WARWICK—This year’s weather could not have been more opposite or better than last year’s for the Hudson Valley Farm to Fork Fondo, with blue skies, sun, and not a drop in the sky.
Last year cyclists were treated to a cat-and-dog-like downpour at the 9:00 a.m. start, and the event was pushed to 9:30 a.m. in the hopes the rain would subside. It never did.
The turnout was also better this year, which could have been in part because of the weather, said organizer Tyler Wren.
Last year he estimated there were around 400 cyclists who showed up, and this year there were closer to 600, with riders coming in from over 25 states and at least two other countries, he said.
The rides, which were non-competitive, ranged from 12 to 87 miles long and included stops at farms in Goshen, Warwick, Mount Hope, and Westtown and in Vernon, New Jersey where refreshment stations were set up with locally-made food.
Wren, a retired professional cyclist, started the ride as a way to promote local farms and raise awareness about the disappearing countryside that cyclists so enjoy.
“It’s really important for us as cyclists to support the local farmers because not only do they make great food that makes us healthier people and better riders, they’re the ones who maintain the beautiful roads that we like to ride on,” he said at last year’s Fondo which started at Cedar Lakes Estates in Greenville.
This year he chose to hold the event at Pennings Market Farm in Warwick, which just completed a new Dutch barn devoted to the cidery.
