Keep those legs pumping. John Fridd cycles through the
rock-studded hinterland of Dunedin, enjoying the friendships,
the picnics and the remoteness.
So you bought a bike (perhaps your partner in life did, too),
trained furiously and knocked off the rail trail. Now what?
The risk is that the bike might now gather cobwebs in the
garage, playing second fiddle to other sporting or
recreational pastimes - or perhaps the couch and Sky TV.
There is another option. With a little planning, it's easy to
put together any number of interesting weekend bike trips
from Dunedin.
I ride regularly with one of the AOK Social Riders groups,
which head out somewhere in the greater Dunedin area on
recreational, social mountain-bike rides each Saturday.
We occasionally organise longer trips to explore new
territory and have fun in the process.
Two such trips have involved heading up to the Strath Taieri,
using a resource many people don't think about when
considering a rail trail adventure.
The Otago Central railway starts near Mosgiel, not
Middlemarch, and the 64km of track still in place on the
spectacular section in between still functions as a working
railway.
The Taieri Gorge Railway runs daily and sometimes twice-daily
trips up towards Middlemarch, providing an ideal way for
Dunedin cyclists to get well into Central Otago with little
effort and enjoy some wonderful scenery on the way.
Or if you are feeling more energetic, you can - as we did
last year - start by tackling part of undulating George King
Memorial Dr, which heads from Outram towards Middlemarch,
roughly following the railway for a time.
It's a good idea to arrange for a non-riding partner or
friend to tag along in a car to carry your baggage -
otherwise you'll have to carry backpacks or buy panniers,
which can be a hassle. Assuming you are turning these into
weekend rides, it's a good idea to arrange for someone with a
bike rack or trailer to pick you up at the end.
Ride 1
If you're reasonably fit, allow two hours
to ride the 33km from Mosgiel to Hindon station to catch the
train (in the summer, on Saturdays the first train of the day
reaches Hindon about 10.30am, then 3.30pm for the afternoon
train, but double-check with the Taieri Gorge Railway on the
trains running the day you want to ride).
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