Getting things together
for 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.
May Plans:
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!
For August:
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 
