Nan Leiter, of Vashon, rolls her bike into Tour de Farms during Ride The Willapa Saturday afternoon in Pe Ell.
Leah AdangFry tries to hold onto the leash as her goat from Telegraph Farm tugs towards the grass at Tour de Farms during Ride The Willapa Saturday afternoon in Pe Ell.
Kathy Jacobson teaches young bicyclists the importance of water usage and storage at Tour de Farms during Ride The Willapa Saturday afternoon in Pe Ell.
Fiona Lewis, far right, feeds asparagus to goats from Telegraph Farms at Tour de Farms during Ride The Willapa Saturday afternoon in Pe Ell.
Bicyclists raise their hands to show they were part of Ride The Willapa during Tour de Farms Saturday afternoon in Pe Ell.
Ina Wagenman, of Winlock, takes pictures of the campsite at Tour de Farms while bicyclists with Ride The Willapa search for their tent Saturday afternoon in Pe Ell.
Organizer Harry O. Bhagwandin smiles and looks on over the Tour de Farms event during Ride The Willapa Saturday afternoon in Pe Ell.
A man rides a Dutch styled, folding bike, into Tour de Farms during Ride The Willapa Saturday afternoon in Pe Ell.
Ethan Siegel lines up a shot while playing mondo croquet in Toledo Saturday, June 22, 2019.
Nathan Coenig winds up for a swing while playing mondo croquet in Toledo Saturday, June 22, 2019.
The upbeat twang of bluegrass music provided an appropriate backdrop for Saturday’s pop-up farmers market at Willapa Hills Farm near Pe Ell, the host of this year’s Tour de Farms event.
Many of the shoppers were riders who got there via the annual Ride the Willapa event that brought hundreds of bikers from Chehalis to a few different campsites — the farm being one of them.
Michaelyn Erickson, the market’s manager, said 2019 is the second year that the Chehalis Farmer’s Market has been the sponsor of the grant that funds Tour de Farms. She said the event provides an opportunity to support local farmers markets. The Chehalis Farmers Market operates every Tuesday through the season in downtown Chehalis.
Several vendors set up shop on the farm Saturday. Fern Hill, a bluegrass band, played their music from a stage, with the band Whiskey Deaf to be taking over the show in a few hours.
Harry O. Bhagwandin organizes Tour de Farms in conjunction with Ride the Willapa. He said it’s an effort to bolster agritourism in Lewis County. Riders were encouraged to camp on the farm, meeting the requirements of the overnight lodging tax grant that funds the event. Riders also camped in Rainbow Falls State Park.
“The whole idea is, ‘Do you know there are farmers markets? Do you know we grow food in Lewis County? Do you know you can go to your farmers market? And you should go,’” said Bhagwandin.
Over 500 riders took to the Ride the Willapa event this year, many of them coming from places like Seattle, Portland or Olympia.
“It was pretty awesome,” said Cami Huntting, one of the riders. “I’ve been training for it so I was ready.”
She said it was about a 19-mile ride to get to the farm, with some of the riders opting to go a little further.
She and others milled about the several tents set up with various vendors, most of them mainstays of the Chehalis Farmers Market. A beer and wine garden was set up for the over-21 crowd. Dicks Brewing in Centralia provided the beer.
Later on in the day, Bhagwandin said, there would be a pulled pork dinner. The vendors would leave at 4 p.m. and there would be a campfire with s’mores in the evening. Most of the riders would be going to bed at around 10 p.m., since they had to ride back in the morning.
“I’ve been here since 9 o’clock and I haven’t sat down,” said Vicki Muething, one of the event’s volunteers. She said it had been a steady flow of cyclists and community members coming through for the day.
“It’s such a great way to see the trail and really understand its benefit to Lewis County,” she said.
The event was sponsored by Lewis County, Sierra Pacific, Alta Forest Products and Willapa Hills Farm.
