Coffeeneuring Challenge 2017

Ride 1 

Monday October 23rd

Latté at Zoka Coffee

Zoka Coffee, Kirkland WA

Latté

I followed Mark downhill from his house conveniently rolling to a stop at a coffee shop in downtown Kirkland.  Bike parking consisted of us leaning our bikes against the glass.  I wasn't too worried about bike theft since I was borrowing Vinnie's bike.  The place was bustling with youngish business types that had lost hipster status due to their current tax brackets.  Mark had a quad Americano before showing me the Kirkland lakeside.  We gram'd on a dock, rode by his original west coast place of employment, cruised through a Google Campus and then eventually climbed back up to his house hauling "burritos as big as our heads" for a hearty lunch.

Distance:  6.6 miles 3,466 kCal positive ride after burrito

Vinnie's beautiful 333 Ti Fabrications 650b (don't look at the front fender line)

Mark's head for scale

Ride 2 Double Trouble

Tuesday October 23rd

Tully's Coffee, Hunts Point

Intense Dark Chocolate Mocha

Caffè Umbria, Pioneer Square Seattle

Macchiato

Mark and I rode over Mercer Island and across the scenic I90 bridge into Seattle for a big day.  We fueled up with mochas at Tully's in Hunts Point wondering which driveway belonged to Bill Gates.  We sampled local oysters at Elliott's and then topped off our tanks at Caffè Umbria in Pioneer Square where we bumped into Gary Prince.  Next, it was over to Back Alley Bike Repair where we hooked up with Ian and Gabe.  A spirited tour of Seattle's shred portals ensued adding Theo and Peter at Holy Mountain (this is where coffeeneuring stopped and beereneuring began).  Eventually we climbed the iconic Interlaken to Chuck's Hop Shop Central District where we hooked up with Jason and Hahn over falafel and veggie dogs with mayo.  A few local beers were sampled.  Mark and I took the bus home with our bikes on full display on the front rack.

Distance:  79 kilometers 4,899 kCal deficit ride

Thea Rose is not impressed.

Gabe holding court. Many problems were solved.

Ride didn't count because of rule limiting coffeeneuring rides to two in one week

Thursday October 26th

Olympia Coffee Roasting Company

Intense Mocha with Kouign Amann

Ricky, Mark and I rode from Chateau Ricky to Olympia Coffee Roasting Company downtown Olympia.  We met Ian who gave us the insiders only tour.  The Kouign Amann was so good I got two  to carry back to Asheville for Amy and Abbey.  I asked the barista if he thought they would make it back to North Carolina and he said, "If you don't eat them!"  I conceded the point.

Distance:  who cares since it didn't count, but if you're asking, it was 2.1 miles! Boom! 765 positive kCal ride

Ricky refuses to be roasted.

Ride 3

Thursday November 2nd

Edna's of Asheville

Cortado

Grabbed a cortado on my way to early voting.  It was very good despite the to-go cup!

Distance:  3.8 miles  kCal neutral ride


























Ride 4

Saturday November 4th

Bomba,  Asheville

Cortado

Hit Bomba on my way to some weekend work stuff.  Finished up and then met Amy and Denise for some DJ Marley Carroll on the South Slope.  John and Stephanie joined us a bit later for the main event, Of Montreal!  The Of Montreal show was full of energy even though it was a free afternoon event.

Distance: 4.2 miles 42 kCal deficit

Ride 5

Saturday November 11th

Liberty House Coffee and Café, Asheville

Solo coffeeneuring outing to a new spot, Liberty House.  Cortado and Apple Galette on a brisk morning.  The post yoga crowd sat inside while I had the patio to myself.

Distance: 2.2 miles, 565 kCal positive ride

The Moulton waits patiently across the street.  Imported bike helmet from Melbourne Bike Share.

Ride 6

Saturday, November 18th

Dobra Tea House, Asheville

I rode with our daughters, Abbey and Clare, who patiently guided me through my first ever tea house experience.  We took off our shoes and sat on the floor on cushions. It had a strangely familiar feel to randonneuring except for the cushions. We got lost for a while in the booklike menu but eventually rang the bell to place our orders.  The girls had bubble teas and I had a Masala with honey and almond milk. I really enjoyed it but I'm still a coffee guy.

Distance:  5.6 miles, 325 kCal deficit ride

Organic parking out front

Ride 7

Sunday November 19th

Vortex Donuts, Asheville

Piccolo with Salted Caramel Bacon Donut

I love visiting Vortex.  They have excellent coffee and an expensive donut menu that comes in yeast or cake - suiting all moods.  They have vegan donuts and gluten free donuts and then some that are neither, like I got.  I like how you can take a picture if you sit at the front capturing your ride through the window.  A fitting finale to the Coffeeneuring 2017 Challenge!

Distance: 9.8 miles, kCal neutral until I stopped at the Wedge on my way home.

Piccolo with Salted Caramel Bacon Donut

Ruination Day

In the Spring of 1991 I learned that there is one day every year in Ireland when the pubs are closed.  Good Friday is that day.  The holiest day on the Irish calendar.  I was traveling on a weekend with two classmates and we had just checked into a hostile in Sligo.  We had planned on a pub meal for dinner but when we asked the hostess about pub recommendations she said, "They're all closed today, or they are for you anyway."  As we ambled downtown in search of food we began to better understand her statement.  The pubs were all locked up.  The curtains were drawn and the shutters closed tightly but we could hear people inside.  I would check the door but they were all locked. It was a "locals only" night at the pubs.  We reckoned that they were entering and leaving via back doors but our hostess was correct.  The pubs were all closed to us.

This year Good Friday falls on April 14th.  How ruined can one day get?  The assassination of Abraham Lincoln fell on Good Friday April 14th 1865.  The Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic shortly before midnight on April 14th 1912.  The dust storm considered to be the worst in American history known as Black Sunday occurred April 14th 1935.  Now add the crucifixion of Jesus and you have a day that I don't want anything to do with.

The first time I had heard of Ruination Day was when my daughter Clare had asked me about it.  She had learned about it through the Gillian Welch album "Time (the Revelator)."  Two songs on that album feature that most ominous of all days, "April 14th" and "Ruination Day."  Welch describes the birth of the phrase "Ruination Day" as follows:  "It was in the body of working on “April the 14th” and “Ruination Day,”—which were first one song and then kind of split apart into two songs—that I spat out the phrase “ruination day,” and then that was that."

You can read more about it in the link below and listen to the songs.

gillian-welch-on-ruination-day

April 14th part 1

Ruination Day

Last year Ruination Day got personal for me as my mom passed away on April 14th.  She always hated doing her taxes.  I figured she had chosen the day as a way to wring the most out of 2016 without filing but perhaps she just wanted to hide behind all of the prior tragedy of this day.  I know she would never want anyone mourning her.  She was one of the most generous people I have ever known, always thinking of others. So while I'm thinking about all that has gone down on 4/14 the thing that occupies my thoughts is the one year anniversary of the death of my mother April14th, 2016 at the age of 95.  Miss you mom.

Monument Valley

Today we visited Monument Valley near the Arizona Utah border. It is entirely contained on the Navajo Reservation. We were led by a Navajo guide Will and shown the spectacular monuments and numerous iconic film location sites. Will knows his way around an iPhone pano.

https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/arts-entertainment/12-movies-shot-in-monument-valley-on-the-navajo-nation/.

Clare recreated an iconic Marlboro Man shot on horseback at John Ford's point. So we didn't get it exactly correct. I like it better. Tofu Woman > Marlboro Man.

We also visited native Navajo homes called hogans. They have a log skeleton and are covered in dried mud. The women's are round and the men's slightly elongated. Both have a fire in the middle and a door facing the east. When the sun enters the door in the morning it marks the month on the wall and the time of doing different things such as planting or hunting. We especially liked the rock formation called "Big Hogan" where Indiana Jones was filmed dropping into the snake pit.

As we left the Reservation and headed west we crossed the exact spot where Forrest Gump stopped running. Run Forrest Run!

Next we met up with Jenny and Shawn for a burger and beers at Ska Brewing. We also toured the spectacular Ohfield Lodge tucked into a mountainside up above beautiful Durango, CO. I could spend a day in the garage checking out bikes but the kids were in awe when Shawn fired up the speakers in the sound studio and sat them at the controls. Some say that dogs shouldn't hot tub but Iko, Uni and Banjo beg to differ. To cap off the day I finally met my Elder, Pliny the Elder! I've wanted to sample that Russian River masterpiece for quite some time and thanks to Jenny and Shawn I now have. It is not an easy beer to find on the East Coast. The Ohfield Lodge Tour is top notch and now that it is paired with a Pliny sampling you'd best book early! Thanks guys!!

Life is Grand

This is going to be more of a photo journal than a blog post. Clare, Patrick and I just did a 3 day backpacking trip off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at Grandview. We hiked and camped with a guide and a father and son from Oklahoma. It was an amazing experience. The Canyon is massive in scale. That point is driven home as you hike down into it. The hiking was strenuous but we had been forewarned. An email from Wildland Trekking Company 4weeks ago asked how our training was going. That caught my attention but still wasn't enough to move me to perform the suggested training of 2-3 hours of stair climbing with a loaded pack. In retrospect it would have been wise. On day one we hiked off the South Rim to Hance Creek, a five mile hike that lost 3,500' in elevation. When someone tells you it's all downhill don't necessarily think that it will be easy. We camped under some Cottonwood trees and were serenaded by a choir of frogs as we Cowboy camped under a clear star filled sky. The next morning we broke camp and hiked up to Horsehoe Mesa. We set up our camp in a juniper break and pondered the potential Gin production of the Mesa. The entire area of our hike also showed great potential for Tequila production as Agave plants were everywhere, many with their seed stalks probing skyward. We cooked dinner out on the western arm of the horseshoe and watched a beautiful sunset. We made our way back to camp under headlamps and then collapsed onto our sleeping pads. The wind picked up and sent us into our sleeping bags and we watched the constellations above as we fell asleep. Day three saw an early start as we climbed back up to the South Rim at 7,200'. We were in the Suburban by 11am and headed back to Flagstaff. I can already feel the soreness coming on but it was so worth it. We missed Abbey and Amy but we shall return no doubt.