The popular farm cycle tour returns
As the sun reaches its rays over the hills and down into the Comox Valley, you kick off from the bountiful Comox Valley Farmers’ Market and begin pedaling straight out into the countryside where all that natural produce comes from. With the wind in your face you whisk along back roads, stopping only to see and sample the abundant food and wine direct from the myriad local farms, fields and vineyards that cross your path.
This ideal becomes reality on 2013’s Comox Valley Farm Cycle Tour, back for its third year in a row. It’s gained wild popularity among locals and tourists alike; this year a fourth route joins the three from last year, widening the range of tour choices for those who’d like to take it all in on two wheels. Advanced cyclers can ride up to 58 kilometers, while families with beginning bicyclists can keep things slow and simple with routes as short as 5 kilometers.
Two of Saturday’s tour options – Back Roads Bliss, Rural Ramble – begin from the local farmers’ market, then take riders from cherry to dairy farms, out to rural wineries, back through sprouting fields. Tours are self-guided so participants may cycle at their own pace, and stops are anywhere from straightforward (Berry Best Farms grows – you guessed it – berries, and vegetables) to unique (Amara Farms offers organic vegetables, chickens, bees, thimbleberry soda and garlic ice cream!). Youngsters will delight in milking cows (Fir Shelter Farm) and farm tours (Nature’s Way Farm), while older participants are sure to go for the live music (Eatmore Sprouts) and fine wine (40 Knots Estate, Coastal Black Estate).
Meanwhile, Bayviews (on Sunday) and Comox Peninsula (the new route) offer something for the aquatically-inclined. Oysters (at Fanny Bay) are included, as is fish from Portuguese Joe’s. Tours start anytime after nine: if you go early, stop a breakfast pastry at Just Like Mom’s Homemade Bakery.
The cost of tour registration is $15 for one day and $25 for two, with kids and under free. Take everyone! It’s the perfect outing for a mid-summer’s day.
Saturday, August 10—Sunday, August 11 || 9am-4pm || Locations vary: see website for more information. || Cost: $15/one day, $25/two days. Kids under 15 ride free
