BBB Blog

Phenomenal response at Sol Fest. Spent a good chunk of time at the Russian River when we weren't pedaling bike blended smoothies and rolling fresh spring rolls. Sampled peanut butter pizza, lots of imported fruits and berries dehydrated, reconstituted, and touted for their pro anti-oxidant qualities. Getting a better sense of events to hit next year. See more JP events here .

THE CITY WEEKLY DESK of the New York Times
August 7, 2005



If anyone has seen a thief riding around Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on a bright orange bicycle built to power a blender, the folks at Habana Outpost would like to know about it.

When the determinedly eco-friendly bar and restaurant opened this spring on Fulton Street, at South Portland Avenue, décor included not only an awning made of solar panels, cups made of a biodegradable corn-based plastic, plates made of sugar cane fiber and tables made from recycled soda bottles, but also a bicycle-powered blender that sat on a steel stand on the patio and allowed patrons to pedal in place while mixing their own drinks.

But one evening last month, the contraption disappeared.

''Apparently, someone rode off on it,'' said Atom Cianfarani, the bar's environmental consultant. ''I mean, no one saw it. But that's what we think must have happened.''

The last time anyone at Habana Outpost saw the bike blender was three weeks ago when an employee took the pitcher-and-base unit inside after closing. The next morning, Ms. Cianfarani noticed that the bike's stand was empty. ''We thought someone must have moved it to the basement,'' she said. ''But when I checked a few days later, it wasn't there.''

The blender, called the B3 and invented by a company called Byerley Bicycle Blenders, consists of an extension that shifts a regular bike's rear wheel back 15 inches to accommodate a platform where a spinning base unit can be attached. Habana Outpost set the B3 up on a used racing bike wrapped in orange electrical tape. The bike itself was inexpensive, but the parts for the B3 cost about $600.

''I don't know if whoever took it even knows what they have,'' Ms. Cianfarani said. ''But if they do, there's a lot they could do with it.'' The extension can also be use to carry baby seats, and, she pointed out, ''it works with any Oster blender, and Oster also makes food processors.''

Habana Outpost's owner, Sean Meenan, chose not to report the theft to the police -- ''It just seemed too silly,'' he said -- but instead put the word out among friends in the neighborhood to be on the lookout for a bright orange 10-speed with a huge, funny-looking extension on the back.

After two weeks with no leads, he and Ms. Cianfarani have decided to build a replacement, and this time they will attach the B3 to a stationary bike. ''If someone really wants to steal the new one,'' Mr. Meenan said, ''they're going to have to be pretty strong to drag it out of here.'' SARAH SCHMIDT

Photos: At Habana Outpost, where a bicycle that powers an eco-friendly blender was stolen, daiquiri production was halted. (Photographs by Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times)