To the editor:

There are so many incredible things to say about the inaugural Portsmouth Farm-to-Farm Ride held this past Saturday. The smiling faces of 450 happy people riding and walking car-free — and the positive energy and feedback — reflected the excitement and success of the day!

Saying “thank you” to event coordinator Daniela Abbott and town councilor Linda Ujifusa will never cover it, but here goes: For making your dream a reality, we applaud you. For investing so much of yourselves to make this happen, we all have the utmost gratitude. 

To all the volunteers, we couldn’t have done it without you! We hope you had as much fun as we did!

And to the sponsors, your support made the day possible. Thank you to Newport Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, Bristol Marine, Countryside Children's Center, Aquidneck Pediatrics, Newport County YMCA, ecoRI environmental news, Rhody Fresh Milk, Aquidneck Island Planning, Rhode Island Farm Bureau, Standard Modern Company, Reynolds DeWalt, the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association and Clean Ocean Access. 

A special thank-you to Escobar's Farmhouse Inn for your sponsorship and for being the “host with most” by accommodating us on the farm all afternoon. Much appreciated!

The car-free Farm to Farm Ride confirmed that people want the opportunity to ride and walk without cars, an indication that we should plan more events, and more permanent infrastructure. So come on Aquidneck Island, let’s do this!

Signed, the staff of Bike Newport: Bari Freeman, Nate Giblin, Dave Mann, Niko Merritt, Rhys Probyn, Clare Woodhead.

Clare Woodhead

Director of communications and advocacy

Bike Newport