Pedal to Plate bike ride shines light on locally produced food
Nicole Tavenner
Karen Peterson
Cyclists sample tarts at the first station during the 40-mile bike ride.
Karen Peterson
A pan of tarts from Home on the Range waits to be served.
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Cyclists listen to an artist talk about the veteran's memorial at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Complex at the first stop.
Karen Peterson
Cyclists head for Polson.
Karen Peterson
Robert Brophy of Hamilton looks at the route map.
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
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RONAN – Cyclists left the Lake County Fairgrounds on Sunday morning for the all-day 40-mile Mission Mountain Area Pedal to Plate ride to support several goals.
Janet Sucha, one event organizer, took a minute to talk to about 60 riders. “We wanted to do this to increase biking in Lake County,” she said. A portion of the profits from the $50 entry fee is going towards bike donations and maintenance. Proceeds will also be used to promote cycling safety and efforts to make the Mission Valley a safe place to walk and cycle.
The second annual ride was also organized to support local agriculture and eco-tourism. The Lake County Community Development Corporation supported the scenic ride that included a view of the Mission Mountains and farmlands.
Participants were scheduled to stop at seven different stations along the way to taste local produce, including cantaloupe from Dixon Melons, popsicles from Fresh Roots Farm, homemade bread from Crow’s View Farm and artisanal cheese from the Flathead Lake Cheese Factory. A locally-sourced dinner was catered by Trina Felsman of Qene’s Catering. Additional farms and providers included Glenwood Farm, Lowland Farm, Shady Maple Farm, Simply 406 and Dobson Creek Coffee.
After several miles of riding with a short hill climb, bikers stopped at the first station in Pablo at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Complex parking lot for tarts in several flavors from Home on the Range. “These are better than energy bars,” one participant said.
Robert Brophy of Hamilton rolled into the station on a three-wheeled recumbent bike. He said he attended the first event last year and had so much fun that he came back for the second event. He was looking forward to sampling the different local foods available during the ride.
“This is a wonderful day for a ride,” he said. “There are nice roads and scenery.”
At the same stop, artist Corky Clairmont talked about the history of the veterans' memorial in front of the complex. He said the granite wall was in the shape of a protective eagle and was etched with veterans' names. He said protecting culture was important to the soldiers.
The riders continued north on Skyline Road into Polson. They crossed U.S. Highway 93 at a stoplight and biked to the cheese factory for a tour and bruschetta lunch.
While continuing on the route, bikers enjoyed the scenic view of the lake and eventually headed east towards the mountains. At station seven, they stretched with a Canyon Mill Yoga instructor and enjoyed refreshments. The last few miles included a “well-deserved” downhill ride before turning onto Foothill Road and then Terrace Lake Road in Ronan. Cyclists finished at the fairgrounds with a dinner of bison stroganoff over country pasta and sautéed vegetables.
Sucha thanked the many people for their contributions to the event. “This is an awesome community,” she said. “Thank you to all the farms and businesses. Everything we offered was locally grown. Any time you do an event like this, you have a lot of people to thank.”
Event organizers are already thinking about next year’s route and considering a new direction to include new farms and towns.
