Imagine biking from farm to farm, getting samples of food raised right there where you stop to take a break, cows lingering in the pasture as you glide by on your bike.

That is the idea of a new event designed to let individuals and families ride their bikes on loops that will visit a handful of local farms in the Champlain Valley.

The Bike the Barns event will be held Saturday, Sept. 24. (Editor’s note: The date has been corrected.) It’s a new event that offers three loops of varying length, meant so serious bikers and families alike can take part. Registration opens today.

“We’ve had a long commitment to agriculture and ecotourism,” Josh Bakelaar of the Adirondack North Country Association said. “This is the first time, as far as we know, that this has been done in New York state.”

ANCA is the driving force behind the event. Half a dozen farms are participating, including Essex Farm in Essex and Mace Chasm and Fledging Crow farms near Keeseville. Reber Rock and Ben Weaver farms are on the tour too, as is North Country Creamery at Clover Mead. ANCA also partnered with Cycle Adirondacks, which put on a bike tour last year and plans to do so again.

The bike event is fully supported, meaning that there will be aid stations and mechanical help along the routes. Registration fees start at $50 for the 10-mile ride, and $75 for the 35- and 50-mile rides through July 4. After that, prices will rise slightly.

The one-day bike tour offers 10-, 35- and 50-mile routes.

“It’s a recreational experience,” Bakelaar said. “There’s an option to have a fast ride, and there’s an option to have a slower, leisurely ride and spend time at these farms and enjoy the area.”

The rides start and end at Mace Chasm Farm, and after the rides there will be a party with food trucks and beverages at Mace Chasm. The general public is welcome to the finish line party that will start at about 3:30 p.m.

Bakelaar said this is a ride for a purpose.

“All the proceeds from this event will be used to support local farms,” Bakelaar said. “The Farm Share fund will be used to continue to build a strong local food movement.

“Our vision is that (the Farm Share fund) has an element where farmers earn a fair living and everyone has access to healthy and delicious food. One way we can do that is to provide a CSA farm share subsidy for households in need,” Bakelaar said. “We’re trying to make sure that this local food is accessible to more people.”

For more information on the event, visit www.adirondack.org/bikethebarns.