This is probably not a typical thought for most of us. It was never a thought for me until I randomly found out about the inaugural Urban Tour de Cluck bike ride. The ride was hosted by Urban Community Concepts, whose mission is to connect resources to help other organizations build stronger communities. As someone always excited about learning new things and doing new things, I figured this ride would be great. And it was.
For $15, you had six hours to bike (or drive) to a dozen homes with chicken coops. We got a late start on the day so we only made it to seven. To be honest, at the beginning of the ride, I thought this could get repetitive. Boy, was I wrong. Each family had such an interesting and unique story about why they first got chickens, their experiences - good and bad - raising them and their plans for the future. Each chicken coop was so unique, too, all from reclaimed materials (double sustainability points). I learned a lot about chickens from the different breeds to their psychology. It was interesting that half of the families we talked with starting raising chickens because of their child/teenager.
It (almost) makes me want to raise chickens of our own. But even if I really wanted to, I also found out on the ride that West Des Moines (where we just bought a house) doesn't allow any chickens. Des Moines allows 30 and Windsor Heights allows two. Maybe that'll change one day...
My bum is a little sore (from the first ride of the year) and my arms a little sunburn (thanks to my Irish roots), but overall, it was a really fun, informative day. I love getting to know more about what's going on in my community!