride through Haleakala National Park, most tours drop riders just outside park gates, sometimes after a van tour or escorted bike ride through the park.

"After that, everybody does their own thing," Baricchi said.

Both companies said they require customers to have a cell phone, and provide all riders with a backpack for the phone and supplies, a map, and phone numbers for the bike shop.

"We always tell them, if at any point in time you're not comfortable, call us and we'll come and pick you up," said Baricchi. "They're on their own, but they're supported."

The two types of tours are regulated differently; guided tours need a special county permit, while bike rental companies do not.

That could change soon. House Bill 349 moving forward in the state Legislature would authorize the county to regulate both guided and unguided bike operations on state highways.

The threat of increased regulation was one reason the guided tour industry said this spring it would reform itself and address community concerns. Promised changes included standardizing tour pull-offs, keeping bikes on the road shoulder where possible and holding vans back to let traffic pass.

Unguided operations have not participated in the reforms.

Rich Goodenough, owner of Maui Downhill, said companies like his are blamed for problems caused by unguided riders.

"There's a complaint about 'those downhill bike riders,' '' he said. "But who is that?"

'Deaf ears'

Traffic conflicts remain one of the chief complaints about unguided riders.

Kula Community Association Vice President Gina Flammer was concerned riders may be told they're allowed to ride in the middle of the road.

She said she once confronted a rental tour driver when a rider swerved in front of her car, only to be told the bike had every right to be there.

"I hoped he would pull her over and talk to her, but he had no intention of doing that," she said. "He told me it was my problem."

Under state highways law, bicycles and other vehicles going below the speed limit can be on the pavement of a public road but must move to the right of the lane.

Hall said his company gives riders an extensive briefing on safety and traffic rules. But he admits many customers probably ignore the advice.

"We give them the best information we can about the law and safety, but a lot of that falls on deaf ears," he said. "I don't think anybody listens, to be perfectly honest."

A written handout distributed to customers lists the "rules of the road," including: ride single file, yield to passing traffic, wear helmets and keep plenty of space between bicycles.

"You must ride to the right of your lane," it states. "The further you are to the right, the safer you are."

The handout also tells riders to stay on the road. "Do not ride on the shoulder," it states. "Rocks and other roadside debris can be hazardous."

Hall said he does tell customers to move off the road if they're "picking their way down" and holding up traffic, but added that if the bikes are moving at the speed limit "they have every right to be there."

"The law says ride as far to the right as possible. It doesn't say ride on the shoulder," said Hall.

Baricchi said he instructs every rider to move to the right and allow traffic to pass.

"We tell people always, if you feel cars are piling up behind you, share the road," he said.

But that gets difficult when there isn't a safe place to move over.

"I can't tell somebody to stay on the shoulder on Baldwin Avenue if there is no shoulder," he said.

Baricchi said he felt most customers follow the rules, although "there is always the exception."

"Believe me, we drill them," he said. "It's in our own interest."

Flammer said she didn't buy the argument that bike rental companies didn't have control over what their customers did on the road.

"That's a poor excuse," she said. "They're not getting the message across."

No age limits

Critics have also focused on the loose restrictions on customers allowed to rent bikes and ride down the mountain. Holroyde was particularly alarmed to see children on the road.

"I see groups of families, some with very young children, riding close down the middle of the road," she said. "I've come across families having arguments in the middle of the road on a corner."

Flammer had the same concern. She said bike tours should raise their minimum age requirements.

"One of the things I saw was an 8-year-old in the middle of the road, freaking out, with his dad trying to calm him down," she said.

Bike rental companies do appear to have more relaxed standards for riders than guided tours.

Cruiser Phil's, a guided tour, requires riders to be at least 12 years old, 4 feet 10 inches tall, and under 280 pounds, and will not allow pregnant women to ride — standards similar to other guided tours, said owner Phil Feliciano.

Baricchi said his company won't rent to clients who aren't experienced on a bike, but otherwise has few guidelines.

"No pregnant women, no beginners," he said. "That's the main restriction."

Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, he added.

"We leave it at the parents' discretion," he said.

Drivers watch riders as they pass them on the road, and may tell them to ride home in the van if they look unsafe, Baricchi added.

Hall also doesn't have a minimum age requirement; he'll rent bikes to children as young as 8, and allows 5- or 6-year-olds to ride on special bikes attached to their parents' bikes, he said.

Hall didn't see a problem in allowing children on the ride, noting that adults seem to get hurt more than youngsters.

"I've yet in 14 years to have an injury involving a child," he said. "Children are much more durable. They expect to fall down."

Unfriendly roads

While they may be feeling the heat from critics, bike rental companies say local drivers are actually their biggest safety issue on the road. Riders are endangered by speeding and aggressive drivers, said Hall.

Drivers pass riders unsafely, yell obscenities, make rude gestures or worse, he added. One disgruntled driver on Haiku's Kokomo Road throws firecrackers at riders.

"I get real upset when local residents forget their aloha," Hall said.

Baricchi agreed that customers' biggest complaint is that they "didn't feel much aloha," on the ride, and he said rude, aggressive drivers are his biggest safety concern.

"A lot of people on the road think bicycles have no rights," he said. "But the bicycles have the same rights as everybody else."

That's the bottom line for Hall as well, who said that, while he'll do his part to inform customers about safety and traffic rules, drivers also need to share the road.

"These are public roads," he said. "(The bikes) are registered vehicles. They have every right to be there – period."