The Great Greenway Tour 2011

Courtesy Cardinal Greenway

The weekend of July 29 and 30 marks the 11th year for the Great Greenway Tour along Cardinal Greenway.  The GGT is sponsored by local businesses and is one of Indiana’s premier rail-trail bicycle touring events.  The Greenway has grown to 62 miles of paved surface, and this summer the tour includes a newly opened segment of the greenway between Losantville and Richmond as well as a family-friendly trail in Grant County called the Sweetser Switch.

Organizers of the tour encourage cyclists of all abilities to join in.  Enthusiastic cyclists bring cycles of all shapes and sizes.  Doesn’t it look like they’re having fun?

Routings are available for rides ranging from 10 to 100 miles.  Riders can travel cross-country using both the Greenway and a few miles of roadway, or enjoy the newly opened urban White River Greenway, exploring the Minnetrista Cultural Center, and the Craddock Wetlands Preserve.

Register early and save $10 off the $40 registration fee.  Lunch at a variety of on-trail venues is included as well as a t-shirt.  Visit the Cardinal Greenway / GGT website for registration and additional information.  There’s no better way to stay fit and explore the environment.  Cardinal Greenway is a showplace the volunteers who maintain the trail can be proud of and a real tribute to the rail trail movement.

We still have plenty of rooms available for the big weekend at McDowell-Nearing House.  Mention this blog when making a reservation for the weekend of July 29-30.  Book one night at $25 off the regular room rate, book 2 nights and the second night is half off.

Fresh Produce, Anyone?

Indiana is one of those heartland states that relies on agriculture for a significant part of its income, yet after World War II most Hoosiers who moved away from the farm bought almost all of their food from grocery stores.  In the mid-90′s people began to miss having access to locally grown fruits and vegetables, and farmers’ markets appeared across the land. 

Here in Muncie we are fortunate to have the Minnetrista Farmers’ Market which was voted best in Indiana for 2010!  The Minnetrista Cultural Center hosts over 80 vendors who display fresh produce, flowers, baked goods, eggs, meat and cheese on Saturday mornings 8am to noon from May to October.  In June Wednesday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30 are added to the schedule.

Minnetrista has added a canning demonstration on the last Saturday of each summer month at 9 am.  A winter market is held indoors on the 3rd Saturday of the month.

The Minnetrista Center offers a perfect venue for farmers to display their offerings.  There’s plenty of free parking and if you buy more than you can carry, red wagons are in abundance to help.

Here at McDowell-Nearing House we use fresh produce from the farm for breakfast as often as possible.