Blueberry Time.. Join us on our August 6 Tour in Wilton!

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

Getting Ready to Ride

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!