Something everyone wants to know about the various courses on Maui are the speeds you will be traveling. This varies greatly dependent upon the course you are on.
Generally the longer the line, the faster you will go, but this is not always the case. Zippers can travel at a great variety of speeds on the various courses ranging from a speed of 10 mph to some which actually can hit speeds of 60 mph.
Another determining factor of speed is the amount of descent between the departure point and the arrival landing zone. Some courses can have an elevation disparity of 500′ to 600′ and these courses are often among the fastest.
One other factor that plays with speed on these courses is the wind factor. Some courses offer rides between ridges high on the mountain tops or near prevalent and gusty trade winds which can have the effect of either speeding up your ride or slowing it down depending upon the direction of the wind and the direction you are traveling.
Keep in mind that you as a rider can also affect your speed of travel on the course. A maneuver often referred to as the ‘starfish’ can be used to slow your forward momentum by providing more body surface area to slow you down and the reverse can occur when you streamline your body into a straight line position which will tend to provide less air resistance and speed you up.