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Bikers and Farmers Unite at the Farm to Fork Fondo

When former professional cyclist Tyler Wren wanted to create an event that combines his love of biking with farming and exquisite scenery, he was inspired by the Italian “fondos,” celebratory rides where locals and farmers bike first, feast afterwards. He pulled it off last year in Vermont to great success. In the summer of 2017, Wren is offering a full slate of Farm to Fork Fondos, including stops in the Hudson River Valley, Vermont, Finger Lakes, the Berkshires, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the Maine coast. These one-day rambles are geared to the public, not professional bikers. Wren creates loops of 8-10, 25-35, 45-50, and 75-100 miles based on your abilities, escorted and with police presence to cut off road traffic. Simply choose your ride and get ready to stop at local farms along the way for a feast of fresh produce. Most of the proceeds go to local charities. You can even sign up for dinners the night before where farmers talk about the satisfaction and challenges of their livelihood. But you better sign up soon because Outside Magazine just wrote about the Farm to Fork Fondo in the April issue. So I expect these rides to sell out quickly. 

 

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Lake George Week—Why I Return Every Summer

I’ve had the pleasure of speaking about my career as a travel writer at 15 state travel conferences, including Mississippi, Louisiana, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Nevada. Talking to publicists, hotel owners, outfitters, and heads of city CVBs, I discuss how to attract travel writers to a destination and how to entice them to return throughout their career, continuously turning out stories for magazines, newspapers, and blogs. At every one of those speeches, I’ve included this paragraph:

 
“I don’t need anyone to pitch me on the Adirondacks in upstate New York, because that’s where I grew up. And this is an important aspect to take away from this talk. You can pitch a writer up the wazoo on a locale, but a writer always returns to a region of the world he know and loves. This is the place he cherishes and where he or she tends to weave their best yarns. We writers tend to be nostalgic. I’ve been sailing Lake George in the Adirondacks since I was a toddler and I will always return. It’s a very special retreat for me. I have always written about the Adirondacks and will continue to write about that place whether someone pitches me or not. Because I yearn to get back there.”
 
Lake George, a wondrous 32-mile-long lake nestled in the mountains, is my home away from home, where I can truly relax. I can pick up my boyhood Schenectady Gazette at the local grocery, grab a cup of Joe, and head back to the shores of the lake to chill. If I’m a feeling a bit hungry in the morning, I’ll drive to Lone Bull for a huge stack of pancakes. Then it’s off to Goony Golf for a round of miniature golf, a sea kayak paddle around the Sagamore, or playing on the high ropes course of Adirondack Extreme. The finest vacation is often the one you return to each year, not having to worry about new sites to see or restaurants to try. Things rarely change on the shores of Lake George and that’s exactly why I love it. 
 
This week I’m happy to be blogging live from Lake George, divulging my favorite ways to get on the water and hikes that will reward you with spectacular vistas of the lake. I’ll talk about Georgia O’Keeffe’s years on the lake and how the region inspired artists from as far back as the Hudson River School crowd. I’ll also talk about lodging and restaurants, including staying at the classic Sagamore and dining at the Grist Mill in nearby Warrensburg. You can also follow me on Twitter @ActiveTravels. Thanks for checking in!
 
(Photo by Lisa Leavitt)
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DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co. Offering New Trips to South Africa and Greece

Clients of ours just returned from a DuVine trip to Portugal and raved about the high level of biking, service, food, and lodging. That’s not surprising. DuVine is the crème de la crème of bike tours. The company is best known for their small-group trips to the wine regions of the world, like Burgundy and Napa, often bringing well-known sommeliers and chefs along for the ride. Another classic itinerary which clients love is the Tour de France trip where you ride part of the challenging Tour de France route while catching some of the race. Now DuVine has their sights set on Greece and South Africa. We sat down with DuVine’s Kyla Briggs this week and she told us the Greece trip is already selling out in 2018. Not a surprise when you look at the route, aboard a 10-passenger yacht to off-the-beaten-track Dodecanese islands of Kos, Nisyros, and Kalymnos, stopping to bike through the small villages and wineries on these islands. On the dreamy South Africa itinerary, you not only get to bike the famous Chapman’s Peak route south of Cape Town, but you’ll get a taste of off-road biking in the Stellenbosch wine country. 

If you’re interested in any of the DuVine trips in 2018, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll look into pricing, availability, ages of riders already signed up, and pre- and post-lodging choices. 
 
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Driving New Brunswick’s Acadian Coast—Stopping for Lobster in Shediac

All you have to do is take one look at the 35-foot long lobster sculpture at the entrance to the seaside town of Shediac to know that you’ve reached the crustacean capital of the Maritimes. You’ll soon pass a lobster plant and many restaurants offering lobster rolls and PEI mussels. Yet, the best way to have a taste of lobster is aboard the Lobster Tales Cruise with Ron and Denise Cormier. For 29 years, Ron worked as a lobsterman scouring the waters of Shediac Bay and Northumberland Strait, the large body of water between New Brunswick and PEI. Now he passes on his vast knowledge of lobster to the fortunate visitors who board his boat for a 2 ½-hour cruise. Not only will you pull up traps to find lobsters, crabs, and a rubber chicken (Ron has a great sense of humor), but you’ll also learn to tell the difference between a female and male lobster (wider tail, of course) and how to eat a lobster properly. And eat you will, out at sea overlooking Shediac Island. Listen to traditional Acadian music while digging into the sweet lobster meat, which needs no butter to savor. If you need something to wash it down, the boat is well-equipped with a full bar. 

 
For more upscale dining, head to Maison Tait in town. Chef Mike Harris has returned home after working for six years at the Fairmont Hamilton in Bermuda. One bite of a succulent mussel dipped in a tasty coconut and curry sauce, and you’ll be happy to have him back in the Moncton area. If you need a place to crash after the rich chocolate lava cake, the circa-1911 Maison Tate just renovated their rooms upstairs. 
 
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The Ocean Edge Resort Takes Advantage of its Waterfront Setting

With six pools, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, tennis courts, and bike paths that connect easily to the 22-mile long Cape Cod Rail Trail, the Ocean Edge Resort offers its guests more than enough outdoor activity. Yet, I’m most excited about the resort’s latest partnership with Cape Cod Museum of Natural History to go on naturalist-led walks on the mud flats of Bay Pines Beach. Throughout the summer, you’ll explore Cape Cod Bay at low tide, searching for clams, crabs, sea cucumbers, and other marine life. The beachcombing is appropriate for ages 5 and up and they don’t need to dress up like SpongeBob. Though it might help find other critters.
 

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VOGA Features Adventure Weekend for Women in Vermont

Vermont Outdoor Guide Association (VOGA) will feature a weekend of outdoor recreation and education on the shores of Lake Morey the weekend of March 2-4. Offered to all women over the age of 15, courses will include dog sledding, fire making, traditional winter camping, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, orienteering, ice fishing and much more. You can camp outside or spend the night in a heated cabin. Cost for the all-inclusive weekend program is $285. Registration for courses is first come, first serve, so sign up now.
 
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The Best Swimming Hole on Cape Cod

Last summer, I wrote a story for The Boston Globe on my ten favorite swimming holes on Cape Cod and never received so much mail. Hate mail, that is, from locals who were irate that I would divulge their favorite pond. Considering there are more than 300 ponds on the Cape, almost one swimming hole per day of the year, I was shocked that locals had such a devout loyalty to one particular locale. There are more than a dozen freshwater swimming holes on the Cape that I would happily take a dip, with much warmer waters than the nearby ocean. In Wellfleet, three ponds are connected by narrow water passages cut through the land called sluiceways. These were supposedly created by Native Americans to catch herring during their seasonal run. Rent canoes at Jack’s Boat Rental on Gull Pond and continue onward into Higgins and serene Williams Pond. This is the place where Henry David Thoreau met a Wellfleet oysterman he would write about in his book, Cape Cod. It’s also where architect and furniture designer Marcel Breur built his house on the shores, camouflaged by the trees. One swim here and you’ll return often, much to the dismay of locals.

Directions: Take Route 6 into Wellfleet and turn right onto Gross Hill Road. A sharp left onto Gull Pond Road and Schoolhouse Hill Road will lead you to the parking lot.
 

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