On Sunday, Sept. 19, over 500 bikers left the Shoreham Green for one of the most farm-friendly events in New England. The Tour de Farms is a biking event with routes through the Champlain Valley where bikers stop at farms to eat and learn important information about farming.
This is the third year of the Tour de Farms ride, and its popularity has been steadily growing. Organized by three organizations — Rural Vermont, the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition and the Addison County Relocalization Network (ACoRN) — these non-profits strive to spread awareness, understanding and fun.
ACoRN Director Jonathan Corcoran believes the Tour de Farms is the best event because it is “an out breath for people.”
“Everybody is running around so fast today both physically, emotionally and mentally,” he said.
The Tour is all about taking your time, relaxing with friends and enjoying the beauty of Vermont. It is, according to Corcoran, a “community celebration of the harvest.”
Nancy Schulz of the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition believes that the Tour de Farms sends a strong message not just to the participants, but also to the entire community. Aside from raising awareness about locally grown food, the event also helps bikers and motorists become conscious of one another on the road. Schulz is optimistic about the event’s effects, and she hopes the festivities inspire more people to bike, to be road conscious and to help everyone cooperate and make Addison County a more bike-friendly area.
Schulz also explained that although the route can only pass by a certain number of farms, these farms are not the only participants. Tour de Farms has inspired farmers from all around the county to come together and organize ways for farms outside of Vermont to participate in the event, as well. Some farmers hosted other farmers on their land, and there was also a farmer’s market at the end of the race with stands from over 20 different farms.
Shelby Girard of Rural Vermont keeps in contact with farmers and bikers throughout the year. The cyclists tell her how wonderful it is to get to see where their local food comes from and to talk to the farmers that produce these goods. Many bikers buy food after sampling a few options. There were also several requests from the participants to order Thanksgiving turkeys from these farmers to be delivered to their houses in November. These requests and other comments led Girard to believe that the Tour de Farms really does make an impact and that the event inspires people to buy locally throughout the year.
“The food really speaks for itself,” she said.
Girard has also received calls from people across Vermont and New England, who are curious about how to start a Tour de Farms in their area. She is excited for the event to spread to other counties across the state within the next few years.
Although the event took place in Shoreham, Vt., there were many Middlebury students in attendance. Sarah Bachman ’13.5 rode the 30-mile route. She likened the event to a “farmer’s market on wheels” and said it combined the perfect amount of biking with the perfect opportunity to learn about local food. Bachman enjoyed seeing where her food came from and she had valuable conversations with the farmers themselves. In fact, her favorite part of the event was hearing what the farmers had to say. She appreciated the fact that they took time out of their busy days to organize the event to help raise awareness and to aid the local community. Bachman believes the Tour de Farms made local food seem real, and it gave people who have little knowledge about farming a nice taste of what it entails. Her message to the students at the College, to people of Addison County and to everyone else is to “eat local.”
“Go to farmers markets and talk to the people,” she said. “Know that there is a food culture in Vermont and do your best to become a part of it.”
Bike, stop, eat...repeat
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