Wild Oats

Had a great time at the Local Foods BBQ at the Wild Oats Market in Williamstown, MA.  All of the food came from within 100 miles of Williamstown, and all of the food was excellent and included burgers made with 100% grass-fed beef; local, naturally raised BBQ chicken; salads made with locally grown vegetables; and grilled corn on the cob.  My set was well received and I was fortunate to meet some great people who forwarded me a few links of interest:

Transition Towns Initiative - The Transition Towns movement is about building resilience in community to prepare for the decline of oil and climate change. This link goes to the northern berkshires chapter.

BikeLoc - Two guys biking across the US in support of local food and community!

Middlebury, VT

Some concert photos coming soon I promise...

Press for the Asbury, NJ and Bethlehem, PA concerts:

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/express-times/index.ssf/2010/08/musical_bicyclists_spreading_s.html

More Vermont!

After some great days off from riding in Burlington (which coencided perfectly with 2 days of rain), and a nice show for DREAM, I headed south to Middlebury on route 7.  A beautiful ride, with the green mountains to the left and the adirondacks and lake champlain to the right.  I had great visit with some old friends, and a great morning playing a the Middlebury farmers market.  The ride continues to be amazing and both bike and body are in great shape.  Should be in Williamstown, MA around midday tomorrow.

Photos

Heading out from Portland, ME on August 17

The Ossipee Mountain Grange Hall, home of GALA (8/17)

Word on the street is that maple sugar is good for cyclists (8/18)

Cars lining the dirt road for the community dinner at the Adamant Coop (8/20)

Days 3 - 6 in Vermont

Wednesday 8/18: Got a late start and ended up camping next to a Sugar Shack at the top of a mountain pass near Lyme, NH.

Thursday 8/19: Rode up and down 3 hills from Lyme, NH to South Royalton, VT and had a very nice time playing at the Farmers Market and the opportunity to eat some great local produce. Beets, Radishes, Tomatoes from a very generous farmer, and some local grass fed beef from the Luna Bleu Farm.

Friday 8/20: A beautiful day of riding up the valley of the 2nd branch White River.  In Barre, VT I came across LACE (Local Agriculture Community Exchange), whose mission is "to provide a commons for family farms and their community where they can celebrate local food, LEARN from one another and build fellowship TOGETHER."  LACE has a very nice store front in Barre which sells local food as well as local art and seems to be working towards being a great community center.  I kept with the tradition of eating local, and had some local chicken salad for lunch.  In the afternoon, I headed north from Montpelier, up a few hills until the roads turned to dirt and I eventually found myself walking into the Adamant Cooperative General Store.  The Adamant Coop is a wonderful community in a beautiful spot and I immediately felt very happy to be there.  In the evening, I peformed at their community dinner, which happens every friday throughout the summer, and is the perfect example of people coming together just to be together and to celebrate their community.

Saturday 8/21: Route 2 from Montpelier to Burlington is generally downhill, which was just what I needed on a somewhat cool and grey day.  After a brief stop at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, where Rosetta and Melissa made me a farm fresh second breakfast, I made it to Burlington around 1pm and almost immediately fell asleep on a futon.  In the afternoon and evening, I was lucky enough to attend a pig roast.  Another great gathering of people - who came together to eat a local pig.  I find it interesting, but not surprising, that local foods have played such a big role in the first week of my trip.  We will see if the trend continues.

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Day 1 and 2

Yesterday I started the tour with a 60 mile ride from Durham, NH to Portland, ME.  While it was cloudy all day, the rain held and I made it to Portland in plenty of time for the first show of the tour at the Local Sprouts Cafe.  Local Sprouts is not only a local foods restaurant and bakery, but features a Community Supported Kitchen and several education programs surrounding the topic of local food.  The food was amazing and the show was great too.  After a day of reflection, I feel comfortable saying that the bacon cheeseburger that I had for dinner (made will all local ingredients) was the best burger that I have had in my life.

Today, I rode the very familiar route from Portland to Water Village, NH, while making sure to stop at the world famous rope swing on route 25.  The evening featured a very special concert at the Ossipee Mountain Grange Hall, home of GALA (global awareness local action), a great organization working on all sorts of community building and sustainability projects.  Josh Arnold, founder of GALA gave the audience a small lesson on the history of the grange, which was/is an organization that allows farmers and their families to work together, but more importantly, to come together and interact.  Tonight, a group of us came together to share music, including some great singalongs and percussion performances by members of the audience.  The grange is a great space to perform and to be with people and had a wonderful energy tonight.

I'll be riding towards Vermont tomorrow!

Tour Dates (Part 1 Portland, ME to Washington, DC)

The following is a list of concerts that took place on the first leg of the tour from Portland, ME to Washington, DC in August and September of 2010.  In total, Lee rode over 900 miles and performed 17 concerts in 26 days.

Monday August 16 - Portland, ME

Local Sprouts Cooperative includes a cafe, bakery and community supported kitchen.  Their mission is to provide people in Maine with creative local and organic food.

649 Congress Street - 6:30 pm

Tuesday August 17 - Water Village, NH

Global Awareness Local Action is a great non-profit dedicated to making communities more sustainable, desirable and resilient.

3 Pork Hill Road - 8 pm

Thursday August 19 - South Royalton, VT

Royalton Farmers Market.  3:00 - 6:30 every Thursday on the South Royalton Town Green.  I will be playing between 4 and 6.

Friday August 20 - Adamant, VT

The Adamant Cooperative features a local foods store, a buyers club, a special equipment club and supports local artists.  They also host the annual black fly festival and many other community gatherings.

1313 Haggett Road - Dinner starts around 5:30

Sunday August 22 - Burlington, VT

DREAM is a youth based Village Mentoring organization that builds communities of families and college students that empower children from affordable housing neighborhoods to recognize their options, make informed decisions, and achieve their dreams.

House Concert - 117 N Winooski Ave - 7:00

Wednesday August 25 - Middlebury, VT

Middlebury Farmers Market 9-12 AM by the falls at the Marble Works.

Friday August 27 - Williamstown, MA

The Wild Oats Coop is a cooperatively owned natural foods market that buys extensively from local and organic food producers.  On 8/27 they will be hosting a Local Foods BBQ to close out the Eat Local Challenge, a month long promotion of living sustainably and eating locally.

320 Main Street - 5:00 PM

Sunday August 29 - Kingston, NY

I'll be playing at MINT Tapas and Wine Bar in support of A Healthy Kingston For Kids.

One West Strand - 7:00 pm

Tuesday August 31 - Port Jervis, NY

Port Java Coffeehouse. 

19 Front Street - 7:00 pm

Wednesday September 1 - Asbury, NJ

Musconetcong Watershed Association at the River Resource Center

10 Maple Avenue - 7:00 PM

Thursday September 2 - Bethlehem, PA

The Bethlehem Bicycle Cooperative is a part of the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation.  CAT improves mobility, celebrates our community and the environment through education about safe pedestrian access, bicycling, public transportation and trail systems.

14 W Raspberry Street - 7:00 pm

Friday September 3 - Philadelphia, PA

Weavers Way Coop (Old Garage owned by the Coop)

542 W Carpenter Lane - 7:30 pm

Saturday September 4 - Wayne, PA

Saxbys Coffee

110 E Lancaster Ave -  7:00 pm

Sunday September 5 - Philadelphia (Mt. Airy), PA

InFusion - A Coffee and Tea Gallery.  I'll be playing for Sunday brunch.

7133 Germantown Avenue - 11 AM

Tuesday September 7 - Baltimore, MD

House Concert

Wednesday September 8 - Washington, DC

Rooting DC Urban Gardening Forum is an annual free forum put on by a collaboration of organizations through DC’s Field to Fork Network.  Mount Rainier Bicycle Co-operative aims to enable residents of Mt Rainier and the surrounding DC-area to own, maintain, and ride bicycles affordably.

The Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Road NW WDC 20009 - 8:30 PM

Friday September 10 - Alexandria, VA

Velocity Bicycle Cooperative 204 S. Union St. 7:30 pm