Cruiser Phil's Volcano Riders has laid off its 17 employees, said Cynthia Feliciano, who runs the company with her husband, Phil.

Unlike other downhill tour companies which will start their tours outside the park or at different locations, Cruiser Phil's will not be doing any abbreviated or new tours.

"We are holding off until we can really make sure we are the safest tour," Feliciano said Tuesday.

Beginning today, commercial downhill bicycle tours will be barred from using the park for at least 60 days for a "safety stand-down" ordered by park Superintendent Marilyn Parris while studies are done on whether the tours can operate safely at the park.

Parris gave the companies notice last week, saying it was the "next prudent" step following a fatal crash last month involving a bicyclist on a tour. The fatality was the third in a year.

Seven commercial bicycle tour companies had permits to conduct bike tours at the park. Two of those companies, Haleakala Bike Co. and Maui Sunriders Bike Co., also have permits to carry passengers through the park in their vehicles and will still conduct van tours in the park — beginning their bike rides outside the park boundaries, company officials said on Tuesday.

Five other companies, Maui Mountain Cruisers, Maui Downhill Bicycle Tours, Cruiser Phil's Volcano Riders, Mountain Riders and Bike It Maui No Ka Oi, have hired Wailuku attorney James Fosbinder to analyze what has been happening at the park. The companies make up Maui Bicycle Tours Association. All the bicycle tour companies have about a month to provide input on the situation to parks officials.

The stand-down does not prevent independent bicyclists from riding in the park.

Feliciano said Cruiser Phil's canceled around 700 reservations. She said the challenge now is finding ways to keep up with the bills, such as insurance, rent and security, while waiting for the 60 days to pass.

She said the company has been assisting employees with any references they may need to find work.

"We have the best employees," she said.

Cruiser Phil's did not want to conduct an abbreviated or new tour because the staff didn't have time to try out the rides and work out safety issues, she said. Although their business is affected, Feliciano did not express ill will toward Parris.

"We feel Marilyn is in a tough spot." she said.

On the last day that tours were allowed through the park, riders said they didn't agree with the decision to bar bicycle tours, even temporarily.

"I don't understand it," said Denise Evans of Ohio. "There are injuries in any sport."

Evans, 51, and her 56-year-old husband, Guy, had just completed their third bicycle tour with Cruiser Phil's Volcano Riders Tuesday morning.

"That tells you everything right there," Guy Evans said about his repeat visits and repeat rides.

Ed Hornbeck, who took a Bike It Maui No Ka Oi tour Tuesday, said he "didn't see the point" of the park's decision.

"I felt very safe, everything seemed in control," said the Phoenix resident.

Hornbeck and his girlfriend were eating breakfast at Charley's Restaurant in Paia with the rest of their tour group.

Jeremy Cyr, who was part of the group, said the ride was a "great experience."

Although all the information he had about the issues were from the bike companies, he said he questioned the need for the stand-down, saying people get hurt from using personal watercraft and scuba diving.

"I don't see how anyone can have an accident going at that speed." said Cyr, 26.

Cyr said he probably wouldn't do the tour if he couldn't go up to the summit to see the crater and the sunrise.

"I really wouldn't do one without the other," he said.

Jim Fuller, owner of Charley's, said riders from Bike It Maui have been coming to have breakfast "for years and years.

"We love them," he said.

He said he will lose a steady breakfast business from the company if it can't continue the tours that end with a meal at his restaurant.

Bike It Maui employees Billy Petrak and Kimberly Kilborn said they are nervous about what will happen to their jobs and how they are going to take care of their family.

"It's scary," Kilborn said.

Petrak said he enjoys his job, which helps people experience Maui and enjoy the sunrise, but feels like their livelihoods are in jeopardy.

Lory Bullock, who took a tour with Cruiser Phil's Volcano Riders on Tuesday, called the stand-down "unfair" and said if bicyclists pay attention there shouldn't be accidents.

Bullock, who took the tour with her new husband, Jason, had just finished breakfast at Moana Bakery & Cafe along Baldwin Avenue. The two also wondered about the ramifications that the decision will have on businesses such as the cafe.

Jon Thuro, owner of Maui Mountain Cruisers, said Monday that he may need to lay off half of his 35 employees and also worried about the trickle-down effect of the loss of bike tours on local businesses such as Polli's Mexican Restaurant and Sunrise Country Market, which his tours patronize.

"There are a lot of people who are going to be affected by this," he said.

On Monday, Thuro said he had no one signed up to take bike tours starting from outside the park today, but he was taking reservations to do tours that include a visit to the Tedeschi Vineyards in Ulupalakua.

"It's really hard on us. It's a big hardship," he said.

The most recent fatal bicyclist crash involved Thuro's company. On Sept. 26, a 65-year-old Ohio woman died after she apparently lost control of her bicycle on a curve, crossed the centerline and was struck by a Maui Downhill van heading uphill. Witnesses said the van driver couldn't avoid the collision.

Thuro, who previously did not comment on the collision, said the company has not been found in error. He added that seven years ago the company had a rider who suffered a fatal accident in the park. The company was not found liable. He said there was no safety stand-down then.

Richard Goodenough, president of Maui Downhill, said today will be a "new beginning" with his company doing different types of tours and taking different business approaches.

"You can't say I'm back where I used to be. It will take some time," he said.

"The joy of riding a bicycle on Maui and enjoying the landscape is still going to be there."

If the company can generate a sufficient number of bicycle tours, he said it could keep the employees working. For two years, the company has offered other kinds of tours outside the park and now will add van tours to Tedeschi Vineyards, he said.

He has also contracted with a bus company to take his bicycle riders for a Haleakala park tour before they begin a downhill bike tour outside the park's boundaries.

Paolo Baricchi, owner of Maui Sunriders Bike Co., which has a permit to do vehicle tours in the park, said he has not see any gain in his business yet. He said there are misunderstandings that no bike company will be allowed to offer a van tour in the park. Baricchi said he is thankful he had the vehicle tour permit, adding that he felt the bicycle tours in the park may not be safe. While his company has been in business since 2001, it has only conducted bicycle tours in the park several times.

"We always felt it was much safer to do it in the van," he said.

Sunriders bike tours are unguided, but riders are given several briefings and staff and a van are always able to respond if riders need help.