At the end of our first ride in Williamstown, Basil and I returned to our inn, then rode past, away from town, in search of a grocery store. Much to the pleasure of the one of us who was hungry, we found an upscale co-op.
This meant that cheese was undoubtedly on hand. Not only that, but it would probably be local cheese.
But imagine our surprise when we entered the store and saw this display:
This little orange beauty is a Citizen Tokyo, an inexpensive folder which is, nonetheless, equipped with six speeds, just like Basil (though without Brompton’s BWR hub).
Naturally, Basil posed with his new-found compatriot, though in trolley mode, as space below ceiling-level was limited. (So was light, unfortunately!)
We filled up Basil’s small green bag with Vermont blue goat cheese and a bunch of local hard ciders to take home to Mr. Diarist. Then we headed back to the inn for a light repast and a good night’s sleep.
4 replies on “Basil Meets a Fellow Folder in a Most Unexpected Place”
Is there a connection between the orange bike & the foodstuffs on display? Mmm, and now I’m feeling blue cheese envy.
Good question, Harry. There’s a decal that says “Honest Tea” on the bike,so I googled the name and “folding bike”. Apparently, the tea company was sponsoring a contest and giving away a bunch of Citizen folders. At the time, I figured that it was just a simple matter of “folding bikes are cool, so our product must be too”, but clearly I missed something, including the product being featured.
Parenthetically, I learned that the formerly privately-held “Honest Tea”, purveyor of “organic” tea, was purchased by Coca-cola recently, which has resulted in the former owner blogging rather defensively about the transition. The sale may explain the somewhat tenuous connection between a Citizen Tokyo folding bicycle and tea-drinking; maybe that’s Coca-cola’s vision, rightly or wrongly, of what appeals to a natural foods co-op shopper?
Gotta admit that the bike caught my eye, but it didn’t make me buy the product, or even notice it. I had other things in mind. (Though I did figure out the company name and google it at this late date, so maybe Coca-cola wasn’t so off-base after all.)
Speaking of which, back to blue cheese . . . now that you’ve mentioned it again, I’m thinking that would make a fine breakfast, although, alas, there’s no more Vermont goat blue where I can get my hands on it at the moment.
Wowza you did some homework. Contests are difficult to produce through vendors and retailers and it does get lost in translation from a Japanese folder to “natural” tea. Organic tea? Either way it’s a good product they’d have us believe. But now that blue cheese – that’s something to remember, honestly.
Just a quick google, Harry — gotta love the Internet — information just a finger tap away!
(Love your last line — it’s the blue cheese that stayed in memory for sure, not the honest tea!)