This was my non-biking day, and everything about the commute sucked. After dropping my bike off in Kirkland for its free “200 mile tuneup,” I found there were no parking spots available at work. I left again around 4:30 to pick up the bike. Unfortunately, the vendor hadn’t actually started the work but promised it would be done by 6:30pm. Two hours is, coincidentally, the amount of time it would have taken me to drive home and back during rush hour. I found a pleasant area to sit and watch the beautiful, wealthy people of Kirkland in their natural habitat.
Around 6, on the walk back to the bike shop, I noticed the locally-famous Terra Bite (get it?), the pay-what-you-think-is-fair coffee shop.
Applying this business gimmick in a high-discretionary income area like Kirkland is an
interesting experiment. I popped in, ordered a mocha and contributed a more than reasonable amount to the donation box. Verdict: thumbs down. It was … the worst coffee I have ever had. The “Bite” took almost three hours to wear off, which is remarkable given that I am acclimated to the aggressively roasted coffee from the Starbucks next to Great Harvest.
Speaking of Starbucks, I’m in agreement with Doug that the experience is unpleasant. Here’s hoping Zoka, sponsors of Team Zoka, expands eastward.
Zoka…Expand eastward…here, here! I so wish that Zoka Coffee had shops on the eastside of Lake Washington. The Burke-Gilman trail is such a painful and bumpy route to get to U-Zoka (and I’ve never been to Greenlake Zoka). In March 2006, USA Today listed Zoka Coffee as one of the ten best coffee shops in the United States. Besides Seattle’s Best Coffee, Zoka Coffee is the only coffee I go out of my way for (and that’s not just because I’m on Team Zoka).
What a frustrating experience with commuting and the bike! I hope the “free” tune-up was worth the cost. 🙂
Interesting info in Terra Bite, especially the controversy about how they’re handling disruptive (and other) minors. Thanks for sharing.
On the whole, the “free” tune-up was worth about what I “spent.” 🙂