Vermont’s Tour de Farms Bike Ride Returns September 16th

 The Tour will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. at the Vergennes Union High School, which is 20 miles south of Burlington. The route will feature six farm stops and 30 farms, food producers and restaurants collaborating to provide riders with fresh samples of the summer bounty from the Champlain Valley. 

A Farm Van will enable riders to purchase products directly from the farms without having to worry about how they’ll get them back to their car. The ride will conclude with the Eat on the Green Festival in downtown Vergennes, featuring live music, kids’ activities, local foods and beverages from 12:00pm – 6:00pm.

 “The Tour de Farm is one of the most anticipated on farm events in our region,” said Lynn Coale, ACORN’s Executive Director. “What could be more fun to do on a sunny fall afternoon than ride your bike through breathtaking scenery, visit a unique variety of farms and end the trip by eating great food prepared by the fine chefs of Vergennes.”

The 2018 Tour runs through the towns of Vergennes, Ferrisburgh and Charlotte and will showcase the wonderful diversity of farms and local foods in this lesser known part of the Champlain Valley. The terrain is hilly with a mix of paved and dirt roads so a mountain bike or road bike with wide tires is recommended. More details can be found at www.acornvt.org/tourdefarms

The Tour de Farms is a rain or shine event and will be capped at 500 riders. Advance registration is now open at www.bikereg.com/tourdefarmsand will close on September 7th at 5:00 p.m. The advance registration fee is $50 for adults and $25 for students and kids under 18. The on-site registration fee the day of the event is $75 for adults and $50 for students and kids.

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ACORN(Addison County Relocalization Network) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community organization based in Middlebury, Vt. Its mission is to promote the growth and health of local food and agriculture in Vermont’s Champlain Valley. ACORN is working with growers, schools, businesses and community and statewide partners to double the consumption of locally-grown food by 2020. For more information, go to www.acornvt.org/.

TOUR DE FARMS: To date, over 3,800 peoplehave ridden the Tour. The Tour is ACORN’s top fundraiser of the year, and 25 percent of the proceeds from advanced registration go to participating farms on the Tour. The 2016 Tour was recently featured on Vermont PBS: www.vermontpbs.org/clip/4299.