Again, the day looked downhill on paper, but while there were some exhilarating downhills, there were plenty of hills to climb. After the second, they were of decreasing severity, which was nice. After the Rainbow Trail, it was hard to get enthused about the rural scenery.
The highlight was the pathetic local driving on a quiet country road ! I had three super close passes which were all clearly vindictive. The rest of the passes were just generally bad on average.
Anyway, I survived and was pleased to have lunch in Wakefield at the bakery. I then got off the road onto the Great Taste Trail.
It was flat and made its way though some vineyards before hitting Richmond and the outskirts of Nelson. I had the option of climbing a 70 metre hill or riding an extra kilometre on the flat, and after 87kms at that point, you can guess my choice.
Nelson is a nice town and much larger than I expected. There are plenty of hops grown in this region and I guess this fuels the local craft beer industry. But tonight after 94 kms, I was craving Pizza, and the Vic Hotel delivered superbly. I stayed at the local YHA and got one of the last available beds, which I can safely say, are the most uncomfortable hostel / hotel / motel I’ve ever slept on. It’s a nice hostel though.