Taking smoothies for a spin

A vendor by the name of Wheely Good Smoothies will sell fruit drinks made in bicycle-powered blenders when the Baltimore Farmers' Market opens for the season May 2.

Natan Lawson has three bikes, each rigged up so the wheels drive a shaft that drives a blender.

"It's meant to get your attention," he said of the bike bit. "But if the smoothies weren't good, it would just be all show."

Before launching the business -- it debuted at Artscape and Waverly Market last summer, but is new to the downtown market this year -- Lawson did a lot of research.

"I bought all the smoothie recipe books on Amazon," he said. "I went through them all." But he wound up developing his own flavors, which he test marketed on neighbors and friends.

Among the blends he'll be selling: Strawberry Spice, which combines OJ, strawberries and basil; The Fuzz, which has two whole peaches, organic lemonade, and a little chipotle spice; Blueberries and Cream, made with just that, plus some banana and apple juice.

The price for each 16-ounce smoothie is $5.50 -- $5 for customers who do the pedaling themselves. New York Times reporter Scott Shane -- full disclosure: a former Sun reporter -- gets the scoop on Wheely Good Smoothies last year at the Waverly Farmers' Market. Photo by Fern Shen, Baltimore Brew.

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