Hi there,
Just wanted to put out a quick word and let everyone out there know that, while there are no immediate plans to run the Tour de Farmington this fall (2013), we may be in the works for another fun bike run in the near future. Thanks for your continued interest and we’ll be checking in from time to time with updates and ideas about how to eat local and save more than fossil fuels in the process. Support your local farmers!
BEST WISHES FOR 2013!!
Hi there,
I hope that everyone has been eagerly awaiting the tour details. In order to make sure the information was as accurate as possible, I had to wait until today 9/29 to send out this email. It seemed that there were some last minute details to work out (mostly concerning our route through Phillips). There was a last minute location change for the rest stop there and I just figured out all the images using Photoshop, etc. Thanks for your patience!
First of all: The event is rain or shine. If you aren’t interested in riding, it is possible to receive a refund. However, the forecast is for showers, which doesn’t seem to mean anything that menacing. Especially when this has been such an amazing year for crops. Things are staying really tasty and fresh right into the fall, and its just been a magical year for growing vegetables.
Second: We are meeting (for registration, as well as the TDF start and finish) at the District Court Parking Lot in Farmington. We are having a mass start at 9 AM, so please arrive with time to register and sign waivers! If you googled “Pleasant St, 04938,” google would take you to the following link, marking the area where the tour starts:
Third: Lunch is not provided free of charge on the tour. There is a potluck reception with hors d’oeuvres and a free bluegrass concert from 4-6 PM. The location can be found by googling “508 Fairbanks Rd, 04938” or clicking here:
Also: We are supplying the rest stop with great snacks, there are bathrooms available at the farms and rest stops, too. A great lunch choice for cyclists on the ride includes: (for the 41 & 57 mile tours) the White Elephant in Strong.
Its a tour stop! On the 22 mile tour, there are numerous restaurants and eateries in Kingfield, where the tour ends, before a shuttle back. If those options don’t work, you may choose to brown bag it.
Please let me know if you have any questions. We are eagerly looking forward to Saturday and are expecting a great deal of last minute registrations after the registration closes at 9 PM on Friday, 9/30. However, the price goes up to $40 for last minute registrations. Be sure to tell your friends not to wait until the last minute!
Many great raffle items are going to be raffled off during the Tour Reception that were kindly donated by area businesses, so be sure to not miss out!. A gift certificate for a sports massage, 2 free yoga classes or perhaps other wonderful sorts of things, like a $25 Tranten’s Gift Certificate at Tranten’s Grocery in Farmington.
http://www.source365livingarts.com
You also will receive a $2 off coupon for the Great Corn Maize, located on Route 2, just outside of Farmington: http://www.sandyriverfarms.com/maize-and-pumpkins Remember, the tour benefits farms in the Franklin County area and the proceeds are going to the farmers!!
Warm wishes for a great end to your week,
See you soon,
Jeremy
Hi all,
Wow, its been a busy few weeks. Temperatures are starting to cool down, the rain has picked up, and its starting to feel like fall here in the Western Maine Mountains and foothills. We hope that you are starting to settle in and feel connected to the sounds, smells, and tastes associated with fall, such as crisp apples from local orchards such as Morrison Hill Orchard and The Lone Antler in Farmington and Wilton, Maine (for more information on these orchards, look down to the bottom of this post).
These two wonderful orchards opened their doors to participants and cyclists on last year’s ride. However, we have changed some of our route locations for this year to the 3 options shown below:
Route Selections for TDF 2011
Lone Antler Farm – Lone Antler Farm is owned by the Hodsdon family. Many years ago the farm sold apples. With the changing times, we have diversified and now sell alpacas, alpaca fleece, hand-spun yarn, piglets, all natural pork, and eggs from our free range chickens. For more information about the farm, please call or email the Hodsdon family.
58 Morrison Hill Road, Wilton, ME
207-578-1035
jacksonrm@yahoo.com
Morrison Hill Orchards – Our 10-acre, 600-tree orchard consists of over 20 apple varieties and is part of an 80-acre western Maine farm with a 150-year history. Quality and variety at a fair price. Apples in August-Oct. Raspberries in July. Pumpkins and squash in October. For more information about the farm, please call or email Jeanne and Jerry Simpson.
272 Morrison Hill Road, Farmington, ME
207-778-4945
simxxl@tdstelme.net
Marble Family Farms – Nestled in the beautiful hills of western Maine, Marble Family Farms is producing vegetables, flowers, hay and free-range chicken eggs. Richard and Weslene Marble along with their son and daughter-in-law Andy and Sarah Marble run the farm. In 2008 Richard & Wes invested in a commercial kitchen where Weslene and Sarah now bake for local Farmers’ Markets and local stores using 100% whole wheat flour. Contact Richard, Weslene, Sarah and Andy Marble.
853 Holley Rd, Farmington, ME
207-799-4858
marblefamilyfarms@hotmail.com
www.marblefamilyfarms.com
Votervale Farm – After several years of living “away”, we returned to our roots by purchasing the family farm. Our primary focus is to provide a great foundation for our children by helping them connect with family, community, their natural surroundings, and the food that they eat. Our secondary mission, is to produce fresh, naturally-raised, local meats, vegetables, and preserves. It is our belief that we, as a society, have become too disconnected from the food that we consume. Contact Darren and Angel Allen.
783 River Road, Avon, ME
207-491-0227
info@votervalefarm.com
www.votervalefarm.com
Island Farm – We are a family operated farm raising grass fed beef, organic hay, naturally raised pork, lamb and chicken and 3 acres of organically grown vegetables. Also offering seedlings and fiddleheads in season. Short farm tours available. Contact Ellen and Jim James.
15 Farm Rd, Avon, ME
207-639-5044
islandfarm@tds.net
Second Chance Farm and Longfellow’s Creamery – At Longfellow’s Creamery and Second Chance Farm we produce and sell the finest quality grass-fed, organic beef, veal, pork and dairy products for the healthy enjoyment by our family, neighbors and customers. We are dedicated to being your local source for quality food. Contact Kathy and Liam Trodden.
20 Maple Lane, Avon, Maine
207-639-2074
info@longfellowscreamery.com
www.longfellowscreamery.com
Mountain Village Inn Bed & Breakfast:
Six bedroom Victorian farmhouse bed and breakfast with beautiful grounds that include 40 laying hens for organic eggs, culinary flours, herbs, and greens. They also make a variety of homemade granolas. The inn is in close proximity to all the lovely foliage areas adjacent to the town of Kingfield, such as the Sugarloaf Ski Area & Golf Course, Flagstaff Lake, Maine Huts and Trails, The Black Fly Loop, Bigelow Mtn Range, the Appalachian Trail, as well as many wonderful Kingfield Art Gallerys, businesses, restaurants and boutiques. The owner, Lisa Standish makes an amazing breakfast and is super-friendly! Also, all the rooms have a private bathroom and some of the rooms have their own hot tub.
Phone: 207-265-2030 www.mountainvillageinn.com
The White Elephant Strong
Family run country store that sells locally grown seasonal produce as well as locally raised beef and lamb from surrounding farms. They offer indoor dining as well as outside patio seating. Owner Karen Thorndike serves the public products made from only the freshest local ingredients.
Phone: (207) 684-3615 Web Reviews
We are fortunate to have the musical sounds of the Burnt Beard Band for the Tour de Farmington 2011. The guys in the band have been willing to donate their time to play during the reception and potluck supper that we are going to be hosting on the eve of this year’s tour.
Musical Guests for the 2011 Tour de Farmington
To hear the band’s music, for more information about the band or to purchase a CD of their original bluegrass tunes, please visit the website found here: http://burntbeardband.com
Free T-shirts will be given to the first 30 participants to register!
The Tour de Farmington is a one-day bike tour event that will invest the efforts of participating local farmers from the greater Franklin County region, who will open their farms to the cyclists for tours and commerce on October 1, 2011.
Talkin Maine – Tour de Farmington (Updated with new routes) from MBTV on Vimeo.
Cyclists will travel one of three different length routes through agricultural areas in Farmington and surrounding towns. At the farms, cyclists can buy produce and other farm items and it will be transported by vans to the start/finish. They will be able to enjoy the healthy pursuit of cycling in a large group while learning about the agricultural aspects that make the greater Franklin County area unique.
Beginning with the goal of creating more opportunities to enjoy locally grown food, this project also hopes to raise public awareness of eating local, through publicity and local efforts. This project will allow community members and visitors to become familiar with the agricultural treasures of the greater Farmington region.
Stemming from a variety of organizations and individuals supporting local efforts to create more opportunities to enjoy foods grown in this area, this project will be considered successful through the development of communication between the public at large and private enterprise. Also, the opportunities for participants to indulge in healthy activities on October 1, 2011, biking between farms to celebrate farm produce and other handmade offerings.
We are not offering lunch this year, but the White Elephant in Strong is a highly recommended lunch establishment and they are directly located at one of our checkpoints for both the 41 & 57 mile rides. If cyclists prefer they may bring a sack lunch or visit an area restaurant that is listed in the registration packet! We are hoping cyclists and their families will stay for a light evening meal in East Wilton at the Wilson Grange from 4-6 PM. Live musical entertainment is likely to be included at the Tour de Farmington reception! We are working on getting a local bluegrass band to play for cyclists at the end of our event.
A recommended donation of $25 is an option for each rider to consider before registering for the 2011 event. There is no recommended donation for young children, cyclists under 16 (see above).
For more information on routes and farms, please view our brochure found here: https://tourdefarmington.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/2011-tour-de-farmington-brochure.pdf
Upon check-in at the registration table on October 1, all cyclists will be required to sign a waiver for the tour. To view that waiver, please click here: https://tourdefarmington.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/tourdefarmingtonwaiver2011.pdf
Also, please click here to download the Photo Release Form (if applicable): https://tourdefarmington.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/photo-release-waiver.pdf
**Note: to view the documents above, try right-clicking the link & select “save link as.” For the waiver, once you save the pdf, you may print it, sign it, scan it, then email it to us at tourdefarmington@gmail.com . Otherwise, you can sign waivers on the morning of the event. We will have waivers at the registration table where you will check in.
Each donation will be split between the following farms/businesses that are participating in this year’s tour:
1. Marble Family Farms
2. Mountain Village Farm Bed & Breakfast
3. Longfellow’s Creamery
4. Island Farm
5. Voter Vale Farm
6. White Elephant
Take a look at this year’s route selections:
25 Mile (one way) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/571620
1. Marble Family Farms
2. Mountain Village Farm Bed & Breakfast
41 Mile (loop) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/571661
1. Marble Family Farms
2. The White Elephant
3. Voter Vale Farm
4. Island Farm
5. Longfellow’s Creamery & Second Chance Farm
57 Mile (loop) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/475154
1. Marble Family Farms
2. Mountain Village Farm Bed & Breakfast
3. Longfellow’s Creamery & Second Chance Farm
4. Island Farm
5. Voter Vale Farm
6. The White Elephant
Free T-shirts will be given to the first 30 participants to register!
The Tour de Farmington is a one-day bike tour event that will invest the efforts of participating local farmers from the greater Franklin County region, who will open their farms to the cyclists for tours and commerce on October 1, 2011.
Cyclists will travel one of three different length routes through agricultural areas in Farmington and surrounding towns. At the farms, cyclists can buy produce and other farm items and it will be transported by vans to the start/finish. They will be able to enjoy the healthy pursuit of cycling in a large group while learning about the agricultural aspects that make the greater Franklin County area unique.
Beginning with the goal of creating more opportunities to enjoy locally grown food, this project also hopes to raise public awareness of eating local, through publicity and local efforts. This project will allow community members and visitors to become familiar with the agricultural treasures of the greater Farmington region.
Stemming from a variety of organizations and individuals supporting local efforts to create more opportunities to enjoy foods grown in this area, this project will be considered successful through the development of communication between the public at large and private enterprise. Also, the opportunities for participants to indulge in healthy activities on October 1, 2011, biking between farms to celebrate farm produce and other handmade offerings.
Footage from last year’s event:
Homegrown Blueberries (compliments of Crabchick-flickr cc)
FARMINGTON — Cyclists are invited to enjoy the August weather with a 14-mile Blueberry Tour starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, August 6, at Meetinghouse Park. Join us in celebrating the 29th annual Wilton Blueberry Festival!
Organizers of this fall’s Tour de Farmington* are hosting a Blueberry Tour, with a destination at the Wilton Blueberry Farm. Interested cyclists are encouraged to join the fun and head out to the Wilton Blueberry Farm for blueberry picking and a light tour on the Whistlestop Trail (14 miles round trip). For a map of the route, please click here: http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/31708626
The August 6 Blueberry Tour is an unsupported ride and is open to cyclists of all abilities. Organizers hope to gather input from participants on the overall route difficulty and road conditions as they travel from Farmington into East Wilton.
The terrain for the route is designated as suitable for beginner cyclists, families with children, and blueberry aficionados of all ages. Organizers recommend that participating cyclists wear helmets on the August 6 Blueberry Tour. All children under 16 must wear ANSI-approved helmets, as required by Maine law.
Cyclists interested in participating should convene at Meetinghouse Park in Farmington at 9 a.m. Volunteer tour organizers Jeremy Smith and Jean Luc Theriault will ride the route with cyclists. For more information, contact Jeremy at (207) 232-4691 or tourdefarmington@gmail.com
I spent last Sunday’s Open Farm Days touring around Franklin county with my co-organizer, Jean Luc Theriault. Over the last few months, we have been working to coordinate the routes for this year’s tour and its been quite an adventure.
After a new routes preview ride that took place in May, we learned that the route originally planned was undergoing road work over the next few months. This intended route included the scenic parts that visited nurseries in East Wilton and Chesterville, Apple Orchards in Farmington, and an award-winning dairy farm in New Sharon.
So, after some trial and error, the routes that we ended up choosing for this year’s ride included the towns of Kingfield, Salem, Farmington, Avon, Strong, Phillips, and New Vineyard.
Those routes and farms are listed below:
25 Mile (one way) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/571620
1. Marble Family Farms
2. Mountain Village Farm Bed & Breakfast
41 Mile (loop) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/571661
1. Marble Family Farms
2. The White Elephant
3. Voter Vale Farm
4. Island Farm
5. Longfellow’s Creamery & Second Chance Farm
57 Mile (loop) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/475154
1. Marble Family Farms
2. Mountain Village Farm Bed & Breakfast
3. Longfellow’s Creamery & Second Chance Farm
4. Island Farm
5. Voter Vale Farm
6. The White Elephant
We’re excited! More to come soon on brochures (to be released on August 15) and registration. Hope everyone’s having an amazing summer!
Had a wonderful time on Saturday, May 21 getting a great bit of exercise in while checking out the nurseries in Chesterville where we intended to firm up plans for the course this year’s Tour would potentially be taking. As the name New Routes Preview suggests, there has been a lot of interest in creating a new route or two for this year’s Tour.
We originally planned to once again integrate the fun yet challenging loop that takes cyclists from a start in Farmington into the towns of East Wilton, Chesterville and New Sharon before heading back to the point of origin. We wanted to extend the second half to lengthen what was referred to as last year’s “short ride.” This would make the ride 30 miles, a bit longer than what was on the Tour last year. The ride was originally 19 miles and headed back to town after a ride out to Chesterville and back. There are a couple of apple orchards we love on this route and there are also several unique, wonderful, biodynamic farms. So, in preparation, for the preview on Saturday, I spoke to Amy LeBlanc, owner of Whitehill Farm in East Wilton. Amy was thoroughly excited to participate and planned (and executed) pizza rustica for the Tour Preview participants.
When the day came, as many of you know, it was a wet, soggy one with a hazy sun just barely sneaking through the clouds. I threw on my rain gear and met fellow riders in town at the Meetinghouse Park Gazebo. Once at the park, I just needed to wait for a few minutes to assemble the crew for the day. In addition to myself, there were 7 other exercise-minded cyclists there and soon we headed out to trace one of this year’s possible routes.
My chain broke 1/2 up Morrison Hill Rd but, luckily, I was able to repair it with help from another cyclist. It was a good thing, because after making it 1/2 up Morrison Hill and then traversing over into East Wilton via the ginormous hill that provides one of the most spectacular views around, I was ready for the 2 mile ride that followed. The 2 miles were relatively flat and at the end of this leg, there was the most-perfectly placed Whitehill Farm.
There were, by this point, only 5 cyclists. 2 of the original 7 decided to return to town and skip the large portion of the ride planned. So, with the 5 farm staff, Amy and the 5 of us, lets just say we made short work of the pizza. It was so amazingly made by Jesse Johnson and Casey Brackett, two of Amy’s trusty farmhands and also expert chefs. Under the tent canopy, the well-placed and well-timed (it was 12:45 when we arrived) lunch was brought out and shared.
Great conversation and discussion about the places we like to ride as well as a brief overview of last year’s event ensued and we were in the right place when the torrential rain dumped. It dumped onto the tent as we remained dry and enjoyed a great, fresh, locally-made snack, Pizza Rustica!
We thanked Amy and the others who helped make such a wonderful opportunity happen and enjoyed hearing about the computerized ordering system that she was using. Seemed like a great way to plan ahead and to ensure that those local, lovely varieties are available! Check out Amy’s website here: www.whitehillfarm.com
After eating, we headed down the rest of the proposed route where we passed Robin’s Flower Pot that was open for business, selling shrubs, herbs, and potted varieties and perennials. Still full from the pizza, we continued on, fueled and prepared for the rest of the ride!
It turns out the route we took isn’t going to be the one that makes the cut. There is to be scheduled road construction on one of the main roads in Chesterville from June until November. Although currently there aren’t yet finalized plans for a preview ride for the route that will win out, we will let you know what we are thinking. To see where this ride will most-likely course, click here. We’ll keep you posted as to the farm locations on that route and if there is a preview ride (and perhaps Pizza Rustica?) we’ll be sure to keep you informed!
Here is a video that I made to show what fun we had last on year’s tour:
The Tour de Farmington 2010 was the first annual one-day bike tour of farms in the Franklin County area of western Maine. It took place on Sunday, October 10, 2010 and the weather was absolutely wonderful.
Celebrating local agriculture and promoting alternative modes of transportation, the Tour de Farmington offered cyclists a choice of two routes.
The 19-mile route was centered around the Wilton area with scenic views of the region’s forested foothills punctuated by open fields and small villages. Farms on the tour featured hoop greenhouses, fresh produce, apple orchards, alpacas and other livestock.
The 70-mile route took cyclists north of Farmington to the Western Mountains foothills with hillier terrain and views of the Sandy River and Longfellow Mountain range.
Farms on the 70-mile route featured a cheesemaking operation, diversified vegetable farm, a bakery, farm kitchens and livestock. The region’s fantastic fall foliage was at peak for the tours.
Both routes will start and finish in downtown Farmington. In its first year, the tour was a success with 36 cyclists.
At the farms, cyclists had an opportunity to buy local food and products that were picked up in Farmington at the end of the event.
A local foods lunch, water and snacks were provided. The day concluded with a live bluegrass performance and burrito BBQ prepared by Food by Chuck (formerly of Big Mouth Burritos).
Getting things togetherfor a new year and looking forward to this year’s event. Should be another offering of biking, sampling local foods in season, foliage-gazing, and memorable times with friends old and new.
At the present moment we’re exploring some new routes for the 2011 tour. Both of these rides are unsupported and free. When we mean unsupported, specifically, that means there won’t be a SAG vehicle following riders, but there are some special highlights awaiting the folks wishing to join us on either of our New Route Tours. Although these rides are both unsupported, there will be water stops along the way as well as bathroom access via the nurseries. Both will be open for visitors wishing to view and purchase items.
There will be members of the Tour De Farmington organizing committee riding on both May 21 and August 6 (both Saturdays) and we can answer any questions you may have about this year’s event and provide route maps for the previews.
Keep a look out for posters that will mention dates and times! You can download a poster for the May 21 event here.
The first of these New Route Preview Tours was derived from last year’s “short tour.” It seemed that our tour needed a better intermediate route, so we decided to extend the short tour by ten miles and convert that into our new 30 mile route. We’ll be previewing that ride on May 21.
It will start in Farmington and travel through the towns of East Wilton, Chesterville, New Sharon, and then we’ll return to Farmington after a great trip and optional stops at two nurseries, Robin’s Flower Pot and Whitehill Farm where riders can enjoy refreshments and, if they wish, order or purchase seedlings. The friendly staff at both locations will be available to assist riders with arrangements to pick up any purchases later in the day.
There are also 2 dairy farms on the route, Bailey Hill Farm and Triple D Acres and and an organic compost facility Living Acres , so check out those places if you wish. Aloha Rainbow Farm is also on that route, specializing in all natural, free range chicken and duck eggs.
Whitehill Farm will be serving a light snack of pizza, which should be timed right around lunch, after our 11 AM start. Here is a link to a map and ride profile of this moderately challenging route!
It seemed like August would be an excellent time to visit the Wilton Blueberry Farm and our visit also coincides with that great event, the Wilton Blueberry Festival!
Irv Faunce and family will be available to assist anyone wishing to join us on another informal preview of one of this year’s new routes. On August 6, we’ll travel out to East Wilton for a 14 mile preview of the new beginner route for this year’s Tour de Farmington. That route will be primarily on a smooth and enjoyable trail called the Whistlestop Trail. This trail (surfaced with clay and finely processed gravel) will allow families and children to ride out to the Wilton Blueberry Farm safely and back via the same route.
As with our May tour, on our August tour preview we’ll likely leave at 11 AM. Once again, this ride will be mostly unassisted, but we will bring a few maps with us. If the weather seems extremely hot and there is a need to depart earlier, that change will be indicated on the poster. We’ll have to see if this summer is mild or extremely hot. In the case of an earlier start, the time will be visible on our posters when they are released prior to the ride in July. Be sure to wear helmets and sunscreen!
There are only a few traffic crossings on this beginner route from our starting location of Meetinghouse Park on Main Street in Downtown Farmington to where the Whistlestop Trail begins. The Whistlestop Trail crosses several roads, but the trail itself is a well-maintained. If you want to start on your own, feel free to park at the Whistlestop trailhead in West Farmington that can be found by clicking either link found within this paragraph. The 1st link is the map of the overall route we’ll be taking (from mapmyfitness.com) and the 2nd link contains directions as well as background information on this historic route, courtesy of MaineTrailFinder.com!
We will be back with more details and information related to brochures and event registration for the October 1st tour, so keep checking back or find us on Facebook!
Tour de Farmington Feed
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