Farm to Bike – A Charlotte B-Cycle Adventure

This is the first in an everyday adventure series: Charlotte B-cycle Adventures, where we recount our joyful exploration of the uptown area on B-Cycles. We seek to spend little or no money and to find the right bike route to explore a few of the gems in the Queen City’s crown.

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The time was approximately 9:30 Saturday morning, and our mission was to obtain the makings of a picnic from Atherton Market, head to 4th Ward Park for said picnic, and make sure the cost of our outing totaled less than $25. We walked to the nearest B-Cycle station, which for us is in South End, but the included map shows a loop from 4th Ward Park. Upon arrival at the East Blvd station, we docked the bikes, walked down the rail to the market, and began scoping out the available fare. We started at the market with two delicious cups of iced coffee from Not Just Coffee for $6.50, leaving us $18.50 for our remaining items.

Seeing as heirloom tomatoes are in season, we decided to make sandwiches that focused on these incredible seasonal treats. Erin went in search of the tomatoes, while I made my way to Duke’s Bread.  Ever indecisive, I stood there conversing with several of the patrons, as I attempted to select a type of bread.  Wanting to try something new, I chose with the garlic oil loaf based on the recommendation and selection of the several people I encountered in line.  This set me back $5, and the nice gentleman behind the counter even sliced half of the loaf for me.

I found Erin carrying a pair of perfectly ripe heirloom tomatoes from the Rowland Family Farm she procured for $3.50. Then we went looking for the last of our ingredients with the remaining $10.  These turned out to be arugula and goat cheese from the Queen City Pantry for $9.95, bringing our total cost to $24.95.  Not only did we stay on budget, but we ended up with plenty of leftover bread, cheese, and arugula.

Coffees finished and food acquired, we packed up and walked the three tenths of a mile back to the B-Cycle station at East Blvd. After a brief discussion about the route, we loaded up the baskets, and made our way down the rail trail to Carson before cutting over to Tryon heading into uptown. Despite our casual pace and missing almost every light, it only took us 16 minutes to pedal 1.8 miles to the 6th & Pine station. The timing can be crucial given the 30 minute trip limit, but our route also took us past several B-Cycle stations, just in case.

Having worked up an appetite, we took a nice stroll into 4th Ward Park, where we found beautiful bench to sit under the trees and enjoy our picnic. I pulled out the beverages we brought from house out of the cooler, while Erin prepped the sandwiches.  After enjoying our meal and each other’s company for a bit, we began our journey home.  All in, our adventure totaled 3.6 miles of pedaling, six tenths of a mile walking, and an awesome Saturday morning adventure.