It’s no secret that I’ve been looking forward to the 2018 Farm To Fork Fondo–Pennsylvania Dutch since I signed up for it months ago (which was months before I was selected to be an ambassador). With such high expectations there might have been a risk of disappointment, but my experience participating in my third Farm To Fork Fondo event just left me loving them even more.
This year’s event had a new host farm and a new route, but still had the whoopie pies and dairy-fresh ice cream we’ve come to rely on to get us up and over the hills of Pennsylvania Dutch country.
2018 Farm To Fork Fondo–Pennsylvania Dutch:
Registration and Meet The Farmers Dinner
Most of the Farm To Fork Fondo rides take place on Sundays, but the Farm To Fork Fondo–Pennsylvania Dutch ride takes place on a Saturday since many of the farmers observe their Sabbath on Sundays. As we’ve done before, we took Friday off and had lunch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania before checking into our hotel and heading to registration and the Meet The Farmers Dinner.
The new host farm was Wyebrook Farm in Honey Brook Pennsylvania.
Can “gorgeous” be an understatement?
The dinner didn’t start until 7, but my husband wanted to get to registration early, so he would have his pick of the fun Farm To Fork Fondo gear.
Sadly, we didn’t win any of the raffle drawings–not even the Bianchi bike!
The dinner was held under a pavilion overlooking the fields and farmlands.
The meal was catered by local caterer Talula’s Table and included a full four courses, plus an open bar serving red and white wine, sangria, and lemonade.
I’m writing more about the Meet The Farmers Dinner for the Farm To Fork Fond blog, so I’ll let you read more about it over there. Suffice it to say, we had a great time getting to know other cyclists, meeting many of the farmers who were hosting rest stops, and enjoying the delicious food in a lovely setting.
2018 Farm To Fork Fondo–Pennsylvania Dutch:
The Medio Ride
Our hotel was less than 10 miles from Wyebrook Farm, but we learned Friday that it would take about 25 minutes to get there over the twisty country roads. After joining other cyclists at the hotel breakfast buffet, we packed up, checked out, and headed over, arriving shortly after 8:00, with just enough time to take a few pictures before the 8:30 am start.
Not being a runner, my husband doesn’t follow the “nothing new on race day” rule. He bought the full Farm To Fork Fondo kit Friday night–can you see the chickens on the socks?–and wore it for the ride on Saturday.
After a few safety instructions and the National Anthem, we were off. We were doing the Medio course, which is the green line on the map.
We started and ended at the northeast corner of the map, whereas in previous years we started and ended more towards the southwest. I had downloaded the course from Ride With GPS into my new Wahoo Elemnt Bolt, and that worked wonderfully. While the course was well-marked, it was nice to have the route mapped out in front of me so I could be confident that we were going the right way.
The first aid stop was about 12 miles in, at Wanner’s Pride N Joy Farm. I wasn’t really hungry yet, but I’m glad I tried the breakfast quinoa they had for us.
It had a custard base with a mild orange flavor, and was topped with slivered almonds and fresh berries. It was really refreshing and nutritious.
The second aid stop was only 8 miles further, at Lapp Valley Farm, but it’s never too early for freshly made ice cream.
The third aid stop was only 6 miles further, at Riehl’s Quilts and Crafts (also a working farm). We might not have stopped, except we knew they were offering whoopie pies.
We also knew it would be 15 miles–and a few tough hills–before the next aid stop.
My Garmin says we climbed 3000 ft during this ride!
About those hills …
Although the Farm To Fork Fondo events are not a race, and riders of all abilities are encouraged to participate, the organizers know that some cyclists tend to be competitive and like to put themselves to the test. Each event includes a Stages Segment Challenge where riders can compete to achieve the fastest times on certain segment of the course. The Stages Segments tend to include the most difficult hills, so every time I saw a sign marking a Stages Segment ahead, I made sure I was ready to shift into a low gear and tackle a hard climb. While I didn’t compete, the mere fact that a hill was part of a Stages Segment made me feel all the more bad-ass for conquering it.
The fourth aid stop was at King’s Herb Nook, which was serving Amish buns with herbed butter and the best iced tea I’ve ever had.
Sure, being hot and tired might have had something to do with it, but it also was brewed with a variety of fresh herbs that made it extra refreshing.
This aid stop also had my favorite group of volunteers, who were from the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture. Other aid stops had cute kids to cheer us on, but this PASA volunteer boosted our wilting spirits with non-stop corny jokes.
Q: What did the corn say when he received a compliment?
A: Aw, shucks.
I wasn’t the only sucker for a bad joke. This vounteer team got the most votes and biggest cash prize to support their organization.
The last aid stop was 7 miles further down the road, and only 5 miles from the finish. I’m still glad we stopped at Conabella Farm because they had cold watermelon and a sprinkler! They also offered empanadas stuffed with their cheese, but I was just too hot and tired at that point to eat something so substantial.
Feeling refreshed after rinsing my face in the sprinkler!
I was anticipating a long climb back to Wyebrook Farm–it felt like we coasted a lot at the start–but I didn’t notice any hard hills near the end. I felt good as we turned onto the driveway, and gratefully accepted the icy towel they handed out with our finishers medal–a wooden spoon this year.
We loaded our bikes on the car, changed clothes in the bathroom, and enjoyed our last Farm To Fork Fondo food–the Post-Ride Barbecue.
Is creamed corn one of the least-appetizing, best-tasting foods?
I know I’ve gone on and on about the food, but really the scenery is what makes this ride so fantastic. You don’t have to take my word for it–here are a few pictures taken by the Farm To Fork Fondo photographer (used with permission).
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All of those raffle prizes look great! Sorry you didn’t win this time but there’s always next year 🙂
That scenery looks amazing and the food looks incredible too. I totally see why you love this event. I don’t even own a road bike but I want to do one of their events!
You can always rent a bike, but you might want to practice a bit first. 😉
OMG, you made me hungry and I just finished dinner! PA is gorgeous (and the food is usually fantastic in Dutch country, too). Glad you had just as great a time as last year!
It really was fun! I’m psyched to do it again already.
I really want to do this with you one year! Looks like a blast and such yummy food too
Maybe we can try for Shenandoah, which is likely to be in May? It’s also made me want to do Reston this year if I can.
I’ve never heard of this but it sounds really fun! I’m off to learn more about the remaining rides.
Let me know if you have any questions — they all get rave reviews, but some routes are easier/harder than others.
This really looks like such a great event! Makes me wish that I rode so I could take part in the Massachusetts ride!
Never say never! It really is so much fun.
I can understand why you like this so much! I like that it is a non competitive ride. Do they have other distances or is it all 50 miles?
You should do the Tour de Hershey sometime (there are chocolate stops along the way). I planned to do that ride with my dad this summer but now that he had shoulder surgery we’ll have to put it off till next year.
I’ have heard of the Tour de Hershey but forgot about it. I’ll have to remember to get it on my schedule!
The Farm To Fork Fondos have a shorter Piccolo ride that’s about 30 miles, and a Ramble Ride that’s about 10 miles. So, there’s something for everyone!
What a beautiful event and so much tasty food! Thanks for sharing all the details. I’m not much into cycling, but this would be worthwhile to do!
Yes, there’s a lot of good food to entice you along the way!
Wow that really does look like a fun time! The racing aspect of biking typically intimidates me but taking breaks for wonderful food sounds perfect. That scenery too!
This is not set up as a race at all, and people definitely relax and chat at the farm stops. The scenery is incredible.
Congratulations on a great ride. The dinner setting looks amazing! mm whoopie pie, had no idea that was a PA thing. We always ask our CEO to bring us some back when he sees family in Tennessee.
Whoopie Pies are definitely a PA Dutch thing. I never knew they were a TN thing. 😉
For sure. So weird how food travels
Haven’t done Pennsylvania Dutch areas in a while and thought of it when I did a flyby to Gettysburg two years ago. Is hould fix that
What an interesting venue! My hubby does Ragbrai (almost) every year…it’s a big bike ride across the state of Iowa that attracts cyclists from around the world. It’s a week-long ride, with seven host cities (where all the cyclists and their support crews stay overnight), but there are several small towns along the way, and there is plentiful food everywhere. Our daughter is in Hanover, PA (but works in Gettysburg), and she has mentioned Lancaster. I know there are a lot of Amish farms in her area…are some of farms on the route of Amish heritage?
I think Ragbrai is a much more grueling event! Yes, there are Amish farms on the route, which is one reason the event is held on Saturdays.
Wow. This looks like an amazing event. I’m surprised at how close some of those rest stops were. But heck yeah, I’d be stopping to partake in the awesome goodies too! The pictures look beautiful. You are making me want to do another century…or metric. I adore the chicken socks too. Thanks for linking.
It must be hard to plot a route with safe (quiet) roads and willing host farms spaced appropriately. Also, I think they wanted to the people doing the 30 mi route to have a few farm stops. I think we’re going to stick with the metric distance for now.
It must be hard to plot a route with safe (quiet) roads and willing host farms spaced appropriately. Also, I think they wanted to the people doing the 30 mi route to have a few farm stops. I think we’re going to stick with the metric distance for now.
How awesome. The scenery and the food!! Except for the hills, this would be a great running race.
It would be a tough run!
This sounds like such an amazing event! The food all looks spectacular.
It’s always so much fun. The food makes the calorie balance questionable, but I think we still burned off a bit of what we ate. 🙂
You are singing my song! Chicken socks! Ice cream! Whoopie pies! Empanadas! Yum!
I say it all the time, but I wish that we had something like this near me. It would be such a great event!
The chicken socks really are fantastic!
Oh those Whoopie Pies! So yum! This event looks amazingly awesome. What could be better than biking and all of that great food. You have me wanting to do this event! Too bad you didn’t win that bike!
Yeah, the bike would have been sweet, but the ride is certainly great regardless. Having Bianchi as a sponsor was pretty cool, though.
What a fantastic race! It would have been so nice to have won the bike in the raffle! My son and I just ran Grandma’s Marathon last month and agree we like a Saturday race.
Especially when you travel for it — especially if you can get Friday off. 😉 I think most races here are on Sundays though.
Great pics and a brilliant achievement. Someone needs to explain to me what a whoopie pie is, though!
Whoopie pies are about the size of a small hamburger bun, made of two soft chocolate cakes with a cream filling in between. It’s a decadent treat!
Oh, duh, it’s what I’m eating the photo in the bottom left. 😉
OH MY GOSH!! This looks EXACTLY like something I would LOVE to do!!! the food, the scenery, everything!! I wish this event wasn’t so far away from me!
I love that your husband had pretty much the head-to-toe new kit on!! And who doesn’t love a corny joke??
My husband is all-in with the gear. 🙂 You would have so much fun on one of these rides.
Wow, this looks like such a fun event. I would love to do a race like this one day. Great job!
It’s really a unique experience with the focus on bringing farmers and cyclists together.
Wow, what a fun event! What beautiful scenery and all of the food looks absolutely delicious. I also like how unique the “medal” was, a wooden spoon! Are you already making plans a for next yer’s PA event?
The medals have a farm-to-fork theme — last year was the cookie cutter. 😉
Dang, the food alone would be worth the trip to Pennsylvania to ride this course! I’m loving the kits and especially the chicken socks! Sounds like a great event …wished I lived closer!
It really is a fantastic event — worth the 3 hour drive for us. 😉
Ah, those raffles look awesome (if only!!)! I like the chicken socks! 😛
The breakfast quinoa sounds really good! I’m gonna have to try to finagle a version of it, haha. All the food for this looks so good, and having awesome scenery while riding definitely doesn’t hurt either! *-*