“The times they are a-changin’” sang Bob Dylan in 1963 when he wrote the song by the same name.  Although he was alluding to something much deeper, the times are changing around here too.  Our weather is slowly getting warmer and the days are getting longer.  And this year, Pioneer Valley Food Tours and I are also offering two additional tours for our guests in our Farm and Bike Food tours.  

Let’s recap and take a walk down memory lane for a minute.  Last year we had a very successful inaugural tour farm and Bike Food tour featuring stops to sample local cheese and skyr, fresh apple juice and “Art in the Orchard”, and great wine with eye-catching views( just the norm for where we live really).  Our West Valley Farms Tour started in Westhampton and followed the backroads along farm fields to Park Hill Orchard where we had excellent views of Mount Tom and funky locally made sculptures.  Next, the route took us and our guests to Glendale Ridge Winery for cool and crisp Pioneer Valley grown wine and a picnic.  Local foods chosen by Deborah herself.  What more could we have asked for on an early fall September day?  

This year, we open the Farm and Bike Food Tours season May 29th.  We have carefully created a new and very engaging and beautiful route through the farms and by-ways of the Connecticut River Valley.  Deborah and I have chosen some very special stops in order to sample the products of our proud business owners and farmers. We will sample hand-crafted cheese from a local cheese maker, have a coffee at the famous Lady Killgrew cafe while sitting next to a scenic waterfall. We  will learn about local history as we stop in Historic Deerfield, and lastly quench our hard-earned thirst with a beer at Berkshire Brewing Company.  

Still in the works is our second new tour for 2021. At the moment we are crafting a Hill Town tour for late September that may focus on the area known as “Little Switzerland”.  We live and work in a region that offers so much, and sometimes making choices is difficult.  One thing is for certain though, the Hill Town Tour would be a more challenging ride with longer periods between stops.  At roughly 1,000 foot of elevation change per 10 miles, it can be a difficult ride for some.  This ride may include stops in Ashfield and Shelburne Falls.  Stay tuned and reach out with an email or phone call to see what we come up with!

Lastly to cap off the 2021 season, we will run the West Valley Farm Tour again.  Because we had such a fun time last year in the West Valley, we will offer that tour again on October 9th from 12:00-5:00.  Our route is planned on being the same or very similar to the 2020 route.  So there you go, three excellent Farm and Bike Food tours to see and sample the best of the Pioneer Valley.   Hope to see you and your friends out to “see and taste”  all that this rich area has to offer.  Tickets are available on through my website and Fareharbor.com