<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=18lZqx_0glCc5ZE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=18lZqx_0glCc5ZE00" width="1662" height="1247" > The summer of 2022 has been a busy one for the Farmstead Bike Shop as it prepares for its upcoming move to a new expanded location in downtown Northfield in the site that formerly housed Bierman’s Furniture on Division Street. Along with the logistics of making its upcoming location change, Farmstead has also added a new component to its business with the creation of Farmstead Outdoor Adventures (FOA), which currently offers area residents a source for kayak and stand up paddle board rentals during the summer and snowshoes during the winter months. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> The venture is the the recent result of an opportunity presented to Farmstead to buy out The Gear ReSource, which had run kayak, paddle board and snowshoe rentals out of its location in Dundas. FOA’s assortment of rental equipment will be stored at the boathouse location in Dundas, which formerly housed The Gear ReSource. FOA currently offers solo sit-on-top kayaks, solo sit-inside kayaks, tandem kayaks and standup paddle boards for rental. Customers can transport the rentals to lakes and rivers of their own choice — or they can take part in one of FOA’s trips. “The most popular option for kayaking has been putting in at the Cannon River Wilderness Area and taking out at Dundas,” said Brianna Lane, who is one of the co-owners of the Farmstead Bike Shop and FOA along with Greg Neis. “It is a beautiful, calm and wonderful trip. There are some bluffs along the way and you can feel like you are in the middle of nowhere when you are on that trip.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> The kayak journey on the Cannon River takes about three hours to do that section of the river. At present, FOA does not offer a shuttle service for customers but they will transport the kayaks to the starting point in the Wilderness Area and pick them up in Dundas. Customers just need to arrange their own transportation to the starting location and from the take-out location in Dundas. Another popular trip that is a great introduction to river paddling is a trip from Dundas to Northfield. The trip is around an hour long and is an easy paddle down the Cannon River for about three miles. Of note, paddling times on the Cannon can vary pending on the depth and current speed of the river and how fast people want to paddle. “We encourage folks to ride their bikes from Northfield to Dundas and then put in at Dundas for a quick trip,” Lane said. “Then you can pick up your bikes after that or we can get your bikes back to Northfield for you…or you can even walk the path for a totally human powered adventure from Dundas to Northfield.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> The stretch of the Cannon River from the Wilderness Area to Northfield is a great place for beginners to get their feet wet in the world of paddling, according to Lane. “The Cannon River is pretty beginner friendly unless the river is really high,” Lane said. “We expect the river to be pretty chill during July and August.” Customers can check out river levels with a gauge that is posted on the FOA website, which lets people know river depths and what to expect. If river levels go to low for kayaking, FOA also offers paddling experiences on nearby Union Lake — which is also a perfect location to try out the company’s stand-up paddle board rentals. All of the trips offered by FOA are self-guided trips and the cost includes everything you need for a successful trip — including kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, paddles and life jackets. Group discounts are available and Lane said FOA could arrange a guide for those groups who may need extra support. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Lane’s interest in paddling and river sports dates back to her youth as she grew up in Minnesota and took full advantage of the area’s many lakes and rivers. This included paddling trips to Minnesota’s famed Boundary Waters along with summer camp experiences. “That started my love for paddling and my love for rivers kind of blew up in college,” Lane said. As a college student at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C., Lane was able to further her interest in whitewater paddling in the multitude of mountain streams and rivers that surround the campus in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. “I was actually a competitive white water paddler in college, so that was my former life and my happy place is on the river,” Lane said. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> As a co-owner of Farmstead Bike Shop, Lane was able to stay close to the water since the shop’s current location in Northfield backs up to Cannon River at 310 Division Street South. When the opportunity to open FOA came up, Lane was ready to get back on the water. She added, “When I moved back here to Minnesota, it’s easier to be a cyclist here than a whitewater paddler, so I did that for a long time and this (the creation of FOA) is kind of my re-entry for being on the water more.” When the new Farmstead Bike Shop location in Northfield opens later this year, Lane said that FOA will have a rental kiosk inside the store where customers can make reservations for kayaks and standup paddle boards during the summer and snow shoes during the winter. Farmstead Bike Shop has locations in Northfield and Minneapolis but the Farmstead Outdoor Adventures rentals are just offered out of the location in Northfield. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Area residents interested in trying out kayaking on the Cannon River, FOA will host an open house at its Dundas Boathouse location on Sunday, July 24 from Noon to 4 p.m. Kayaks will be available during the open house and you can then paddle down to Northfield, which takes about an hour. The Boathouse is located in downtown Dundas in the Archibald Mills Ruins Engine House. For more information and prices on this event visit: www.farmsteadoutdooradventures.com or call 507-761-6355. The event will be rescheduled if there are issues with the weather or river paddling conditions. <nbtemplate data-content="eyJhcGlLZXkiOiAiZDgxM2Q5Yzg3NTI3N2IzNWU0YzRmZDM0NTAyMjJkNmQiLCAiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiAiU3Vic2NyaWJlIHRvIE5vcnRoZmllbGQgTmV3cyIsICJldmVudCI6ICJtcF9zdWJzY3JpcHRpb25fYnV0dG9uX2NsaWNrX2V2ZW50IiwgInVybCI6ICJodHRwczovL2FwZzA0Lm5ld3p3YXJlLmNvbS9zczcwdjIvYWRhbXMvY29tbW9uL3RlbXBsYXRlLmpzcD9za2luPXN2aCZpbml0PXN0YXJ0JmluaXRFZGl0aW9uPU5GTiIsICJtZWRpYUlkIjogMTU5MzIwMCwgInRpdGxlIjogIk5vcnRoZmllbGQgYmlrZSBzaG9wIGFkZHMgb3V0ZG9vciBhZHZlbnR1cmVzIGNvbXBvbmVudCJ9" data-id="MediaPlatformAmplitudeButton"></nbtemplate></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

The summer of 2022 has been a busy one for the Farmstead Bike Shop as it prepares for its upcoming move to a new expanded location in downtown Northfield in the site that formerly housed Bierman’s Furniture on Division Street.
                Along with the logistics of making its upcoming location change, Farmstead has also added a new component to its business with the creation of Farmstead Outdoor Adventures (FOA), which currently offers area residents a source for kayak and stand up paddle board rentals during the...