Gunnar Sport - Camino Bakery - Chocolate Cake - Nissen Building!

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Camino Bakery

After riding fairly hard ride, on Sunday afternoon, an easy site seeing ride was more appealing than another rip through the country side. Camino Bakery seemed like a fun destination. 

A friend of mine had introduced me to Camino Bakery around this time last year. The bakery is located at 310B W. 4th Street in downtown Winston-Salem, NC. This address is on the first floor of the Nissen building. Cary Clifford started the bakery in 2008 making treats for Krankies (coffee). Her business quickly grew and in 2011 the present bakery/cafe was opened. Baked goods, sandwiches, an assortment of coffee and beverages are all available in a wonderful atmosphere. Click here to visit the Camino Bakery web site.

Looking in the front door of the Camino Bakery

Nissen Building

The Nissen building, where Camino Bakery is located, is an 18 story building on the corner of 4th and Cherry Streets. Construction of the building was completed in 1927. It was the tallest building in North Carolina at the time of it's completion and the first air conditioned building in the southeastern United States. The building is named for the builder W.M. Nissen. He was the owner of the Nissen Wagon Works. Offices were rented out in the upper levels of the building and the ground floor was used for retail space. William and Ida Nissen lived on the 18th floor of the building until 1954. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Place in 1983. In 2004 construction began to convert the building to it's present 146 apartments with a swimming pool on the roof. Click here to visit the Nissen Building web site.

I have memories from many years ago associated with the Nissen Building. My first dentist's office, Dr. Zimmerman, was located in the building. It must have been my first visit to a dentist that I remember so well. My mother had informed me in advance that I would be going to the dentist. I was excited about that, and ran to tell my two older sisters. They had already been to see Dr. Zimmerman. My sisters said "you are going to have to ride in an elevator". As far as I know, I had never ridden in an elevator before. It all sounded scary to me. All of a sudden the trip to the dentist, that I had been so excited about minutes before, didn't seem like a good thing at all. Then they told me that the dentist had comic books I could read. Comic books made it sound like going to see the dentist was going to be fun. I like comic books! If I could only make it through riding in an elevator. 

The restored brass covered doors of the elevators in the Nissen Building.

I was terrified of riding on an elevator the whole way over to the dentist's office the day of my appointment. The doors of the elevators were covered in elaborately shaped brass and were all shiny. There couldn't have been more elaborate doors to look up at as a toddler. What a dramatic first elevator ride!

 Once we got inside the waiting area of the dentist's office, I forgot all about the elevator ride I had just been on. Comic books is what I was looking for. My sisters had told me they would be there. I found one and started turning the pages. I couldn't read, but I still enjoyed looking at the pictures. Once Dr. Zimmerman was through checking my teeth I asked him "where did you get your comic books". He took me to the window and pointed at the drug store on the corner of 4th and Trade Streets. He said "I buy them at that drug store right there". I still look for comic books when ever I go to visit a dentist, but all I find are a bunch of boring magazines. Nothing as fun as Superman, Donald Duck or Sad Sack.

Gunnar Sport parked in the foyer of the Camino Bakery

Riding into downtown involved riding primarily on Country Club Road. Country Club Road is wide with a center turn lane in the middle of much of it. It is a two lane road that has been a way in and out of the city for years. With rapid growth on the western edges and out lying communities of Winston-Salem, traffic has gotten very heavy on Country Club. It doesn't seem like it has been long ago that the road was resurfaced, but the steady stream of traffic has broken the surface up. It is especially rough on the outer edges where you are forced to ride on a bicycle. I have front and rear lights on the Gunnar Sport, more for visibility reasons than to see at night. I made it fine through the country club area, but it was not enjoyable. 

Despite there not being any bike lanes at all, maneuvering amongst traffic was easy once I reach the downtown area of Winston-Salem. As I looked across the one intersection, while stopped at a traffic light, I noticed a young rider on a fixed gear bike doing a track stand.

 A track stand is when a rider stops and balances his bike without putting their foot down. This is performed by holding the cranks of the bicycle in a horizontal position and keeping a slight pressure on the chain. Sometimes it is necessary to move the front wheel back and forth from left to right to maintain balance. Track stands are usually done with the rider standing so they can sprint away when the time comes. They are called track stands because they originated from track racing and track sprinting specifically.

Not to be out done, I did a track stand too. The other rider was on a stripped down fixed gear bike, while I was on the Gunnar Sport complete with fenders, lights, front rack and rack top bag. I think I did a better track stand since the other rider was creeping forward into the intersection and I held my position without advancing forward. 

Once I arrived at the Camino Bakery I noticed that they do have an artistically done bike rack out in front of the building. I had neglected to bring a lock with me and my bike has several fairly expensive attachments. I didn't want it to be too far away from me. I parked it inside the large foyer of the bakery. I don't think it was a problem during mid afternoon. 

Two Pieces of Chocolate Bunt Cake.

All of the goodies looked delicious at the Camino Bakery. I couldn't decide what to get. Under a glass dome was a beautiful chocolate bunt cake. My father is particulary fond of chocolate cake, so I order two pieces of the cake to go. One piece for each of my parents. I also order a big thick slice of cinnamon toast that was covered in thinly sliced almonds for myself. The plastic container the cake was in was a little larger than the front bag on my bike. I was able to bend the corners in slightly and fit the container in the bag without damaging the slices of cake. I ate my cinnamon toast and got back out on the road. 

Riding to my parents house to deliver the chocolate cake meant even more riding on Country Club Road. I arrived at my parents' house and had a nice visit. I had to cut our visit a little short so that I could get in before rush hour began. 

I enjoyed my ride and trip to the Camino Bakery. The bakery is a nice destination for a bike ride and especially on a weekend day, when there is less business traffic on the roads. If you ride there on a bicycle be sure to take a lock with you so you can secure your bike and spend a little more time at the bakery than I did. It's a nice place!

My father and mother with my Gunnar Sport

Poor ole' Joe was excited when he saw me returning safe and sound.

Gunnar Sport - Riding For Pumpkin Muffins

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Gunnar Sport stopping at a Redbox

Having a bicycle that has the ability to carry some cargo provides even more opportunities to ride your bike.  Sunday afternoon it was cold and windy. I wanted to go for a bike ride, but just wasn't very motivated to get out in the uninviting conditions. My Gunnar Sport has a small bag on the front of it. This seemed like a perfect day to do some errands at a leisurely pace.

 It has been a long time since I had been to Old Salem and the Winkler Bakery. So I bundled up and headed out. To go to Old Salem meant that I would be riding on city streets for most of my ride instead of out into the country side as I normally do. This bike is equipped with both front and rear lights to make me more visible to traffic. On the way to Old Salem I stopped at a Red Box to rent a movie. 

Main Street in Old Salem

When I got to Old Salem there were a surprising number of visitors walking around and enjoying the historic district. My destination in Old Salem was the Winkler Bakery for some of their traditional pumpkin muffins. 

The town of Salem was founded in 1776 by the Moravian Church. The Winkler bakery was established in 1807 and named for it's owner Christian Winkler. The original bakery is open daily for visits and offers for sale - fresh breads, cakes, tea cakes, famous sugar cake and the original paper-thin Moravian cookies. It is one of the oldest bakeries still in operation in America. Click here for more information on Old Salem.

Gunnar Sport at the Winkler Bakery

Pumpkin Muffins are one of my favorites from the bakery. I bought a half dozen of them and ate one. The rest fit in the bag on the front of the Gunnar Sport with room to spare. Below is Winkler Bakery's recipe for pumpkin muffins:

2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup soft butter or margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 beaten eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Add raisins and stir to coat. Cream sugar, butter and molasses; add milk, eggs and pumpkin and blend well. Stir in dry ingredients, blending only until flour disappears. Fill greased muffin pans. Bake at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes. Makes 12-15 large muffins.

A half a dozen pumpkin muffins before they are stowed away

My ride ended up lasting about 2 hours, despite the cold windy conditions. It was an enjoyable ride. I did have one fender bolt that kept loosening up as I rode. The fender would begin to rattle as the bolt loosened. I had to stop a couple of times to tighten the bolt the best I could without any tools. Before I left for my ride I had laid out a multi tool that I had intended to take with me. My main concern when preparing to ride was bundling up for the cold. Once I stopped to see what was rattling, I was aggravated that I had forgotten the tool. It worked out OK, but I will not forget to take some tools with me on my next ride.

 Besides enjoying sight seeing, I fetched some pumpkin muffins and a movie to watch later on. Errand running is a good way to get in a ride and save some gas. 

Poor ole' Joe kept me company while I wiped my bike down and tighten the fender bolts on my Gunnar Sport after the ride. 

Poor ole' Joe and my Gunnar Sport

Gunnar Roadie - Gunnar Sport- Groovin' on a Sunday afternoon group ride

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Poor ole' Joe and the Gunnar Roadie

Today just seemed like a good day to head over to Lewisville, NC to join in the two o'clock group ride. Poor ole' Joe kept me company as I pumped up my tires and gave the Gunnar Roadie a quick check over before starting my ride. The sun was shining and the temperature was edging it's way up close to 60 degrees at 1:15 pm when I got on the bike to ride to the group ride. My friend, Mark, usually does the Sunday afternoon group ride on his Gunnar Sport. His Gunnar Sport has the same English Blue and white paneled paint scheme as the Gunnar Roadie. Mark has had his Gunnar Sport for several months and done some cool rides on it. I was looking forward to seeing Mark's Gunnar in action.

The group ride leaves from the Lewisville town square. I warmed up quickly on the eight mile ride to Lewisville. My many weather checks on several different sources made me think that it was going to cloud up as the day wore on. So I was glad I was a little over dressed at the beginning of the ride. 

Sure enough, Mark was unloading his bike as I rolled up to the town square. There was just enough time for me to take a couple of pictures of both the Gunnar Roadie and the Gunnar Sport  before the ride began. 

We rolled out with a group of nine riders. After we crossed the Yadkin river there was some discussion of where different riders wanted to go. The ride ended up dividing into two groups. One group of 4 headed for their route and the other group, that I rode with, had 5 riders in it. We cruised along on a fairly flat road at a comfortable pace and I was just groovin' on a Sunday afternoon group ride. As we were riding the clouds covered the sky and the temperature dropped to a damp 54 degrees. Mark and I, the Gunnar riders, both received many complements and questions about the two Gunnar bikes. Our route from the town square and back ended up at approximately 30 miles in length. 

A few minutes after we got back to the town square the other four riders rolled up. Tom was riding back to Winston-Salem as I was. We rode in together at a nice clip. I enjoyed riding with the group and Mark on his sharp looking Gunnar Sport. This was just the type of group ride I was hoping for.

The Gunnar Roadie did all the things it is designed to do very well. The bike climbs well and is fantastic at cornering. The handling would be a confidence builder in a critirium race.

I look forward to riding with this nice group again!

A Gunnar Roadie and a Gunnar Sport

Gunnar Sport

Gunnar Roadie

There was a song about groovin' on a Sunday afternoon.

In the video below the Young Rascals perform their 1967 hit song Groovin'.

Gunnar Sport - Time Enough

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Gunnar Sport

 There never seems to be time enough. Time enough to go for a bike ride with the work schedule and everything else that has to be done. Having lights on a bike helps to extend the day, but a safe  place to ride is sometimes difficult to find. I got in a nice little ride tonight at an industrial park near my house. There isn't much traffic and it's 1.9 miles per lap. The Gunnar Sport is equipped with two head lights and one bright flashing rear red light. I didn't see more than three cars the whole time I was riding, so enough light to see the road and to be seen was all I needed. This wasn't as much fun as riding one of my favorite routes in daylight, but it was a better than nothing. 

This picture is misleading. I had plenty of light and there are enough street lights in the industrial park that I could see where I was going without any lights at all. In the above picture you can see that I had enough light in front of me to see any imperfections in the road's surface. 

 Below are three videos of The Twilight Zone featuring Burgess Meredith. This episode is titled "Time Enough At Last".

The Twilight Zone is a television series created by Rod Serling. The original series ran from 1959 to 1964.

Riding for Pumpkin Muffins

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Poor Ole' Joe inspecting my bike.

Today started off cloudy with a few scattered rain drops in the Winston-Salem, NC area. By afternoon the sun had come out and the temperature was in the 50s again. I headed out for my first ride on a bike with gears in over 3 months. I knew exactly where I was headed.

Winkler Bakery in Old Salem

I headed for Winkler Bakery in Old Salem. The Bakery was built in 1800. Click here for more information on the Winkler Bakery.

The bag and small front rack on the Gunnar Sport is perfect for hauling a half dozen Pumpkin Muffins.

I always feel justified in eating more when I am getting in some consistent riding. So, instead of hauling 6 pumpkin muffins in the bag on the front of the bike, I hauled 5 muffins. 

Looking up main street in Old Salem.

Old Salem is a perfect destination for an easy ride. Salem was founded in 1766 by the Moravians - A Protestant group of people that began in what is now known as the Czech Republic. It is a relaxing place to be and makes me feel like I just stepped back in time. For more information about Old Salem click here.