Where Can You Wheelie Past A Cop?

Try Papua New Guinea

maddix park mx

When you think Papua New Guinea, you probably think more of mountains and cannibals than motorbikes. Well, you would be right, at least concerning the mountains and the bikes.

In PNG there are only 36 motorbikes but the highlands of this Pacific nation are a trail rider’s dream. The bikes - mostly late model WRFs, CRFs  or similar- are generally owned by expat Kiwis and Aussies who have formed the Morobe Motorcycle Club and are organizing next March’s first international Ride the Rivers Enduro.

“Over the past couple of years, we have had some races up here with just us, 12-15 guys having a blast,” says Kiwi Morobe member Peter Boyd, “but for next year we figured why not showcase PNG to riders from New Zealand and Australia as well.” “The riding here is awesome and great fun,” he adds. “There are no fences and you can drive past a copper on the highway doing a wheelie!”

The Morobe Club’s plan is to offer a week or so of trail riding in the highlands of PNG ( riding from sea level to 9,500ft in one day) finishing off with a two day enduro. Two days, and 240km of Racing, through the most challenging terrain Papua New Guinea has to offer - native bush, rivers, swamps, forest trails, cocoa & banana plantations, fallen trees, rocks and many more unexpected obstacles.

“The race itself will be pretty damn hard,” Peter admits, “a bit like the Romaniacs, 6-8 hours per day with a 110-125km loop, done in reverse on the second day – but because I imagine we will get some social riders, we will have shorter versions with trail rides through the highlands and in and around the coastal region of Lae. The scenery alone is worth the trip.”

The Club wants to show the outside world that not all Papua New Guinea is full of cannibals… and is doing everything possible to attract riders to the event. Generous sponsors, who are also riders, have put up $AUS25, 000 in prize money and both the sea freight for bikes and the accommodation are free. The Club is looking to make the event a Tri Nations, and they need at least 10 Kiwis to match the 10 riders so far from Australia.  It's all happening in March 2012, so what are you waiting for ?

“Freight and customs is taken care of, we would billet riders, there is big game fishing, tourist stuff to do, it’s not going to cost much, we will approach airlines to get group discount on travel and the beer is unbelievable!” continues Peter.  “The only downside is that to ensure bikes get here, we would need them shipped a month before the race, and it would take two weeks to get them back…so maybe 2 months without a bike. Anyone wanting to be part of this unique Ride the Rivers Enduro, contact me at  [email protected] for details or check out this info sheet.”

The Morobe Club riders have had articles written about them in various dirt bike and dirt action magazines and also featured in Charlie Boorman’s “By Any Means” documentary when he spent 3 days with them in Papua New Guinea.

If you missed out on these, read more about Charlie’s PNG trip or click here for the Charlie Boorman video clip.

 
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