Coffeeneuring 2020 Complete!

See my 2020 Coffeeneuring Report for documentation of the rides. Thanks to MG for conceiving of the challenge and administering the process every year for ten years!

Coffeeneuring Time of Year

It's that time of year again: Coffeeneuring! It's fun! It's painless! It makes sense during an insane time.

The back story, from many years ago and passed down orally, is that there's a bike activity called randoneuring. Randoneuring is riding bikes for distances, self-supported, within a set of rules. Trust me, it's big in France.

Coffeeneuring is an attempt to

• expose people to the randoneuring concept
• keep people riding at a time when some put their bikes 'away'
• support local coffee shops
• demonstrate the importance of bicycle shoppers

and these are all good causes.

Just like most cults, Coffeeneuring has evolved over the years. Now there's merchandise - patches for those who complete the challenge, even the occasional order or coffeeneur-themed sock! At one time the rules were complex, and then very complex, and now they've gotten way simpler with a new emphasis on the Spirit of Coffeeneuring. Draw any parallels you will.

Coffeeneuring is apolitical. It is neight rural or urban. It is international. It is gender inclusive. Here's a link to details.

I hope you enjoy Coffeeneuring in 2020!

Coffeeneuring 2018-4 Anchor and Anvil, Coraopolis PA

Coffeeneuring 2018-4. Rode from Thorn Run Road to Anchor & Anvil in Coraopolis. 2.5 miles round trip.



Had a Cafe Au Lait. Notably, this shop also carries Orem's Donuts which are like the best ever. No bike parking but generous sidewalk space; there are bike sharrow markings the length of town. Good wifi, lots of space. Recommended.

This is a photo showing the new Trekking bars on my Surly ECR:

It was a nice day, I continued further and checked out the ramp under the Cory-Neville Island bridge that's going to connect to the Montour Trail. There is no Montour Trail at the end of the ramp, although one can certainly discern the route and poke through there.

I do not like these bollocksy bollards protecting the trail from quads and cars, I do not like them not one bit.

Today's was a nice level route and I experienced no discomfort.

Coffeeneuring 2016 in Bike Cafes?

9.27.2016 4m
9.28.2016 11m
EOM Sept:565 ytd:2095

Saw this Pittsburgh Police Officer on Patrol in Shadyside. I just loved watching drivers make decisions about passing or staying behind him. I am so glad they're out in the street.

Saw this major E-Cargo bike on Walnut Street: wow just WOW. So many cool little bits that I don't completely understand.

As I descended 40th Street, I encountered a group of young cyclists all on similar bikes, marshalling up for a ride outside of Arsenal Middle School / Junior High. It looked like an after-school bike riding program, maybe it was Positive Spin?

Coffeeneuring's sixth season starts in a few weeks, and may I say I love the emphasis on the Spirit of Coffeeneuring and the repositioning of Rules 3 (Home coffee shop), Rule 4 (relaxed weekend), 9(Spirit of Coffeeneuring).

My first impulse is to #AddTheR and weave CofFREEneuring into the season as a personal mini-theme. CofFREEneuring involves riding your bike to free coffee. Places like: waiting rooms, hotel lobbies, car dealerships, coffee tastings. It seems a bit priviledge-sketchy (a person who needs free coffee wouldn't presume to do it) but it has a small hold on me.

I'm also tempted to try to Coffeeneur at Bike Cafes - in other words, Bike Shops that are also Coffee Shops. The ones that come quickly to mind are

• Thick Bikes becomes a coffee shop for Coffeeneuring events
  
• Derailleur Bike Shop & Cafe on the Butler Trail
  
• Gravel & Grind in Frederick, MD
  
• Green Lizard on the W&OD in Herndon VA
  
• Riverbend Cycles in Conshohocken, PA
  
• Bike Racks-Filter Coffee in Brookland, DC
  
• VeloVille USA 609 E Main St Purcellville, VA 20132
  
• Happy Creek Coffee/Bike The Plains, VA
  
• Veloccino Coffee 15007 Falls Rd. @ Butler Village
  
• Proteus Bikes College Park, MD
  

On a somewhat different list, there's bike-friendly coffee shops:

• Taza D'Oro in Pittsburgh's Highland Park
  
• Gasoline Street Coffee in "FirstSide" (arghhh, I hate the new Sides: FirstSide, EastSide)
  

Coffeeneuring 2015-7: KLVN Coffee

10.25.2015

Didn't plan to ride today, then I saw a facebook post advertising a coffee tasting from a new roaster and that's too cool to pass up.

My wife Karen and I started at Schenley Plaza. Rode by the just-placed Ghost Bike for Susan Hicks. There was a rear blinky attached, still flashing; it's a very nice touch.

Coffeeneuring 2015-7: Oct.25 2015. KLVN coffee roasters. Melwood Screening Room, 477 Melwood Avenue. 3 miles. Sampled Honduran, Guatemalan, Kenyan, and Ethiopian coffees, with alfajores (an Argentinian creme pastry).


This was really excellent coffee and a fun rollout event. Great to see the Pittsburgh coffee economy expanding.



This Coffeeneuring was free. Earlier this month in a Pittsburgh cyclist facebook conversation, there was a discussion w/Kitaira about scrounging free coffee at hotel lobbies, car dealerships, waiting rooms, etc. Bill suggested: free coffeeneuring as a theme, then TriciaC leveled-up to the elegant phrase cofFREEneuring. I think that might be my 2016 coffee theme: CofFREEneuring, scrounging 7 cups of courtesy coffee (no thefts!).

Coffeeneuring 2015-6: Bookshelf Cafe, Morningside

10.20.2015 23m

Started off at the Bastille with my wife Karen. Rode through downtown and Oakland to an appointment. Kind of a brisk morning, about 43F when we started; pretty and clear weather. Near PPG Plaza we saw the beginnings of a protest march forming up; so cool to be in a city.

We rode out to East Liberty and I took Karen to see Olive & Marlow, purveyors of artisanal olive oils and balsamic vinegars (also, ice cream sandwiches). It's amazing to me that a store selling those two products exists in East Liberty. Also pleased to see two Pittsburgh bicycle police officers, pretty much hanging on a corner and talking with locals; very cool.


On Colin's suggestion, we rode to Morningside (which I've never poked around in before) and The Bookshelf Cafe at 1806 Chislett St Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206. It's right down the street from St. Raphael's, which has an interesting exterior - I've never seen a Catholic church with that kind of architecture.


The Bookshelf Cafe has a bike rack out front, outside seating, wifi and all the things you'd expect. Great coffee shop.


For #Coffeeneuring, we had a Green Tea Chai Latte and a Double Espresso, along with Thai Pumpkin soup (which was excellent) and some sort of a crumb-bun which was also great. ++recommended.

Snowy Coffeeneuring 2015-5; Type1 Fun

10.18.2015 21m

There is a pathology of large groups: they take longer to use the bathroom, longer to get seated and served in a restaurant, and the odds of one person having a problem increases with the size of the group. Just like: multi-engine airplanes have more engine problems than single-engine airplanes.

This was Day2 of a weekend group ride, with 14 cyclists, and it was good to have a van staged at the overnight. One of the riders had an eye infection and needed to skip the return trip. Another rider wasn't feeling well but decided to ride anyway. It was great to have the resource present to give people choices to make.

It was a cold and snowy morning. There was no graupel /sleet /freezing-drizzle ambiguity; it was just snowing out. Between Saturday and Sunday, this was a Rule9 weekend. I'm so impressed at the folks in the group.

Rather than stopping to smell roses and take photos, we pretty much decided to ride fast and skip the blue herons and group lunch. Karen and I were off the front, so we stopped in at Fisher's Cafe in Peninsula Ohio for French Onion soup and coffee (Coffeeneuring 2015-5 for me, 2015-3 for Karen).

Coffeeneur 2015-5: Oct.18, 2015 Fisher's Cafe Pub. Peninsula, Ohio 21 miles. Coffee, cream & sugar


When we came out and got back on the trail, I figured we were behind the group but thought we'd catch them. Then I had a front flat tire. This was a bit of a puzzle; I found the hole in the tube but couldn't find the cause. Then my newish pump didn't seem to be working, and I was saved by my CO₂ backup.

We got to the Botzum trailhead just as everybody else was closing up their cars. Great ride, good company, Type1 fun. Also it was a great weekend for shaking down the cold weather gear.

Coffeeneuring 2015-4 at 4121Main

10.13.2015 20m

Started at the Bastille. Rode into Oakland, ran some errands. Rode over to 4121 Main for Coffeeneuring 2015-04.



My #coffeeneuring drink was "Ashram Afternoon" tea and it was wonderful.


The shop had a series of sketches on the wall by Maybe Sadeghi called "Constellations", I really liked this one (in fact, I bought a small copy)


Coming through the neighborhood, passed the house on Main St with the rotating murals on the side:

I believe this is Hazards of Modern Living by Gary Duehr.

Coffeeneuring 2015-3 La Prima Espresso & Whale Sighting

10.11.2015 24m

Today was a magnificent fall day: bright, blue skies, no wind.

Started at the Bastille, rode past the start point of the 321 Ride which was just forming up. Seemed very well organized and there were signs all over the course.

Coming across the Ft.Duquesne bridge I picked up a piece of glass in my front tire. Heard it, pulled it out after a few rotations. I thought I'd dodged a bullet, but shortly thereafter I was flat. I need to get Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires for this new bike and stop with the nuisance flats.

Took a group of CMU grad students out on a tour. Riding through the SouthSide we took the designated detour around the new at-grade crossing at the Frank Bryan concrete plant



We used the official detour because the generally-used previous route has been blocked by somebody who seems to have a pent-up need to say, "nanny nanny boo-boo, follow the rules!"


It was a serendipitous pleasure was seeing a long-time colleague, TommyH, walking along McKean Street with his wife. It was a surprising place to see him, people generally just stroll through there. Thirty years ago when I reported to Pittsburgh, Tommy was one of the old-timers. He's still there! More than 50 years of government service. Among the older bunch his nickname was The Whale but I never knew why.

As we crossed the Smithfield Street bridge we picked up two lost transients who were trying to find Point State Park and told them: follow us. That worked well.

I think the high point was riding under the Convention Center (fortunately, the rainbow waterfalls were operating; I will miss that this winter).


Then we rode inbound on the Penn Ave bike lane, where I chanced to see Stu working an intersection for the 321 Ride, rocking a videocam on a chest harness. I dropped off the tour group and they seemed to have had a good time.


Rode to the Point again. It was so nice and sunny I hung out catching rays for a while. But #Coffeeneuring calls, so I got back on the bike and rode out to La Prima Espresso on 21st Street at Penn.

I had an Americano Doppio and a scone, and they were both excellent.


I sat outside at one of several tables. There was an interesting bunch of folks, including a few tables of older Italian men playing cards and making small-talk. You could probably get a leg broken by somebody they know; it might be your leg, it might be somebody else's leg, you'd have to find out.

There was a great two-person band playing on the steps of the closed bank next door to Enrico's Biscotti. Unfortunately, there was a road closure on Penn Avenue and several drivers needed to honk and yell at each other, which kind of confirmed riding the bike to get coffee. Quite a bit of agita.

Coffeeneuring 2015-2 Caffe d'Amore; Shrub, Squash, & Tandem

10.10.2015 25m

Started early-ish at the Bastille with Karen. As we rode inbound approaching the casino, two opposite direction cyclists with loaded bikes passed by, asking is this the way to Cumberland MD??

In fact, it's the exactly wrong way (or at least a very long right way) so we offered directions. One of the two gents almost wasn't sure we were correct, so we led them across to Point State Park and pointed them in the right direction. Two retired CoastGuard-ers from the Outer Banks, nice folks.

Rode east along the Allegheny to Millvale, stopped at Pamela's Pancakes for strawberry crepes because: Pamela's. I think we got there just before the Saturday morning crowd appeared.

Departed and crossed the 40th Street bridge. Poked across Lawrenceville to Butler and 54th Street, where we found Caffe d'Amore, a fairly new coffee shop with a well-experienced proprietor. There's been a Caffe d'Amore in the Public Market for a while, and this standalone brick-and-mortar is the next phase.

I had a pour-over promising hints of cigar and vanilla. It was amazing. K had a Honduran pour-over which was also very good. Coffeeneuring report: 10/10/2015, Caffe d'Amore, 5401 Butler Street Pittsburgh, 25 miles, pourover coffee. Bike friendly (bike rack outside, very cool w/cyclists). Recommended.



The chalkboard discloses they carry "shrub" which I only learned about in the last few weeks, when I also learned about it's fellow-traveler squash. (Thanks, ETRT!)

We rode Penn inbound to town, using the bike lane and then transitioned across to Golden Triangle Bike Rental where we rented a tandem and took it down to SouthSide and back. It was an interesting ride, there's a lot off things to coordinate when - as on the Hot Metal Bridge - you're simultaneously turning, descending, coasting and braking.



Back to GTBR, then back to the NorthSide. The Pitt game was in progress so there wasn't much stadium traffic on the trail. A very nice day, 25 miles.

#Coffeeneuring 2015-1 Wedding Party PhotoBomb

10.03.2015 28m

Today started off as a cold, dismal, rainy Saturday and later in the day it stopped raining. I started at the Bastille, met a few friends on the trail, then rode over to Thick Bikes to pick up a rear-view mirror I'd ordered. Thick Bikes has hosted a coffeeneuring session earlier in the morning, I think that's so very cool of them.

I saw Bob-H and sang Happy Birthday to Maggie and him. They had a negative experience with deep soft gravel on the Southside Trail, which is sporting some railroad improvement work.

Rode to Big Dog Coffee 2717 Sarah Street, SouthSide Pittsburgh for a Mocha Blanca: white chocolate caffeine goodness. #Coffeeneuring 2015-01 on Oct.3 2015, 28 miles. So excellent.


Coming across the Hot Metal Bridge I overtook a wedding party and photobombed the picture taking:



I was involved in escorting a large group on a cycling tour, it was an impressive lineup of bikes:


As we transitioned from the NorthShore Trail onto Washington's Landing via the switchbacks, I got to photobomb my second wedding party of the day:


One of our groups went through the southside and A. had a harsh experience with the soft gravel at 2nd Street.

Coffeeneur 2015 Poster Run

9.28.2015 Monday 22m

Parked at the Bastille after the rain stopped. Rode Hot Metal Bridge to Southside. Stopped to deliver Coffeeneuring posters at BigDogCoffee, Joe's Coffee, Thick Bikes, Delanie's Coffee, Espresso A Mano, Iron City Bikes.



Saw this car wrapped in CAUTION tape, with a nice cutout for the parking sticker so they wouldn't get a ticket.


3526 Butler Street, by Jeremy Ramer


Stopped at Kraynicks for an egg-cream, saw the saddest thing ever.

5313, Coffeeneur 5 of 7, Colin, Braddock, Flock

10/19/12 49M

Couldn't start today's ride at the Bastille because of a protest at Alcosan over gray vs green approaches to storm water management plans, so I met S. at the Post-Gazette's North Side plant and started from there.

Rode around the North Side to the 40th Street Bridge and then crossed the Allegheny River. Took a few pictures of murals that I hadn't caught up with yet.

Whitey's Mobile Wash in Lawrenceville:

This 2001 mural by Runco Arts along with Laurie Czerwien, Dean Payne, Dave Yackovich, Ed Conner, and Ron Michel is a bit of a mystery to me. The flag appears to be doubled-over, one in front of another, but why would two flags be hung that way? What's with the tear at the bottom? Is this before or after 9/11/2001?

Cure Restaurant, 5336 Butler Street, Pittsburgh:

At 5313 Butler Street, this could be either

• Some sort of low-fi 4-bit art, or
  
• a sort of cellular automaton depiction, ala Conway's Game of Life, or
  
• something else completely.

My fifth coffeeneuring expedition of the 2012 Coffeeneuring Challenge:

drink: Cappuccino with Two Extra Shots (total Four), Black Pepper Biscotti, very good coffee shop: Cats and Dogs Coffeehouse location: 4059 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh PA date: 10/19/2012 mileage: 49 miles ride details: Rode with S. 40th St. Bridge, Larry-Ville, Coffeeneuring Trip 5 of 7, Braddock, Oakland, Flock Ride.

Intended to depart Penn Avenue to Braddock for a mural hunt, decided to proceed via Squirrel Hill so as to stop at Pro Bikes and see how Colin Albright, a young bicyclist and bike shop mechanic who was recently attacked and stabbed was doing.

When we inquired at the front desk as to when he might be coming back to work, they said "he's back in the shop" so we went over an introduced ourselves. Colin's a very nice young man, great attitude, remarkable perspective. It was a pleasure to meet him and I'm glad he's back on his feet. He's doing physical therapy three times a week.

Back on the road, Regent Square to Braddock, where we found this mural on Talbot Street:

Departed Braddock via the Rankin Bridge, Homestead Trail, Southside Trail, Hot Metal Bridge up to Oakland, and joined the group mustering at Dippy the Dinosaur for the Flock of Cycles ride. This was an evening ride, meets at Dippy at 5.30 and departs at 6.00, very relaxed, very safe, very fun, very traffic-rules-adhering; they stop at lights and stop signs (gasp!).

There was an abundance of lights and reflectors and it was a bit of Fred-City and I was thinking, I have found my people! As opposed to Critical Mass rides it was definitely non-confrontational and copacetic, I really enjoyed it.

The Flock ride ended at OTB Southside at about 8.30pm, then S and I rode back to the vehicles at the Post-Gazette plant on the north side. It sprinkled rain a bit the last fifteen minutes. Got to see the skyline in the evening from the bike trail:

49 miles on an excellent day.

Saturday Morning Burgh, Evening S24O Entertaining

05/19/12 243# 36m

My plan of the day was to ride in the city in the morning, and in the evening go out on the Montour Trail for an overnight campout to shakedown my gear.

Started 0900 at the Bastille with M, who's been working out of town and it was a welcome reunion. Rode around the northside, stopped at some sort of health-walk at the stadia, went out to the 31st STreet bridge and then back through the Strip District. Stopped at Point State Park which was hosting a Venture Outdoors celebration.

Saw some tri-types in a sort of bicycle urban orienteering competition, it looked like they were really working hard at it. Saw a bicycle skills course being laid out and another vendor was queing up electric-assist and electric-shift bikes for demo rides.

Rode out on Blvd of the Allies to Grant Street, took the Jail Trail and Hot Metal Bridge. Cruised the newly opened AEO-HBH plaza, checked out the OTB bike corral, went to Big Dog Coffee for the coffeeneuring phase of the ride (photo). Biancha mochas and elephant ear pastries, very nice. A young couple had just become engaged and asked us to take a photo. Rode to Keystone Metals (wish they'd open that mini-segment), reversed to Station Square, crossed Ft. Pitt bridge, crowded Point State Park, Ft. Duquesne bridge, rode back to the Bastille, 27 miles. It was great to see Mark and get to talk with him, and doubly so on bicycles.

In the afternoon I tried to re-assemble my bike kit, which is actually about a hundred different items that may or may not remain in formation. Last week I took geat out of their normal places to gather my TOSRV supplies, and then on the return it was hither and yon for drying and cleaning, and it became scattered.

I stopped at REI for some MRE-type meals, bought a pouch of mandarin orange chicken and another of spicy sausage pasta, by Natural High. There really isn't a place for overnight parking along the Montour, so I parked in McDonald and hoped for the best (it was fine). I spent at least a half-hour sorted gear into panniers and trying to get my stuff together.

I was unsure of water availability, so I carried an extra half-gallon container from a convenience store. Between the four panniers, bedroll, and the water jug it was a pretty heavy bicycle when I started out on the trail.

After a few miles my front fender support failed. I'm guessing the weight on the bicycle flexed it a bit too much. No damage and I consider it part of the reason to do a shakedown, and I'm glad it happened now and not when I'm halfway between DC and Pittsburgh.

Crossing Route50, my cellphone range and my friend K was on the trail behind me and had seen my car, so we agreed that he'd catch up to me which was no great leap of faith given my speed.

I reached the Montour Trail's Kurnick campground around MP25.5 at almost the same time that D. arrived from the other direction, he was doing the same thing - checking out his gear for a DC-Pgh ride.

All five campgrounds were unoccupied so I started checking for a site with optimally spaced trees and chose Site2. D chose Site1 to set up his REI tent. My friend K came up the trail on his mountain bike and I got the hammock up pretty quickly, it really does only take about three minutes. That was pretty cool, established for a few minutes and hosting guests.

We had a nice visit, I hadn't seen K for a few weeks, and then he had to go as he had miles to make before it got dark. I continued setting up camp, rigged the stove, arranged some gear etc when my friend R. stopped by on his Rivendell. He lives a few miles out on the trail and came bearing gifts of bug spray and a water jug, both of which were very thoughtful.

I "made" coffee (which means, I boiled water and invoked the Starbucks Via ritual) and it was pretty good. I "cooked" the spicy sausage pasta; it was pretty good for an MRE, it certainly had a variety of tastes for the palate and probably better for morale than a PB&J, but nothing you'd ever be happy to have at a restaurant. As darkness began R. departed and I did a bit of camp clean up.

I climbed into the hammock and it was immediately obvious that the trees I'd used weren't far enough apart, the hammock had way too much of a bend in the middle. I thought, give it a few minutes but it didn't get any better it just got darker, so I got out of it and searched for another spot.

I was using a Petzl headlight, several years old and dim by contemporary standards but quite workable, and it was an awesome tool. I found two trees on a slope, took down and re-rigged the hammock. I realized I had the entry side of the hammock on the wrong side of the slope so that it was five feet up into the air, so I took it down and hung it the other way, and it all went well and I feel a bit more proficient at hanging the hammock in the dark.

---

May 19, 2012 Week 19 this week: 117 miles

243#

2nd Qtr 861 miles 17 mi/day2-QTR

2012: 1877 miles

Montour - Panhandle Coffeeneuring

04/06/12 241# 29m

First, if I may, a potentially tragic story that ends well: Richard Gubish, Bus Driver of the Year (2012), although the final denouement is to be announced. Also, Pittsburgh's Danny Chew is at 698,800 lifetime bike miles, almost 70% of his lifetime goal of 1,000,000 bike miles.

Rode 29 miles with R. Had a funny mini-moment driving to the trailhead when I saw a big huge flame climbing above the horizon line in the distance, it seemed like it was a few miles away and quite tall, and there was no disaster as much as that's just what it's like to live in Oklahoma an energy extraction zone - just burning gas at a well, nothing to see here, keep moving.

Started at the Montour trailhead at MP17.1, the intersection of the Montour and Panhandle Trails. Climbed up to the Montour Trail and rode south through the detour on the temporary trail to Route 50 in Venice, rejoined the trail for a little bit more and then onto Route 50 for some road riding.

We took Route 50 past the American Legion and the tank, then took a parallel side street, made our way past Chartiers Valley high school and under I79 to the Heidelburg Starbucks. The automobilists in this area were very courteous and gave us a lot of room.

Enjoyed a Skinny Vanilla Latte, the manager attempted to explain the various Via options, and then back on the road. We climbed up through Nevillewood, then descended to the Panhandle Trail.


The Panhandle Trail is much improved between the east terminus and the Montour Trail. About a third of that section has been completely resurfaced, with the old ballast being used for the shoulder and new limestone material being used for the trailbed proper, in a way that R. said was reminiscent of the actual railway.

Stopped at the McDonald Trail Station which is open weekends in the summer, and I was pleased to find that it was open with a few ladies preparing for an event (wedding reception?) tomorrow, so I was able to score a few dead-tree Pandhandle Trail maps. I've wanted one of these for quite a while.

In previous years the Panhandle has been sort of the wierd-uncle trail for me because of the rough surface, but I could see that it's going to get a lot more traffic as the "new improved" conditions become more widely known.