Receptive audiences and fresh popcorn
Ah, Fall. The colors, the smells, the crispness of the morning air that comes up and stings your nasal passages with that near-ice-cream-headache feeling if you get going fast enough on your bike…
Yes, Fall. And nothing says fall quite like a beautiful morning enjoying nature’s finest creations at the farmer’s market. So not to discriminate on farmer’s markets or anything, but we decided that it would only be fitting for us to pay a visit to the Davis Farmers market in the heart of the bike-friendliest city in America – Davis, CA.
This bi-weekly festival of the bike people really carries something for everyone: friendly neighbors to chat with, organic produce, local baked goods and of course, kettle corn. (Note to the R&D department back home in Berkeley: Kettle Corn flavored Clif Bar. We want royalties!).
So while we weren’t exactly quick to jump at Roy’s wakeup call for 6am on a Saturday morning, we will admit that it was nice to get first crack at the baked goods and breakfast burritos…and a sweet parking spot. We had no problem finding a prime spot for all of Davis to come and embrace the 2 Mile Challenge at the bus. Nearby our setup was the local Davis bicycle advocacy group and some friends of ours who helped man the bike valet so people could safely park their wheels while they took part in the market for a bit.
Considering Davis was the first city in the nation to implement bike lanes and one of the only cities to have special traffic lights specific to commuters on bikes (thanks, DavisGirl!), it wasn’t too surprising that we had a steady stream of people coming by the bus eager to talk shop.
But by the end of the day, all the talking about bikes and bike friendliness made me hungry. I took one final stroll around the market before we broke camp for the day and found some sustenance in a delicious organic tamale. Yes…ok, fine. I also bought another bag of kettle corn. What can I say, it’s a long road to Reno…
-Mike