Editor,
On Sunday, Nov. 8, we enjoyed the 3rd Annual Laguna Beach Tour de Coop, a bike ride through Laguna Beach to visit backyard chicken coops and organic and sustainable gardens. This event attracted almost 100 people from Laguna and the greater Orange County area, people from young to old and of all fitness levels. This is a grass-roots event that encourages community and fosters new friendships as well as educates the community about sustainable alternatives for the urban garden.
We would like to thank our “Coopsters” who were the eleven families that hosted the event. They opened up their gardens for the tour and showed off their backyard coops and gardens to the community. Without you, we could not have had a Tour de Coop.
Also, we would like to express our gratitude to our community partners: The Laguna Coffee Company, who hosted our starting point and provided complimentary coffee to our riders; Laguna Cyclery for complimentary bike service and discounted bike rentals, Wholefoods Laguna Beach for the refreshments they provided our participants and Transition Laguna for helping promote the tour. We couldn’t have done it without your support and sponsorship.
A special thank you to Cody Oakland, our fearless bicycle guide, who has been leading the bike pack for the last three years and to Karen Wilson for sharing her knowledge about everything backyard chickens at the Coop Talk. Your knowledge and experience is invaluable.
We invite the community to join the Laguna Beach Tour de Coop Facebook page, and to contact us if you have a coop and would like to be on the tour next year.
Reem Khalil and Kerry Bowers, Laguna Beach
