Speaking of bicycles, you won't need a tank to clear your path for some leisurely rides in Brookings next weekend. A whole bunch of Brookings organizations are sponsoring a Tour of Gardens (I urge the truly snobbish to cry "Le Tour des Jardins!") bike-a-thon on Saturday, August 13. You and your family and friends can sign up for an 8-mile, a 20-mile, or a 40-mile bicycle tour of local gardens and greenhouses featuring locally grown produce. The 40-mile route goes through some of my favorite terrain, riding southwest first, out around Lake Campbell, then back up the Norwegian Boulevard and on to Aurora, then back to the big town of Brookings. Beautiful country!
Everyone on the ride gets lunch catered by Café Coteau (you know, the folks making fancy chow at the Brookings Children's Museum). Acoustic bluegrass rockers Plum Crazy will entertain the lunchtime crowd. There will also be a local produce Mini-Market at lunch. All the lunchtime events take place at Avera's United Retirement Center, which receives the proceeds from this bike-a-thon.
But libertarians note: the bike-a-thon requires helmets. C:-)
Cory, don't forget the Family Ride, which features a "ride through URC, then goes 4 blocks from the United Retirement Center to Farmer's Market, then 6 blocks to the Children’s Museum of South Dakota, where museum staff and volunteers have a variety of free activities planned for the museum’s front lawn that will focus on the Farm-Fresh Market and Fit 4 Life exhibits. Then a seven block return to URC where there will
be lunch, exhibits, puppeteers from the Black Hills and more!!
That's right, the ride-through! Jim's Tap has nothing on you guys. ;-)
you 2 rok
The ride out to Campbell will take you over to Hillside Prairie Gardens, where my great friends Jacob and Andrew Helling operate a thriving small farm and (I'd wager) the best CSA program in the state! Worth the trek!!