The Black and Blue Ride - Otago

[gijoe1313]

Wowsa, sounds like you two had a blast, I've done the South Island tour in a cage but reading your report - gives me a hankering to definitely do it on two wheels of freedom.

Great write up with excellent tips on loose stuff riding ( I did some for the 1st time out to Coromandel and it gave me some pucker moments! ). I will have to do some research on your modes of transport for further reference (world tour on a bike? Yes please!).

[Ruralman]

Great ride report guys.

Mrs V and I did the Dunedin - Palmerston - Middlemarch - Dunedin loop a couple of weeks ago (two-up). We cut across the Macraes road, a good mix of twisties and sweeping curves. Didn't realise the last section into Middlemarch was unsealed though - a bit hairy when two-up on a cruiser!

Almost took out a rather large hare at one point - the bugger managed to run under the bike between the wheels......

Mrs V had a bit of a giggle when she spotted an infamous phantom "road cone on a pine tree" on the way down toward Middlemarch!

You must have continued on the road through Moonlight rather than turning off and down to to the Middlemarch-Hyde road - its all sealed. I know the gravel road you mean and sometimes the gravel can be really heavy and deep up there. Past a guy on Harley on it one day in my SUV - he was making hard work of it.

[Ruralman]

An update on this report
The accident I mentioned did result in a fatality - an american tourist was heading South and was on the wrong side of the road round that corner - unfortunately it was a young local guy in the other car who was killed.

I rode the section Oldrider covered myself the other day on the way up to his place. There are some fantastic bike roads here - through trotters Gorge is great and then the coastal section turning off at the Wainakarua bridge and coming back onto SH1 at the Weston turnoff just south of Oamaru was magic.
I also really enjoyed the ride up to Duntroon via Ngpara though the spectacular limestone country.
Had a wee incident with birdstrike there which is covered in this post:http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=37885