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Youth Farm Project LEAD Participate in Cycle for Change’s Harvest Bike Tour

Two Project LEAD from Hawthorne Neighborhood attended Cycle for Change’s second annual Harvest Bike Tour. Teshaun Wade and Sergio Arredondo biked over 100 miles over the Labor Day weekend with myself, my partner Elizabeth, and 9 other participants. The Harvest Bike Tour is a fundraiser for Cycles for Change’s Community Partners Bike Library, a program that directly supports Youth Farm by loaning well maintained bikes and providing biking resources and education to many of our Project LEAD. Learn more about the Community Partners Bike Library here.

We left from the Cycles for Change bike shop in St. Paul at around 10:00 last Saturday morning, biked through Stillwater, MN across the river to Wisconsin and then north to Martell’s Landing retreat center outside of Somerset, WI. Sunday, we biked from Martell’s Landing to Community Homestead near Osceola, WI where we toured their dairy farm, vegetable CSA operation, and learned about the unique history of the farm in which people of all abilities are able to share their strengths in community to contribute to the farms success. Later that afternoon we helped harvest paste tomatoes for processing. That evening we made a heap of salsa from tomatoes and peppers harvested at both Youth Farm and Community Homestead. You can learn more about Community Homestead here.

We returned to St. Paul on Monday afternoon, more than a little tired, but excited about the finishing the ride. Hawthorne LEAD did an incredible job, and aside from a few flat tires and minor(ish) mechanical problems, the trip – the weather – the people – made for an unforgettable weekend.

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Harvest Bike Tour – Team Youth Farm!

Hawthorne Neighborhood program director, JP Mason will be riding 63 miles to and from an organic farm in Wisconsin with his wife and six Youth Farm Project LEAD (as well as a lot of other cool people supporting Cycles for Change). Project LEAD from Lyndale and Hawthorne neighborhoods will be joining us on the ride, and we are excited to support Cycle for Change.

Cycle for Change’s innovative Junior Mechanics and Youth Apprenticeship programs teach youth bike repair skills, and builds leadership and community engagement skills around sustainable transportation and bicycle advocacy.

Cycles for Change supports Youth Farm’s youth in many ways, including through the Community Partners Bike Library program and by donating repaired bikes for Youth Farm’s summer biking focus groups.

The ride is a fundraiser and awareness raising event for Cycles for Change, and we’d love for folks to support us and help us reach our fundraising goal! Please support Youth Farm’s riders and consider making a donation to Cycles for Change!