Tasman Great Taste Trail

What started as casual “beer talk” at one of our regular meetings 12 months ago at The Local in Strathmore seemed to gather a momentum of its own, and all of a sudden the trip had been organised for February 2015.

According to their own website (Tasman’s Great Taste Trail – GTT) this easy cycling trail takes a leisurely tour of Tasman’s most beautiful coastal and inland areas. Riders pass vineyards, breweries, orchards and no end of places to stop and enjoy some quality cuisine. As a loop the trail is 174km long, but (fortunately for 5MoB) it can easily be broken down into bite sized portions just right for short morning rides and gentle afternoon cruises – for old blokes.

As this is our first “away trip” and we are uncertain of our stamina we are concentrating on the coastal route (the bit in green on the accompanying map), from Nelson to Mapua and Motueka, returning the same way, but exploring some of the side trails (and refreshment stops) en-route. The aim is to enjoy a leisurely ride over a couple of days, taking in the sights and tastes of the coastal trail, not to win any race to the next stop. Paul may be the exception to this of course.