The March Year of Yay! ride was a step into Spring—we were blessed with bright skies, warming temps and not a drop of rain to be seen—with the theme of 'Chickens'. The ride's almost 80 riders, including 10 first-timers, were greeted at Whole Foods Market by five 5-week-old chicks from John Bannon's urban farm. Besides those cute baby birds, we had two stops to make to visit folks raising poultry in the city. Check the route we took and then follow along to relive the experience!
Riders—even a dad with his kids—rock Morse Road. Photo credit: Ray George
Off we rode onto Morse Road towards Jerah Pettibone's quail operation. We drifted off the heavy traffic into a lovely old Columbus neighborhood where we were greeted at Jerah's house with a tour. Upon donning shoe covers (blue booties), we met her 100 baby quail and 100 adult quail—she is licensed to sell their eggs and meat. Also living there were two breeding partridges, and they were lovely.
Riders arrive at a house on a quiet street in North Columbus. Photo credit: Ray George
Quails! Photo credit: Ray George
Sending the group off again, we all slowly meandered through some quiet streets northward to the home of Milo Petruziello, who lives in North Columbus with his wife, two boys and eight laying hens. Milo and his family gave us a detailed look into how to raise chickens in the City of Columbus. He proudly showed us his recently awarded Animal Possessor Permit and talked about how he made his coop and the types of chickens he has been raising for the past year.
Riders explore chicken coops at a home in North Columbus. Photo credit: Ray George
Baby chicks! Photo credit: Ray George
Thus our chicken tour was complete, and we headed back to Easton for some well deserved snacks and beverages. By now the temps were over 60, we'd been out for several hours and the jackets were starting to peel off. That cold one was just the perfect end to another great ride.
"Bwok bwok!" (rough translation: "Bye bye!"). Photo credit: Ray George
Thanks to Ride Leader John Bannon and to all who rode this month—see you next time! In the meantime, we'll leave you with another awesome audio file of the ride from Darrel McGrath:
And finally, of course, this month's button, courtesy local artist Thom Glick:
