Garden Bikes

You didn't know that gardens & bikes go together well, did you?

I woke up this morning intending to ride but not sure where. A quick perusal of Facebook and I located a promotion for Sustainable Food Edmonton's 2014 Bike Tour of Edmonton's Community Gardens (co-hosted by Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society). Sounded interesting, Sadie was up for a trip to Edmonton, and so I signed us up.

Arriving at The Idylwylde Cheery Tomato Community Garden Sadie & I met up with about 25 other cyclists and received our rainbow tape - indicating that we were riding with the group. 

Sadie promptly installed the tape on her frame so that she could wear it forever. Sadie is partial to colors, in case you haven't noticed. She has a red frame, blue stripes on her tires, pink streamers, red, white & blue spoke beads, and rainbow tape. She's also talking about re-painting herself this winter.

We received a brief overview of the Cheery Tomato garden, checked out the plants, had a quick "bike riding safety for groups" lesson and started on our way. And... Sadie got a flat before we even rolled 10 feet down the road. I grabbed Brian - aka: Mobile Bike Shop Man - and we assured the group we would catch up at the next garden. I carry a spare tube, tire levers, & a pump at all times so was set with the items needed to replace the flat tube. With Brian's help, and the support of the sweeper car, we were done in less than 10 minutes. 

Thank you Brian!

Rejoining the group at the garden behind W. P. Wagner School, we had the opportunity to speak with a couple of the gardeners there. One of them is using a self watering system comprised of 2 terracotta pots glued together (tops together) and the bottom hole sealed up. The pot is then sunk into the ground near the plants and filled with water using the open top hole which is above ground. Over 3 days, the water leaches out of the pots and into the soil, watering the plants. A great solution for hot days when you can't make it to the garden every day! 

Next stop: Mill Woods United Church's community garden.  This one is a fantastic community project. The raised garden boxes were built by the local high-school shop class and the garden is comprised of both private and public gardening spaces filled with herbs, veggies, & flowers. 

 

Next up, a beautiful family garden in Lee Ridge. While this is not a "community garden" per se, this community gardens! 

The bikes and the bikers really enjoyed this little city lawn garden. 

Up next, the Richfield Community Garden. This was by far the biggest garden of the day, located right in the middle of a field, near a walking/biking path. 

Regrouping after the garden info session, we were off and rolling towards the starting point. Overall a good day with only 3 flat tires, 1 drop out due to mechanical reasons, some very interesting bikes - fold ups, recumbents, mountain bikes, road bikes, hybrids, and every color imaginable - and just a bit of rain and cold to make the day complete. Our route took us over 23 km around Edmonton. I highly recommend seeing the city by bike whenever possible. 

To learn more about Sadie & The Ride, visit her post here.