Moments earlier, the retired Canadian couple had stopped for a photo opportunity at a lookout on SH6 on their way to Haast from Cromwell, oblivious to the drama about to unfold.
On Wednesday, February 28, shortly after 2pm, Mr Freeman (60) and his wife Mary (58) set off on what would be the last leg of their cycling trip around the South Island.
Mr Freeman, who was steering the tandem, said the trailer behind the bike developed speed wobbles while the pair were cycling down a steep hill at an estimated speed of 85kmh.
"I put the brakes on and it got worse."
He released the brakes in the hope the tandem would correct itself, but the rear wheel was ripped off by the trailer.
Both were knocked out, but Mr Freeman came to long enough to flag down a passing car before passing out again.
His actions may have prevented a fatality as the pair lay on either side of the road near the bottom of the hill.
"I am so grateful to my husband for that. He is going to feel the benefit and I am going to be much nicer to him from now on," Mrs Freeman said.
A witness said the pair were groaning in pain, and did not know they were in New Zealand.
"I think people who I have talked to, and who looked after us at the scene, thought I was going to die," Mrs Freeman, who was taken to Dunedin Hospital by the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter, said.
Unconscious for two hours, her only recall from the crash was "hearing Peter say 's**t' before looking at our odometer saying 84.7 km".
Her injuries included a pelvis broken in two places, every rib on her left side broken, a clavicle broken in three places, a break in her neck, a collapsed lung, 50 stitches on her forehead and many abrasions.
Mrs Freeman spent a week in intensive care and, like her husband, also was partly scalped in the crash. Mr Freeman also had a fractured elbow and severe abrasions.
The pair praised the emergency services and passers-by who assisted them, including the police who contacted their relatives in Canada, the hospital staff and those who have offered support and assistance.
They had been visited by the Invercargill couple who were first at the scene, people they met while camping, and passengers and a staff member from the Taieri Gorge train which they travelled on days before the crash.
The couple were last in New Zealand on their honeymoon in 1990, and are vowing to finish their trip by car before leaving the country next month.
"That sounds very appealing to me," Mrs Freeman said.
Mr Freeman has been offered a home while his wife recovers in Dunedin Hospital and the couple plan to remain in the city for several weeks so she can recover further.
Despite being in obvious pain, she continued to lift small hand weights and was focused on returning to her active lifestyle, while her husband was already back running - "we are not going to let this slow us down", she said.
