Yay Bikes! & Local Matters—Urban Garden Ride (Month 8 Year of Yay) & Picnic is Saturday, August 18, 2012

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Tour some of Columbus' most exciting urban growing operations! Choose from one of three exciting tours with a route for every level of experience: the "Watermelon" route (19 miles), the Eggplant route (9 miles), and the Cherry Tomato route (3.5 miles). Site visits will include a variety of growing operations in Columbus, including several Local Matters' Growing Matters sites!
All tours will begin at Goodale Park and will conclude at Godman Guild for a delicious picnic lunch with food provided by Chipotle, Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, Two Caterers and Snowville Creamery. 
As part of Year of Yay, all garden tours are free for all Yay Bikes! members. Members are invited to attend the picnic lunch after the bike ride and may purchase a ticket for a reduced price of $15.
Three routes are available for this ride. [REGISTER HERE]
  1. The Watermelon – Moderate/Hard, Distance 18 miles: A longer route that is more for the bicyclist who wants to see and hear about urban gardens but wants to do a eighteen mile ride. The Watermelon is the longest and the fastest-paced tour with an average speed of fifteen miles pre hour. It is the most technical and challenging of the three routes and it requires you to be comfortable riding on streets that are bit busy. Who should take a bite out of the Watermelon? A person who already does extensive aerobic training or who already is good at riding 18 miles and who wants to be safely led to not only see great urban gardens but to have an adventure by experiencing Columbus from the wonderfully different perspective of a bicycle. You’ll be visiting the neighborhoods of Franklinton, Victorian Village, Weinland Park, and Linden. If you want to enjoy a bit of Watermelon on a nice August day, be prepared to ride! This route is 60 percent about the bicycle and 40 percent about local urban garden food production. Start time is 9:00am sharp from the concrete shelter located in the southwest area of Goodale Park by the basketball court. Let’s Ride!  
     
  2. The Eggplant – Easy, Distance 9 miles: The Eggplant won’t ask much from you to be able to combine your passion for local food with an urban bicycling adventure. If your bike tires have not touched the road for a long time and or you feel a bit intimidated by the Watermelon but still want to do a bicycle tour, then this leisurely and shorter nine mile ride is for you! The Eggplant will allow you to experience and enjoy some of Columbus' finest examples of urban food production from the beauty and freedom of a bicycle while staying closer to the central city core. The riding pace will be relaxed and include many stops. You’ll see the Scioto Mile as you’ve never seen it before while visiting the great Columbus neighborhoods of Franklinton, Victorian Village and Weinland Park. On the Eggplant, you’ll visit and spend more time at more gardens than on the Watermelon tour and you’ll be able to ask more questions and even have time to “kick the dirt” on this tour. Be prepared to have one of your best Saturdays of the summer! This route is 40 percent about the bicycle and 60 percent about local urban garden food production.Start time is 9:00am sharp from the concrete shelter located in the southwest area of Goodale Park by the basketball court. Let’s Ride! 
     
  3. The Cherry Tomato – Very Easy, Distance 3.5 miles: This ride is just as it sounds, small and sweet. The Cherry Tomato is a wonderful and concise short three and a half mile route. We built the Cherry Tomato to allow just about anyone to ride this Local Foods Week capstone event. Your Cherry Tomato ride joins the relaxed-paced Eggplant tour at the Thompson Recreation Center and will then share the rest of same route and gardens as the Eggplant. You’ll visit over 70% of the same gardens as the Eggplant while you experience and enjoy some of Columbus' finest examples of urban food production from the beauty and freedom of a bicycle but without the anxiety of wondering if you will be able to complete this route. This route is 30 percent about bicycling and 70 percent about local urban garden food production. The Cherry Tomato takes away all excuses for not riding. Start time is 9:45 AM sharp from the concrete shelter located in the southwest area of Goodale Park by the basketball court. Let’s Ride! 
The farm style picnic will be held at Godman Guild garden, 303 East 6th Avenue.
Farm Style Picnic Lunch 
  • The Menu is as follows:
  • Assorted Burritos provided by Chipotle
  • Summer Salad
  • Jeni's Ice Cream
  • Snowville Chocolate Milk
This event is a fundraiser for Local Matters and Yay Bikes!. Proceeds from the picnic lunch will be shared between both non-profit organizations.

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