Atlanta Trip pt. 1 Athen, GA

Athens, GA

My first stop on this trip was Athens, Georgia to see a Dustin Shinholser who is the owner of a brand new Fleet Feet Sports coming in the next couple of months.

I had never been to Athens and the only thing I knew about the place was that R.E.M. came out of Athens.

What a cool city!  And Dustin's store is right in the middle of the action - Earth Fare market across the street, coffee house 2 doors down, German bakery, bike shop on the corner and the university is a half mile away.  It's perfect!

Dustin having a chat out on the front porch with the mail man.

Showing us around the place.  It's an old house that used to be a hair salon.  Of course, he's keeping the chandelier for his office.

Fleet Feet Fit Workshop: Nashville, TN

After working the Flying Pig expo in Cincinnati, I hopped back into my rented Ford Fiesta and hit the road for the fit workshop in Nashville.

Elizabethtown, KY. 

Victor Ornelas from FF Inc.  Leading the workshop.

I'm telling you...I'm a sucker for cool diners and coffee houses.  417 Union.  Nashville, TN

Ryman Auditorium.

Country Music Hall of Fame.  I grew up about an hour and half north of Bakersfield.  I know all about the Bakersfield sound.  Too bad I didn't have time to go in.

Back at FF Brentwood (Nashville).  Victor Ornelas coaching new staff on the fitting process.

great use of dry erase boards for stock room organization.

Flying Pig Pt. 3: Farewell Cincinnati, Devou Park

 The last day in Cincinnati I managed to find some trails.  I didn't actually make it to the marathon.  It started at 6:30a and I was exhausted from working the expo, so I slept in.  I found Devou Park in Covington which everyone said had an amazing view of the city and bridges.   It was pretty rainy, but what a great time!

Devou Park trail.

Devou Park trail.

Flying Pig Pt. 2.

The first thing I usually do when checking into a hotel in a new city is asking the person at the front desk where, the cool, eclectic, hipster, artsy, mom & pop places are to get coffee and breakfast.  The Anchor Grill in Covington, KY was the first find.  (btw, for those who don't know, Covington, KY is right across the border from Cincinnati.  Right over the river.)

The Anchor Grill.  Covington, KY

The Anchor Grill has been in existence for decades in Covington.  Everyone I asked said that the Anchor was the place they usually went to after a night of drinking.  I was there in the morning and it was pretty quiet.  Mostly older locals who knew the staff by name and vice-versa. 

The Anchor.  mural

When I asked, the waitress said that "Goetta" (pronounced getta) was the thing to get.  I had NO idea what goetta was.  Goetta is a Cincy thing.  You can't really find it anywhere else.  It a mixure of ground pork, beef, onions, pin oats and spices.  It looked like thinly sliced meatloaf.  It was a creation of German immigrants during the great depression.  It was de-lish, let me tell you.

crossing the river into Ohio.

 

Flying Pig

above: left & right sides of the expo.

Fleet Feet Cincy.  Owner Frank DeJulius working the expo tent w/ manager Meredith.

One of our Balega reps, Amy Brown, telling the Balega story.

Flying Pig cookies for expo workers.

Jeff & Becky picking up their first pairs of Balegas!  Blister Resist.  They were a lot of fun.

The legendary Mike Moran holding down the fort at the Mizuno booth.

Tunnel vision.  Cincinnati, OH

I'm a fool for cool coffee houses.

 So after getting my coffee at the above coffee house I spotted this structure across the street.  The owner happened to be doing some gardening in the yard and asked her about it.  Her husband was an artist and architect and with the help of some of his students built the thing.  It took him 10 yrs. and was his studio until he was killed in a car accident.  His wife said she's fixing it up and will hopefully be moving in.

view from convention center.

Flying Pig Marathon Pt. 1: On the road to Cincinnati, OH.

I left Charlotte on Thursday, May 2nd in my compact Ford Fiesta bound for Cincinnati, OH.  The only other time I was in Cincinnati was spending time in the airport for a layover.  During that visit I met a gambler from North Carolina who was returning from Las Vegas with $10K in his pocket.

FIESTA!!!

Tunnel vision.  Asheville, NC

Not sure where I was.  Just stopping for gas.  Ironic that this place was right next to the gas station.

The cleanest rest stop bathroom I've ever seen.  TN.

Put my trail shoes on and took a run around the rest stop.  People looked at me like I was crazy.

Hand-linked Toe

To ensure that a Balega sock is as seamless as possible the toes of the product are handlinked.  This means that the operator realigns the sock at the toe to make sure that the machine sews it up properly.  Every sock is done this way.  Most other brands just run the entire process through a machine.

The operator pays close attention to the seam and in the end it lays flat and feels smooth so that a runner doesn't get blisters.  Amazing.

This is a Hidden Comfort (gray).  One of my favorites.

Mount Pleasant - Grand Opening!

The last several days I've been tagging along with TGA rep Dan Matena.  Dan also reps for NUUN, Body Glide, Fuel Belt, Gore, and a few others.  We stopped by the brand new Mount Pleasant, SC grand opening and "Run For Boston".

What a great staff and growing customer base!  They folks were dedicated and the customers really enjoyed having another great specialty running option in Mount Pleasant/Charleston area.

Owner Chris Minkel explaining the benefits of proper shoe fit.

L. to R. Shelley, Jason and TGA rep Dan Matena

Balega Hoppity Hop Balls and a kegerator filled w/ Holy City (the keg doesn't stay in the store).  Let the festivities begin!

The crew.

I guess Jason digs Hidden Comfort.  Nice!

Busy.

The stage is set. 

Rachel (customer) excited about something...winning Balegas maybe?

So Rachel here, couldn't get enough of Dan's Aussie accent.  She had seen a website where certain words were listed in certain orders to teach a person to take on an Australian accent.  Here phrase?: Razor blades.  So in order to say razor blades like an Aussie you say, "Rise-Up-Lights".  She kept saying "razor blades" to Dan all night!  Hilarious!

out with customers.  Great bunch.

the intercoastal.

On our way home.  The Cooper River Bridge.