Bikers on the Rimutaka Hill

[KoroJ]

It'll be a pity if they do reduce the speed and bloody typical of the prats running our nanny state.

Having said that, from one perspective, it wouldn't be a problem becaused who does 100kph over the hill? Where it will be a problem is the dickhead NZ drivers that think that currently do 60kph and think that because the speed limit is reduced, they better do 50kph!!

The road isn't dangerous...it's a road!! It doesn't get up and slap if we ride/drive to the conditions. Some oif us ride it dangerously though.

Some like to just get there thrills on the Hill, but with SH1 as the only other option in & out of Wellington most of us have to use it to start and finish our rides. The stats might label it as a black spot, but I'll bet a penny to a pinch of shit that stacking the volumes per incident against any other black spots, it's probably not that bad??

As for group rides....with all that paint and traffic, 'pressure' applied by a lead rider just doesn't hold water on this stretch of road. I don't know how other groups deal with it, but local Ulys start from Brown Owl with a 'freeride' over the hill, regroup in Featherston, then start the group ride from there.

They dropped the limits on the Paekak' Hill to 70kph and that wasn;t too bad but now it's 60kph and that's a right royal pain in the arse. It's even too slow for a decent 'No Brakes' ride!! Where will it all stop!

[Smifffy]

So why have motorcycle accidents decreased markedly since then?

Even accidents per registration?

Motorcyclists are riding more responsibly as a direct result of increased ACC levies?

[swbarnett]

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

Vaugely. Can't think why?

[swbarnett]

What like the Homer tunnel?

I was more thinking of the Gotthard.

Can't say I've ever heard of a hill road around the Homer tunnel.

[FJRider]

Vaugely. Can't think why?

Famous for West Coast (USA) biker vids of bikes falling off the road. Usually Youtube related vids ...

[swbarnett]

Famous for West Coast (USA) biker vids of bikes falling off the road. Usually Youtube related vids ...

Thought that road sounded familiar.

At least with a tunnel underneath there should be less to hit. Certainly all the truck traffic will be gone. More hoons of course.

[scracha]

IHaving said that, from one perspective, it wouldn't be a problem becaused who does 100kph over the hill?

I'm no nutter (bar one asshole t-boning me in town 8 years ago I haven't fell off on the road for over 20 years) and with the taka's having no margin for fuckups I always ride there at 50% but there's a fair percentage of that road where I'm hitting 100 between corners....there'd be a fair few more on a fast bike.

80k speed limit won't stop people doing mad over-takes and won't stop people cornering too enthusiastically. In fact, it may have the opposite effect. The yellow lines are a pain in the arse when it's clearly safe to overtake on a bike but in all honestly, with the shit riding I see nearly every time I go over the hill then I'm not really surprised they're there. Most drivers on the hill will pull left a bit and a bit of acknowledgement (a wave or blat of horn when in the car) and NOT RIDING UP THEIR ARSE goes a long way in encouraging them to repeat that sorta behaviour.

In either a car or bike, I'd sum up the Rimutakas with one word....FRUSTRATING. It needs at least a couple more overtaking sections both ways and signs reminding drivers (and riders) to just let faster moving traffic past. Seriously, I pulled over twice today coming back and it must have added what....20s to my journey?

[Crasherfromwayback]

Thought that road sounded familiar.

.

Yeah but THIS is the REAL Mulholland Drive!

[Ocean1]

Motorcyclists are riding more responsibly as a direct result of increased ACC levies?

Of course.

Or, it could be all the old bastards contaminating the traffic safety carnage story tale, having done most of the crashing required to learn better 30 years ago.

Arseholes.

[The Baron]

I went over the Rimutaka hill road today (Sun 26 about 11am).

Talk about sending a message, 3 police cars and a fourth at the bottom on the Hutt side, plus two police motorbikes.

Was I the only one to notice this?

[FJRider]

At least with a tunnel underneath there should be less to hit. Certainly all the truck traffic will be gone. More hoons of course.

And there's even a prison handy for the labour to DIG it ...

[Ocean1]

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.

BTW, there's already a tunnel. Not wide enough for two lanes, but northbound over the hill and southbound through the tunnel would at least eliminate the head-on thing.

[Rhys]

BTW, there's already a tunnel. Not wide enough for two lanes, but northbound over the hill and southbound through the tunnel would at least eliminate the head-on thing.

I would have thought the trains may have been a problem

[James Deuce]

Trains don't run very often. The main problem is that they never run on fucking time, so don't use the published timetable to plan your tunnel trip by motorcycle.

[pritch]

This sounds exactly like the Akaroa hill.

Nah, the Akaroa hill is way better. Trouble with Wellington last time I looked, Rimutaka hill is too busy with too many yellow lines. (Like the Manawatu Gorge.)
The Paekak hill has too many 4WDs. Last time I went through the Akatarawa Road there weren't *that* many 4WDs, but the drivers of those I did see were rubber necking the views as opposed to driving.

Never seen mention on here of the road to Makara, long time since I was there but I guess that's a bit short?