A woman contacted me about a cool ride and fundraiser that they are organizing.  Here's the information she sent along:

This is an almost exclusively woman organized event (the organizing committee is 8 females and 1 male, and one of the main student groups doing organizing is a women’s special interest house on campus at St. Olaf, the Wendell Berry house).  Also, the farmer we’re raising money for is a woman, with women being my contacts at all of the 7 farms the tour will visit except for 1 (and 3 of the farms only have women farmers).  And we’re hoping to specifically engage women and transgender cyclist who find out about this through your website, but other than that we’re reaching out to anyone and everyone who may be interested in attending this event.

From the Facebook event page:

When: Saturday, September 29^th from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Where: In and around Northfield, MN

Why: So much sustainable agriculture is happening right here in Northfield. By getting students, local businesses, and other residents outside on their bikes and face to face with farmers, we hope to raise awareness of this growing local-food scene and get people excited about the sustainable agriculture happening in their own community.

Details: The basic route is 18-20 miles round trip but participants can choose to go to as many/few farms as they wish. There will be two meeting points from which to begin the tour:

The Buntrock Commons parking lot at St. Olaf College, near 1500 St. Olaf Ave, Northfield [map]

The Bald Spot field at Carleton College, near 1 N College Street, Northfield [map]

Maps of various routes (recreational biker, road warrior, family-friendly) and a schedule of farm events will be distributed — along with the all-important liability waiver forms! — at the lots. The farms cannot accommodate cars, so please park at (or cycle to) one of the colleges. You can park in any lot at either college.

We’ll pedal off starting at 1pm and visit St. Olaf’s STOGROW student farm, the Carleton Student Farm, Little Hill BerryFarm, Spring Wind Farm, SEEDS Farm, Laughing Loon Farm, and Main Street Project's Agripreneur Training Farm (Rural Enterprise Center) for brief tours and discussions, along with demonstrations on beekeeping and raising chickens, children’s art activities, tree planting, and lots more cool stuff . We’ll end the day with a festival at SEEDS Farm just south of Northfield, complete with a delicious dinner made from local, seasonal ingredients, live music, and information and activities from our community sponsors.

No bike? No worries! We’ll have a bunch you can borrow on a first come, first serve basis, but borrow from a friend if you can.

If participants are only able to attend the festival and/or are not able to bike, there will be a shuttle to transport participants between the parking lots at colleges and SEEDS farm between 4 and 7 p.m.

Cost: FREE, but donations gratefully accepted on behalf of beginning farmer Dayna Burtness of Laughing Loon Farm, who lost almost $20,000 worth of crops and equipment due to summer flooding.

Sponsors: Bon Appétit Management Company at St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges, Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy, Main Street Project (Rural Enterprise Center), SEEDS Farm, Fit to Be Tried, Mike’s Bicycle Shop of Northfield, Northfield Bicycle Club, Northfield Lines, Healthy Community Initiative, Cannon Valley Velo Club, Cannon Falls Canoe andBike Rental, Alber services, and local businesses TBA

Contact: S.K. Piper, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation Midwest Fellow, sarah.piper@bamco.com, 650-814-2566 (cell)