IF YOU GO
Tour de Farm’s May date was almost full as of press time, but don’t fret if you don’t get in. There’s always September, and this is only one of numerous offerings by Burke and Velo View Bike Tours. One of the other trips he has planned is an October adventure in Kentucky, not far from Lexington, where cyclists will take a week to ride through the lands of horse farms and bourbon distilleries.If a week or weekend-long trip is a bit much, Burke can schedule and create the perfect day trip for your preferred difficulty level. Get all the information you need by visiting veloviewbiketours.com.
No cut in print edition — E.T.
fter hosting several cycling trips in the Appalachian Mountains around Chattanooga, Shannon Burke of Velo View Bike Tours kept hearing a particular question from many of his clients and friends: When are you going to take a trip through the valleys and farmland nearby?
One afternoon ride was all it took for Burke to create the Tour de Farm, a three-day trip through our nearby valleys, with stops at local farms along the way.
"These routes were all heavily recommended by local cyclists," says Burke. "McLemore [Cove] is one of the best rides I've done, and I've really been all over.
"We wanted to have something that's easier than the mountain tours we do but that's a bit harder to find around here. We heard about all these farms and thought how cool it would be to promote them."
Modeled after ranch tours he routinely hosted in Austin, which he traded for Chattanooga in 2015, the farm tour will take cyclists from Chattanooga into McLemore Cove one day and through Sequatchie Valley the next. Burke estimates each ride is roughly 30 miles, with several stops throughout the day at various farms for tastings, picnics and shopping opportunities.
Beyond the scenic beauty of the rides, Burke says the importance of the farm-to-table community in Chattanooga made placing emphasis on the farms in the valley an easy decision. He hopes the tour will be the perfect chance for locals to enjoy a relaxing weekend and become closer to where their food comes from.
Although he hasn't marketed the trips as such, Burke says the beautiful farmland, minimal hills and low traffic make the tour an ideal date weekend for couples. There's even a winery stop at the end, because wineries are a kind of farm, right?
For Burke, the rides are also a way to reconnect with the land he grew up around. Although he's back in Chattanooga from Austin, he grew up in Gatlinburg and has always had family in Southeast Tennessee.
"I'd been looking to move back from Austin for some time, and Chattanooga just feels great," Burke says. "Everyone is super-friendly; I couldn't be happier."
There are currently two dates planned for the Tour de Farm: May 12-14 and Sept. 15-17.
For more information about that and Velo View's other offerings, email Shannon Burke at info@veloviewbiketours.com.