Persimmon Park and the South Wedge Farmers Market

When I used to drive everywhere, I passed Persimmon Park on South Clinton Ave in Brighton just about every day. It’s marked by a sign that flashes past you almost faster than you can read it as you barrel down the steep hill in your car:

This has to be the smallest park in Brighton at 11 acres

Today I was riding by on my bike and decided to stop. I decided to stop rather quickly, which lead to some embarrassment later on. The park covers 11 acres, most of which were donated to the town. It features forest, wetlands and a bird garden on the spot where the house of a bird-loving couple once stood.

A park bench offers an inviting place to sit and read, even if it’s a bit close to the entrance, and thus to the road

I mentioned that I decided quickly to stop at the park. That meant I didn’t down-shift. Later, when I was leaving, I put one foot into my new Power Grips and started to pedal. I was in the highest gear, though, so the bike didn’t move an inch. At least not forward. It moved quite nicely toward the ground, taking me with it. Luckily I was in a tiny park surrounded by trees, so no one saw my graceful collapse to the grass.

Later in the day, the Cranes hopped into one trailer and onto two bikes to travel in environmentally friendly style to the South Wedge Farmers Market, one of the coolest new things in Rochester. For the first time, my wife Jen joined us on a “bike.” I put that word in quotation marks because the bike was my sister’s 400-year-old mountain bike, the chain of which looked like a Visigoth had used it to sack Rome. And the helmet? Don’t get me started on the helmet. I can see now why my sister never rides that bike. Jen is a courageous person, though, and she made it work!

Jen braves the bike (and that helmet!) to ride zero-emissions-style to the Farmers Market

The market features a dozen or more regional vendors of everything from veggies to flowers to meat to organic honey. It’s the new Thursday afternoon gathering place for folks who care about what they eat and where they get it.

The bustling South Wedge Farmers Market, which runs Thursdays from 4-8 at the corner of Alexander and South Clinton, behind Boulder Coffee

Including our two bikes, I saw eight bikes during our 30 minutes at the market. I also saw a cool bike with a trailer attached that said DIRECT DELIVERY COMING SOON. Very hip!

Looks like the Farmers Market will soon be pedaling to a house near you

• The rest of my park and market photos are here.

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