Last weekend we made what has become an annual trip to Pennsylvania for the PA Dutch Farm To Fork Fondo. It was a great weekend getaway and surprisingly relaxing for a trip that included a metric century on our bikes!
Finishing smiling after 63 miles!
2022 PA Dutch Farm To Fork Fondo
We had signed up for the “weekend getaway” package, which means we took Friday off so we could participate in a mid-afternoon ride on Friday before attending the Farm Dinner Friday night.
For the ride, we met at Conabella Farm, which has been a stop on the main ride in past years. Owner Don Gable met with us and told us about the history of the farm—purchased by his grandfather in 1923!—and explained the unique properties of their Ayrshire cow’s milk.
He also let us sample several flavors of cheese and cheese curd. I purchased a small tub of yogurt to supplement my hotel room breakfast.
After the ride, we went back to our hotel to shower and change for the Farm Dinner. This year it was held at farm owned by Tyler Wren (sr.), the father of Farm To Fork Fondo founder Tyler Wren (jr.).
It was a beautiful property with a lovely restored “barn” where we had our dinner.
While chatting with people at the dinner I decided we would do the “gran fondo” ride the next day—the 63 mile distance. We heard there was one bad hill, but after last year’s Shenandoah Ride talk of hills wasn’t going to deter me!
The 63 mile route
The weather Saturday was perfect for a long ride. I didn’t take nearly enough photos during the 2022 Farm to Fork Fondo, but the ones I took give you a taste of the day
Our first stop was a Warwick Furnace Farm, which used to be the site of an iron furnace, but is now a big lavender farm. I’m not a huge fan of lavender, but the chocolate chip cookies and lavender lemonade they served were amazing!
I let my husband get ahead of me so I could take a picture. 😉
There were no whoopie pies this year—tragedy!—but we did get to enjoy a double scoop of fresh-made ice cream at Lapp Valley Farm.
The last rest stop was at a goat farm, where we got to sample fresh goat cheese (as well as fruit and crackers).
The cutest baby goats were running around. They liked looking at their reflections in this refrigerator door.
After that stop, we had 10 miles to go, and still hadn’t encountered The Hill. It’s hard to tell from this Garmin data, but it was the very last climb. It was crazy steep. The only reason I made it up without stopping—and falling over!—is because my husband was ahead of me. I focused on him and dug deep!
When we got back to the venue, we immediately got in line for our post-ride lunch and beer—which I did not photograph.
After enjoying our lunch and chatting with other riders for a while, we went back to our hotel to shower, stretch and rest before heading out to a local restaurant for dinner. By then we knew the weather wasn’t looking good for Sunday morning’s ride—just like last year! When I woke up Sunday, this was the forecast:
The plan for the ride was to meet at Warwick Furnace Farm and ride to Hopewell Furnace, which is a National Historic Site. Instead, we just met at Hopewell Furnace and toured the grounds.
It was fascinating to learn about the history of furnaces in the area. The forests and natural sources of iron ore and limestone made the region a prime location for furnaces. They chopped down trees to make charcoal to fuel the furnaces. They used the iron to make stoves as well as canons and shot for the American Revolutionary War. In fact, they just found two canons buried in a creek bed at Warwick Furnace Farm they think were “hidden” from the British when they invaded the area!
Weekly Run Down
After all that, I won’t catch you up on my past two weeks of workouts. I will share that I took my 300th Peloton cycling class on Friday, escaping my desk for a 12:30 pm live class with Hannah Frankson. It was a tough 30 min HIIT class, but if anyone can get me through three sets of intervals, it’s her!
warm-up | 6 x 40:20 | 8 x 20:20 | 10 x 10:20
And for the Scooby fans:
A huge thank you to Deborah and Kim for hosting the Weekly Run Down link up.
Have you stumbled upon an interesting historic site?
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Wow. Such a fun ride ride.
Congrats on #300.
I ran somewhere different last Sunday. Lots of history there.
This whole weekend looks incredible! Bummer that your Sunday ride got rained out, but that Saturday ride sounds amazing. Ha ha, I like the baby goats looking at their reflections. And thanks for the Scooby picture- glad to see he’s still getting his runs in!
Your Fondo rides look like so much fun, especially with the dinners afterwards. Great job on #300. I honestly cannot remember if I’ve taken any of Hannah’s riding classes…it’s been ages since I’ve done a Pelo riding class (because I’m outside for all of my riding right now).
I think you’d really like Hannah on the bike. Her classes are tough but carefully programmed to get you through.
I always think this looks like such a fun and scenic weekend! Congrats on getting in the great mileage. No whoopie pies?! I know those are your favorites. Always looks like a fab event
What an amazing weekend. All that food sounds yummy. Congrats on your ride.
Oh no no whoopie pies! We got some takeout today (or rather my husband got it for us) as a pre-birthday gift to himself. They did have whoopie pies, but he didn’t buy anything. Good thing, I’m struggling with my weight enough already!
I’m sorry the weather on the second day didn’t work out, but it looked like a fun first day. I love lavender!
Congrats on 300! Love the Scooby slideshow, so fun.
What a cool event- way to go Coco!
This Fondo looks like such a fun ride! Great job on those 63 miles!
Every year you post about this event and I always think that it looks so fun! Eat and ride? Yes, please! I have to admit I’d rather have ice cream that whoopie pies, lol. Too bad about the weather on Sunday though.
I love that photo of you approaching the finish line. If you can smile after that many miles on the bike, you know you did the race right!
It really was a great day — perfect weather!
Ha, no whoopie pies! But such a fun weekend!
It’s tough to detect the steep hill on your Garmin graph. I would have thought that it was the elevation in the middle!
How does it work with the signing-up fee? Do you just pay for the ride or are the dinners included?
The middle climb was longer but not as steep.
The weekend getaway is a package deal. You also can do just the main ride (Saturday) and the Farm Dinner as an add-on.
Super cool! Goats and ice cream and cheese sound amazing, despite the big hill!
I don’t know how you get back on the bike after getting off for a rest stop. That’s where I struggle.
The trick is to not stop for too long, but it’s much easier than starting up running after a break – IMHO.
What a fun ride! Bummer your Sunday didn’t work out but the rest looks great! Love those goats.
They were so cute!