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!
Tour de Farmington 