2003 Dave Yates custom 26" tourer

[foz]

thanks Jamie! I actually started a blog about 2 years ago, but have hardly written anything

I have loads of pics and stories, just too little time to actually put them anywhere. Is there anywhere on RB to do stuff like that?

 

[Jamiedyer]

Blog

Hi mate
Just link to your Blog or even start a thread on readers rides I suppose. Either way I'll read it wherever you put it.
If its your blog, link to it in your signature so everyone knows.

Jamie

 

[foz]

Hi Jamie, thanks for the interest! There's not a lot there right now (hasn't been for two years ), but maybe some day I'll write some more!

http://4790miles.blogspot.com.es/

 

[lae]

The Crown Range is in Otago, isn't it? I'm semi-permanently moving to Dunedin in the spring so I'll be bikepacking my way around all of Otago and elsewhere, hopefully. What was it like? Have you got any routes you'd recommend (or avoid - I've heard some of the roads are pretty nasty to cycle on!)

 

[foz]

The crown range if I remember correctly is the highest road in NZ. It's just above queenstown. I went to Dunedin too (and cycled up the steepest road in the world, which is there). The central Otago rail trail is a must do, especially on a bike! I don't remember any particularly bad roads, and there was certainly much less traffic than in the UK, especially once you get away from the coastal area.

 

[Jamiedyer]

Great

Blog looks great, I always love reading about home and especially how others see it.
I did a lot of travelling back home, some by bicycle but most on my BMW motorcycles.
get updating, I read quickly
Seriously, thanks for sharing.

Jamie

 

[lae]

The crown range if I remember correctly is the highest road in NZ. It's just above queenstown. I went to Dunedin too (and cycled up the steepest road in the world, which is there). The central Otago rail trail is a must do, especially on a bike! I don't remember any particularly bad roads, and there was certainly much less traffic than in the UK, especially once you get away from the coastal area.

Sounds great. I'm taking my hardtail MTB with me rather than building up a tourer; I'm hoping to explore all the gravel roads and old mining tracks that don't exist in Europe... from Dunedin you can take the train (the single train in the whole of the south island!) out to Pukerangi/Middlemarch which is the start of the Rail Trail and various other trails, too.

Did you camp wild or in campsites? I find the law quite confusing... as far as I can tell it's okay to camp on government land so long as there's not a sign saying you can't... as well as private land if you have permission, obviously. Did you stay in any of those free/cheap unmanned huts?

 

[fatfixie]

What about the train from Christchurch to Greymouth over Arthur's Pass?

Andy

 

[lae]

Woah, the network's twice the size I thought it was!

 

[fatfixie]

Woah, the network's twice the size I thought it was!

And there's also Christchurch to Picton