Đại úy Chuck and the NCOIC, Part 3

June 5, 2015 - Day 1

After driving to Pittsburgh International Airport the ride began . . . slowly as loading gear on the Co-Motion was burdened by working in the “black hole” rental vehicle return area. No one was certain of how to reach the beginning of the Montour Trail, a trail permitting bicycle access to the airport. Joanne, a helpful Avis employee working in the black hole, tracked down Officer Tony of the Allegheny County Police Department and the burly Marine (there are no former marines) arranged for Officer Cervone (former Army) to lead us to the beginning of the Trail. As difficult as getting ready was, the courtesy of these people made the start more pleasant.

Actual departure was delayed when the NCOIC (that’s me) could not find his knee brace, so let’s make this more personal. I had strapped my recently acquired replacement ACL brace to one of the front panniers and as we were about to follow Officer Cervone I noticed it was not there. Cursing my stupidity I limped back to the Avis black hole. The Dodge Grand Caravan had already been taken away to be prepared for another renter, but after a couple of radio massages was returned; unfortunately, no brace. As I returned to Đại úy Chuck I realized I was wearing the damn thing! The Đại úy agreed to not mention my faux pas.

Tunneling the Montour Trail

Nearing the end of Montour Trail

Montour Trail was a pleasant surprise with its varied terrain, fragrant flowers and friendly riders and pedestrians. Unfortunately, the Trail got us only as far as Coraopolis where we could find no one able to direct us to a trail that would avoid very urban, very hectic Pittsburgh. We asked for help from the guys at PAVE-RITE, but their knowledge of bike trails was lacking. They did know the terrain of the area and recommended a route that was not overly physically demanding. They also shared their Pittsburgh humor and Gatorade, both were greatly appreciated!

One downside to following a route suggested by pavers was the heavy truck traffic. The second was (OMG) several miles of one-way road construction; Route 51, West Carson Street. Urban riding is tedious and demanding requiring focused attention to traffic and traffic control and I like the challenge . . . for a while! One downside to following a route suggested by pavers was the heavy truck traffic. The second was (OMG) several miles of one-way road construction; Route 51, West Carson Street. Urban riding is tedious and demanding requiring focused attention to traffic and traffic control and I like the challenge . . . for a while! Đại úy Chuck has an entirely different perspective. Traffic sounds, shifting balance avoiding obstacles, stops and starts and the vibrations of numerous passing dump trucks create negative sensory overload. Đại úy Chuck has an entirely different perspective. Traffic sounds, shifting balance avoiding obstacles, stops and starts and the vibrations of numerous passing dump trucks create negative sensory overload.

Stop for photo opportunity and . . . oops!

Heinz Field from Three Rivers Heritage Trail

Much of the early parts of the Trail leaving Pittsburgh is a physical mashup traversing parking lots, ducking behind warehouses and circling behind restaurants and other commercial properties. Soon after stopping for a water and bar break at Waterfront Bike Rental we reached what seemed to be “the real trail.” Soon after, reality of another sort caught up with us in the form of thunder and lightning. Don’t stand under trees. Seek cover. Uh huh. Only trees around and nothing resembling cover so what do you do? POR; press on regardless while Đại úy asks “How close was that?” meaning the one that lit up the sky. “Not too close” say I.

Near the beginning of the GAP

Make a left and go that way!

If there was a sign indicating we’d reached the GAP I missed it, but somewhere south of Homestead we’d met one goal; survive PBG and ride the GAP. Our next goal was to reach Boston and get some rest at Yough Shore Inn (or Manor if you read the sign), an eclectically decorated B&B. Our hostess, Lin, was great and the accommodations quite satisfactory. Her facility is used almost exclusively by bikers and by hikers who can pitch their tents on the lawn behind the building. It is also one of the stops for rides led by Adventure Cycling. Bikes are kept secure on a deck accessible only from inside. She provides a wide variety of useful food; bananas, yogurt, cereals, muffins and bagels and puts you to bed on one of her uncommonly decorated rooms. Lin offered a ride to Woody’s, a nearby Italian/American restaurant, where Đại úy Chuck turned shrimp and scallop risotto into alfredo because he wanted their made-in-house pasta and I did fast work on spaghetti with meatball. If we spoke at all it was single words. Lin spared us the ride back, too.

Lotsa choices!

Chuck and Lin

Not The Magnolia Room

Another of Lin's rooms

Fifteen of the first fifty miles were difficult, but the Montour Trail, Three Rivers Heritage Trail and the GAP made-up for everything difficult. Day two should take us to Connellsville or Ohiopyle, forty or fifty miles. Already it is obvious that even the most stressful part of the ride was getting through PBG. We'll worry about DC and Balto when we get there.

Đại úy Chuck and the NCOIC, Part 2

The Đại úy  is unaccustomed to self-supported touring. Generally, when he rides 500 miles in a week’s time he only has to be concerned about pedaling, water and energy bars. For our 500+ miles it’s about taking whatever you think you’ll need, plus planning where to spend each night.

The other thing Đại úy’s used to is the shirts he gets for participating. He wears them proudly, like the ones from RAGBRAI. Knowing this, I figured I needed to find a way for him to get a shirt for this ride, so I called Aero Tech Designs, a company making bike wearables in Pittsburgh. I spoke to Jordan, their Marketing Manager (and Pro Rider), and explained that a couple of old Vets were gonna ride the GAP and C&O and since I wore some of their stuff was there any chance of getting a shirt for Đại úy  . . . okay, for me too!

Fast-forward to this morning when the FedEx guy tapped on my door bearing a large box. Yeah, Aero Tech wouldn’t mind at all doing something for a couple of old guys—Vets—who ride bikes. Get some pictures. Say some nice stuff. And thanks for serving your country.

Đại úy’ll have some shirts and so will I and we’ll make Aero Tech proud. Nice arrangement.

Đại úy Chuck and the NCOIC

Just as Non-Commissioned Officers, NCOs, are the backbone of the Army, Captains (Đại úy  in Vietnamese) are the heavy lifters of the officer corp and as such gained a special level of respect during the Vietnam War; being called “di wee”, the Americanized pronunciation of the Vietnamese words. Officers, typically, had drivers because the simple operation of motorized vehicles (other than aircraft) can be challenging for many of them. Drivers were drawn from the enlisted ranks and served their officers every needs, like opening doors, another difficult mechanical task. When the former Army officer, Captain Chuck, gave me the opportunity to pilot his tandem bicycle (clearly equivalent to being his driver) it seemed necessary to elevate myself to NCOIC, meaning Non-Commissioned Officer in charge, a slight misnomer, but allowing a greater sense of self-esteem. Thus, this and subsequent writings about our travels together will be grouped as “Ðai uy Chuck and the NCOIC.”

The Đại úy and I have logged more than 500 miles on his Co-Motion Periscope Torpedo and are becoming a good team. Because a previous pilot (the name applied to the person “driving” a tandem bike, also known as the captain and not used by us for obvious reasons) ran Chuck the Stoker (stoker being the name for the person whose primary role is providing muscle) into a metal pole and I have not, Đại úy Chuck thinks I am good pilot/driver, his blindness keeping him from witnessing some of the potentially harrowing moments we have avoided.

We’ve managed to become an increasingly efficient team, maybe because I don’t deal with him as a blind guy and he doesn’t care that I am old. The result is that we’ve ridden 60+ miles one way to spend a long weekend on the Gulf in Cedar Key, completed a windy metric century as part of the Tour de Forts and next week plan to go large and ride from Pittsburgh to D.C on the GAP and C&O Trails, then take on the challenge of riding from D.C. to Baltimore and finally north into central PA. The Đại úy’s motivation is to not surrender to his blindness. Mine is to stay alive. Makes us a good pair.

I don’t know whether it was too presumptuous or arrogant to ask Andrew and Razia of Flagship Coffee if they’d like to be the official coffee providers for Đại úy Chuck and the NCOIC for our ride. “Of course” was their response. Got a similar response from Monica and Mike of Monica’s Cococastile Soap who are creating wrappers for sample-sized bars noting Đại úy’s accomplishments and efforts to encourage others to develop a more active lifestyle. As Đại úy puts it, “I’m not handicapped. I’m blind.” We’ll use Monica’s soap and give the rest away to spread the good word. Another “hot damn!” moment came during the past week when Aero-Tech Designs, manufacturers of my favorite bicycle attire said they’d provide a couple of shirts, shorts and socks for the old guys on a bike. I’ve worn their touring shorts for three years and all are still in good condition despite regular use. That they make their products in Coraopolis, just north of Pittsburgh (yes, made in America) is a nice subtext.

When we stop where there’s WiFi I’ll update the blog and let you know what’s happening as I did while trying to make the trip August 2012 trip to PA. You can also see what’s happening from a different point of view by checking Twitter; Chuck’s CoMotion.

LEJ; Armed and Delicious

There’s a new vendor at Haile’s Saturday Market— LEJ Pretzels—and maybe it’s my Pennsylvania heritage (80% of America’s pretzels are made in PA) that made me try their product.

I like a good soft pretzel and I don’t care whether it’s claimed to be Bavarian-style or not. The last soft pretzel was an act bordering on being a pretzel-sin. I was in Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station and I purchased a pretzel from a franchise vendor. Like other franchise products it was enough to satisfy my hunger after an overnight train ride but its flavor was mostly derived from the yellow (not dark) mustard dispensed from small single serve packets. Dry and bland best describe the pretzel.

I took one of LEJ’s full-sized “Bavarian-Style Pretzels with me when I left the Market, eschewing on-the-spot consumption using their squeeze bottle of commercial yellow mustard. To their credit, the people of LEJ happily directed customers toward Nana Pat’s mustard; a few spaces further south. Because Nana Pat is a “cottage food operation” her mustard cannot be offered by LEJ, yet. It was the presence of some Fat Tire in my refrigerator at home that clinched my decision to try a pretzel.

When I got home I put the pretzel in its brown paper bag in the oven, turned it to warm and began making a salad using some of the greens I’d gotten. By the time the oven pre-heated to 170 my salad was ready and the pretzel was at a proper overeating temperature. I added some of Nana Pat’s Fat Tire mustard and ate. One of the problems with most commercial, mall pretzels is that they are pale imitations lacking in flavor. One of the strengths of LEJ’s pretzel is its abundance of the right flavors which are derived from two sources; the basic dough that is neither too sweet nor too salty and the properly darkened “skin. “ Without the skin, a result of the Maillard reaction which turns sugars into much deeper, more complex flavors, a pretzel is little more than a piece of dough. These pretzels make the grade with the addition of mustard enhancing the flavor rather than being it.

Score a big one for LEJ Pretzels.

Making Local More Accessible . . . With Your Help

No matter how accessible the world is as a result of digital communications there’s nothing better than finding things that are “as good as it gets” and available locally; just down the street  or across town. The Haile Village Farmers’ Market is, as anyone who has read my postings already knows, one of my favorite places to shop locally. Local produce, coffee, eggs, milk and cheese are sold alongside locally made candies, breads and pastries and ethnic entrees and sides.

Some of the vendors have expanded their cottage industries to become commercial businesses and their products are available more widely. One vendor who wants to do this is Nana Pat's Goodies who makes some fine mustard! As I have said previously, I am not a mustard guy, or I was not. But if your mustard-concepts come from visits to baseball games in the 1950s where bright yellow mustard slathered on steamed hot dogs was the standard and you haven’t progressed beyond an occasional Grey Poupon commercial or Gulden’s Spicy Brown, then it’s time to become more adventuresome and Pat would like to make it easier to do so.
I, the former, non-mustard kinda guy, would not be without one of Nana Pat’s varieties in the ‘frig. Doesn’t take much to edge a good roast beef sandwich into being a great one, especially if it’s made with flavorful, homemade bread! Adding her mustard to a roll filled with sausage and ‘kraut amplifies the savory goodness. And she even makes a bicycle related mustard using Fat Tire Beer!

Nana Pat’s Goodies are available every Saturday morning in The Village of Haile and her customer base is comprised of people who recognize a quality product. Pat and that guy who hangs out with her are moving toward going commercial, but would like to have some financial assistance with an initial run of their product and have chosen to take a digital route. GoFundMe is one of those online enterprises that presents ideas and seeks funds to provide financial support to turn the idea into a reality. Unlike telecom before the ’00 crash, Nana Pat’s idea is not vaporware, it’s a tangible, honest product that she’d like to make more accessible. The upside to seeking funding this way is that she doesn’t have to plunge into debt to a lending institution. The upside to everyone else is greater access to her culinary skills.

Nana Pat’s request, along with a brief video can be found on the GoFundMe site at GoFundMe.com/i288xg. I should add that she isn’t looking for tens of thousands of dollar to make a levitating mustard, just a few thou' to defray costs for a substantial initial production run of her most popular flavor, "Midnight Oil Stout Molasses Mustard". Made with Midnight Oil Stout, a dark beer produced by local brewery, Swamp Head, it's thick and rich, with coffee and oatmeal notes that come from the top quality ingredients the folks at Swamp Head Brewery use.

Like local stuff? Good place to consider doing something locally.

Sometimes It About What You Get When You Get to Where You Went.

Some of the most important equipment for a regular bike rider is not bicycle specific and one of those things is something to protect the lips. Even in August riding across Coastal Georgia and South Carolina I learned the value of having something to counter dry, cracking lips. By day three I added a tube of generic, mineral oil based stuff that I found in a dollar store. It did the job and I have carried similar products in my handlebar bag since. Of the numerous ingredients in a typical lip balm one is commonly listed as an “active ingredients”; mineral oil or another petroleum product.
Because I like to buy locally and have been using Cross Creek Honey’s soap, which is available at the Saturday morning Farmers’ Market in Haile Village I decided to try their Don’t Bee Filthy branded Honey Kiss Lip Balm. Jennifer makes this along with the other Don’t Bee Filthy products; soap, lotion bar and bees’ wax candles. The ingredients’ list is short; Almond Oil, Honey, and Cross Creek Beeswax. I like that I’m not so going to ingest mineral oil, microcrystalline wax and copernicia cerifera. Those things might not cause me harm, but I am certain that almond oil, honey and beeswax won’t.

The only thing that really matters, I guess, is whether it works and it does; at least as well as commercial varieties. I applied commercial products about every 90 minutes of a recreational ride and Don’t Bee Filthy lasts as long if not longer. Honey Kiss Lip Balm cost $3 and is at least as valuable as a good pair of gloves.


Something that won’t improve your ride but is worth riding to the Haile Village Farmers’ Market to acquire is KN Candied Jalapenos. Few things do as good a job of turning mundane or boring into “damn, that was good.” Combining hot and sweet isn’t unique, but blending the two tastes so that neither overwhelms the other comes close to being an art and Al, the man behind the product, does a good job of creating a masterpiece of taste.
Al tells potential customers that his creation is “a lot like a bread and butter pickle” and it is, with the addition of jalapeno heat. Lovers of heat consume the jalapenos much like a pickle while others use them as an addition to other things. My favorite use is as a finely chopped addition to tuna, potato, chicken and egg salad. The sweet heat amplifies the overall taste of each.

The single negative about KN Candied Jalapenos is that they are not available every weekend as Al serves multiple locations. This is a minor inconvenience since I visit The Village weekly and it might mean you’d have to settle for fresh produce, coffee or some of the other locally produce products.

4th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge; The Finale

The 4th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge is over and 7 weekends, 7 cups of coffee, 7 different places way to spend some riding time. Thanks is due Mary of Chasing Mailboxes  for making it happen and I'm guessing that anyone participating did so with a smile on his or her face. I mean, bikes and coffee? How can you not smile . . . seriously!

For me the schedule was easy at least for the first few weeks with Haile Plantation's Village a place I go every Saturday, so planning the first few destinations was much easier than my ride up the East Coast a few years back. Below are my destinations and some relevant pictures.

Cup #1; October 4, 2.5 miles, Tree City Coffee Roasters
Tree City (soon to be called Flagship) is not in Memphis, but the young lady from whom I purchased my first Challenge Cup is Memphis.

It’s hard to match the freshness of coffee roasted by Andrew on Thursday and sold on Saturday; that is exactly the way it works when I visit the Farmers’ Market in Haile Plantation’s Village each Saturday morning.
Memphis filled my cup with Tree City’s Breakfast Blend and I took along a pound of Full City Roast (medium) Natural (Nicaragua – Selva Negra) for $12. A fine way to start a weekend morning!

Cup #2; October 11, 2.5 miles, PattiCakes
PattiCakes is also located in Haile Plantation’s Village and, as the name implies, specializes in cakes of the cup variety; very suitable to accompany a cup of coffee.


PattiCakes brews locally roasted Rembrandt Coffee in a neighborhood friendly environment where locals kibitz, chat and relax. Their house blend was even better when coupled with one of their cupcakes.

Cup #3; October 19, 1.65 miles, Barnie’s
Franchise coffee places are not my favorite places, but the local Barnie’s is more neighborhood then franchise and is a comfortable place to spend a few Sunday morning hours checking email and reading online news. The coffee of the moment was Mocha Java and it required a Danish to help overcome the UF Gator’s loss to Missouri’s Tigers.

Cup #4; October 25, 4.5 Miles, Starbuck’s
I’d talked about bike parking along G’ville’s highly commercial Archer Road and one of the establishments with adequate through remote racks was Starbuck’s. Since then they have relocated to the other side of the street and I decided to check their bike security along with getting the Cup #4.

Like any Starbuck’s in town it was full of young patrons, virtually all of whom were virtually connected to some virtual part of the virtual world. Like any Starbuck’s in town there was a steady din of conversation. The coffee d’jour was satisfactory and the donut I chose was above average.

The new location offers adequate bike racks and reasonable security, but with the drive-through passing within inches of the racks extra care is required when coming and going .


Cup #5; November 1, 2.5 miles, Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill (LRNG)
A place featuring adult beverages might be excuse for the quality of its coffee, but when you call a tavern a “grill” and serve meaningful meals, the coffee should be as good as the meal. LRNG doesn’t serve mediocre coffee. Order a cup and you get some of G’ville’s best; Tree City.

I settled at the bar on an unseasonably chilly, blustery morning when the recently completed extension of Archer Braid Trail (ABT) through Haile Plantation was being officially acknowledged. Bike riders in their brightly colored kits mingled with the usual Saturday morning Farmers’ Market patrons, enjoyed some music, collected a few freebies and sampled munchables from LRNG.



The ABT extension makes Haile’s Village very bicycle-accessible which fits well with the New Urbanist development’s concept. The Trail now extends nearly nine miles from the west trailhead in the small community of Archer to its current terminus at well-maintained Kanapaha Park and will eventually connect with other existing and planned trails. Ample parking at Kanapaha Park makes it an ideal place for families to enjoy the Trail and the 2.5 mile ride to The Village. Cup #5 blended all the things that’re good about riding a bike in Gainesville and the Challenge simply added another good reason to be in the saddle.


Cup #6; November 8, 7.5 miles, Maude’s Classic Café (A Gourmet Coffee Shop)
With the last weeks of the Challenge at hand Cup #6 could be had in conjunction with the Fall Arts Festival in downtown G’ville. Whata deal! Maude’s was the right place to have a cup and a muffin before plunging into the crowd drawn by the Festival perfect weather; neither too hot nor too chilly.

A cursory study of Maude’s could cause it to be viewed as a hipster café, but it’s neither more nor less so than the other trendy coffee shops in G’ville. A cup of Sweetwater Organic Coffee, also a G’ville roasted brand, and a muffin while watching the eclectic mix of people made it a good way to prepare for the larger than usual crowd of Festival-goers.


Cup #7; November 16, 2.8 miles, Waffle House, Archer Road
America might run on Dunkin’ but in the South there’re a lot of people who’ll have their coffee at Waffle House so I decided to make the Southern Tradition the place for my final cup.


The coffee at WH isn’t exceptional, but it comes in a heavy cup that keeps it hot and you’ll get the question, “need some more hon’?” until you pay and leave. It’s hard to beat the value and even more difficult to ignore the Southern Diner ambiance; that’s one of the reasons to go there. Another reason? Waffles, of course. And then there’s the show put on by the grill operators on a Sunday morning.

Meeting the requirements of the 4th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge was well worthwhile and helped put my disappointment from the Bicycle Challenge into proper perspective. Serious bicycle riding has little to do with kits and carbon fiber and centuries. It’s about caring about yourself and your community and enjoying the ability to get around on two wheels powered by your own effort.

Fine With Me Dining at Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill

Riding a bike is not necessarily about how fast or how far. Sometimes it’s about where you end up and during the recent Coffeeneuring Challenge (4th Annual) I ended up at Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill (LRNG), a place I’d visited in a previous incarnation. The coffee was good and the atmosphere was inviting; I knew I had to return and learn whether the food was equally pleasant.

I planned my visit to fit within LRNG’s Happy Hour window which is daily from 3 to 6 pm and for a day when sitting outside would be comfortable.  So, a few days after my previous chilly morning visit I returned when it was upper 70s and sitting outside was not only possible but pretty much required.
Because my tastes are simple I ordered some things I could understand; potato skins and beer. Because it was Happy Hour I sampled two on-tap brews; Brooklyn Lager and later, Sweetwater 420 Pale Ale. The potato skins were a very satisfactory finger food with more than adequate potato and the skins were tender rather than crisp, tough or chewy. There was neither too much, nor too little cheese and enough bits of bacon to add texture.


An hour spent with a couple of beers, a quartet of potato skins, attentive but not overbearing service and delightful weather was about as much as anyone could ask for from any eatery and LRNG delivered. Park your car at Kanapaha Park and ride the 2.5 miles to Haile Village and the Archer Braid Trail extension, indulge at LRNG then work some of it off on the return trip.

Convergence: ABT, Haile Village and the 4th Annual Coffeeneruing Challenge

After years of debate, misinformation and misbehavior the extension of Archer Braid Trail (ABT) became a reality and making Haile Plantation’s Village easily accessible from Kanapaha Park.

ABT and Haile Blvd.

The Village is an integral and extremely under used part of New Urbanist Haile Plantation.. On Saturday I combined the extension’s Grand Opening Celebration, my fifth stop in the 4th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge and my regular visit to the weekly Farmers’ Market.

Fewer riders appeared at this event than at the Grand Opening of the first six miles in June ‘13 becasue of the unseasonable weather, but those who did were dressed for the sunny, chilly, windy November morning. Adding to the small gathering, though, were curious patrons of the Farmers’ Market drawn by the music of Weeds of Eden.

Weeds or Eden “We play original bio-regional music, folk and rock standards, Celtic tunes, and filthy pirate songs.”  See facebook site

It turned into a friendly, busy get together. Of special note, though, is the courtesy of Gordy and his Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill staff who provided an assortment of finger-edibles, bottled water and congeniality.

Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill

Months ago I wrote a brief review of eateries in Haile’s Village, but focused on bike security. Four U-racks easily visible from inside make security a nonissue, though the cobbles into which the racks are secured make footing a mite awkward.

Bike security at Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill

When the opening event was announced I knew I’d make Limerock one of my stops on the Coffeeneuring Challenge for two additional reasons; I’d be in the Village for the regular Saturday Farmers' Market and Limerock serves Flagship Coffee (formerly known as Tree City). If the weather had been less blustery I would have settled outside to observe the goings-on, but had I done that I’d’ve missed the energetic and friendly staff and the comfortable Neighborhood Grill environment.

Flagship Coffee at Limerock Road

I’d visited the establishment in its previous iteration, but had no knowledge of the current state of is comestibles. As a place to hangout and enjoy some conversation it’d be hard to beat; comfortable seats at the bar, large windows with a pleasant view of Haile’s Square and a place to enjoy the Gators on a couple of large screen TVs (and Happy Hour when the Gators are on the road). Unlike many “sports bars” Limerock maintains its pub style without forgetting how to offer a family friendly, part-of-the-neighborhood enviornment.

Bright and Welcoming Limerock Road

The coffee was good. The service and accessibility of the serving staff was exceptional. Now it’s past time for me to see what they can do with their food. For the rest of you; leave your car at Kanapaha Park, follow the Trail, visit the Farmers' Market and go see Gordy.

Limerock's specials

GCC Member? Visit The Village (or downtown) and Get A Deal

As a response to the completion of Archer Braid Trail’s extension through Haile Plantation one of the regular vendors at the Saturday morning Farmers' Market has created a product with bicycle riders (Gainesville Cycling Club members in particular) in mind and is encouraging them to visit the Village.

I have never been much of a fan of mustard, except for when I was a kid and went to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore where all hot dogs came with bright yellow mustard. As my tastes have become moderately more sophisticated I have appreciated the more robust flavors of what might be called "real mustard". I may never become a dipper and use a jar of mustard like hummus or guacamole, but I have learned that mustard . . . some mustards . . . deserve a place in my kitchen.

Nana Pat’s Goodies is one of the vendors at the Market who has embraced the idea that people on bikes is good for the Farmers’ Market.


Nana Pat makes both sweet and savory things, but it is her mustard that matters here. Her newest addition to the line of savories is Fat Tire Special, which uses, can you guess, New Belgium’s Fat Tire Amber Ale as its base. That, alone, would be reason enough to visit Haile Village on Saturday or Union Street on Wednesday, BUT . . . are you ready? . . . GCC members get a discount. A check of Nana Pat’s website blog says it all; she doesn’t commonly offer deals. What’s the deal? Fifty cents off the usual $7 large jar or two small jars (usually $4 each) for the price of a large one, should you want to share the joy. The blog posting also says that this is a limited time product, but I bet demand would win out.


Anyone wanting a seriously good taste treat and wanting to buy locally should try Nana Pat’s stuff. For those of you who like to favor things on facebook and encourage others to treat themselves to something worthwhile, you can do it there, too.

Even if none of the regular merchants in The Village see the marketing value of encouraging the use of ABT, at least one Saturday morning vendor does.