Bikers on the Rimutaka Hill

[GrayWolf]

Shhhhh! Don't disturb... he's doing his crusty old fuckwit routine. One, I must admit, he has down to a fine art.

Coz I AM a crusty old fucker!

[skippa1]

Coz I AM a crusty old fucker!

Me too... ,it's not that bad you know........

[NZIrish]

..was the original thread

Unless it can be policed 24/7, which it never will be unless they install a camera on every corner (130 or so), is an utter waste of time.

I thought the hill, given the amount of traffic used, had quite a good history in non fatal accidents obviously I'm missing something.

On a fine day with bugger all traffic it's still one of the best rides in the country....and stuff it I will continue to enjoy it safely.

[Berries]

Unless it can be policed 24/7, which it never will be unless they install a camera on every corner (130 or so), is an utter waste of time.

If it was 80km/h and you knew that they had patrols on there most days then you would knock a few k's off your top speed, even if it is just to stay within 40km/h of the limit so you don't have to walk. 'Speed zoning' like this is inevitable, even though on bikes we don't struggle to get to the posted speed limit between corners which seems to be the justification that is being used.

[swbarnett]

If this piece of road is really as dangerous as it's being made out to be the solution, while expensive, is blindingly obvious to anyone that has experienced it elsewhere - build a road tunnel and leave the twisty road to those that actually want a few corners in their day.

[FJRider]

If this piece of road is really as dangerous as it's being made out to be the solution, while expensive, is blindingly obvious to anyone that has experienced it elsewhere - build a road tunnel and leave the twisty road to those that actually want a few corners in their day.

The real danger lies with those that can't handle those corners ....

[swbarnett]

The real danger lies with those that can't handle those corners ....

Agreed.

There will always be such people and there's nothing we can do about that. In light of this I feel a tunnel would be the best option for them and would leave the twisty road as is (all corner straightening would cease) for the rest of us.

[FJRider]

Agreed.

There will always be such people and there's nothing we can do about that. In light of this I feel a tunnel would be the best option for them and would leave the twisty road as is (all corner straightening would cease) for the rest of us.

Does Mulholland drive ... ring a few bells ... ??

[roogazza]

The real danger lies with those that can't handle those corners ....

Went over there this morning.Trouble is,it's all over in 5 or 6 minutes nowdays.
(and it has more paint on it than the Auck harbour bridge.)
In days gone by, the ride started at Te Marua and you did the Kaitokes first.

[FJRider]

Went over there this morning.Trouble is,it's all over in 5 or 6 minutes nowdays.
(and it has more paint on it than the Auck harbour bridge.)
In days gone by, the ride started at Te Marua and you did the Kaitokes first.

I can remember buying a (shit) coffee at the top too ... Some "Interesting" machines could be seen there ...

[Dogboy900]

Was good when there was a cafe at the top. Made for a bit of a social stop up there. Could have a look at the other machines and a quick yarn before heading off to where ever. I would see some of the same characters up there every weekend I went up.

[Madness]

In days gone by, the ride started at Te Marua and you did the Kaitokes first.

I loved the old road through Kaitoke, lived in Marchant Rd for a while & used to do the road a couple of times a day on average in my Vauxhall Victor ('63 or '64 - I can't recall which one). The "whoop-de-doo's" were a brilliant warm-up, or down, depending on which way you were going.

Was good when there was a cafe at the top. Made for a bit of a social stop up there. Could have a look at the other machines and a quick yarn before heading off to where ever. I would see some of the same characters up there every weekend I went up.

The tearooms were managed by family of mine for a while & later by an old high school mate & his brother. I stayed the night up there a couple of times on watch duty, giving Uncle the night off to go to the pub. The place used to get burgled at night if left unattended & shots would get fired into the windows & doors. I was up at the summit the day the road was closed either side after a truck roll-over, along with a handful of other bikes. It was a tragic accident but for a while there the hill was Nirvana.

I can remember buying a (shit) coffee at the top too...

It must have been raining recently, the water supply to the café was a very small creek further up the hill. That said, the coffee was pretty shit on a dry week too.

[cheshirecat]

Agreed.

There will always be such people and there's nothing we can do about that. In light of this I feel a tunnel would be the best option for them and would leave the twisty road as is (all corner straightening would cease) for the rest of us.

What like the Homer tunnel?

[Gremlin]

What like the Homer tunnel?

No, smoother, ideally with enough space for two lanes.

There are a couple of wicked pot holes in that tunnel...

[cheshirecat]

No, smoother, ideally with enough space for two lanes.

There're a couple of wicked pot holes in that tunnel...

Met that tunnel relatively new to riding here and expected some sort of Swiss Alpine effort being a major Int tourist number, well lite, high grip surface, smooth etc and dived in all enthusiastic like. Boy was I corrected and it didn't get any better exiting since the brains trust had "resurfaced" all those hairpins with ball bearing gravel advising me to go on the other side, like what the side the cars are coming up on, and blow me down the cage ahead rolled it at all of 30kph -- oh another surprise was all the racket at MS what with Helis, aircraft, launches, coaches etc. Nature my arse.