COFFEENEURING 2017

Tis that time of year, the Coffeeneuring Challenge. If you have read some of our previous posts, you will know what the Coffeeneuring Challenge is. If not, here is a brief explanation. It is a fun challenge put forth by Mary G. of chasingmailboxes.com in which, over the course of seven weeks, you ride your bike to seven different places, at least 2 miles round-trip each time, drink seven cups of coffee (or similar), and take seven pictures as proof of your coffeeneuring. Simple as that. The theme for us this year was locally owned, free stranding, true coffee shops. They are all awesome places, and we hope you give them a try.

Below are the results of our seven coffeeneuring rides:

COFFEENEUR #1

WHERE: Daybreak Coffee Roasters
                  2377 Main St, Glastonbury, CT              
                  http://www.daybreakcoffee.com/ 
DATE: October 14, 2017 
DRANK: Ice coffee and a latte with a cookie on the side.
DETAILS: Nice ride to the center of Glastonbury. Can get a little congested near the center of town with narrow and busy roads.
DISTANCE: 14.7 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #2

WHERE: Silk City Coffee
                 763 Main St, Manchester, CT              
                 http://www.silkcitycoffee.com/
DATE: October 21, 2017
DRANK: Two lattes, one with caramel, the other with chocolate.
DETAILS: Our home town coffee shop just down the road from our house. Always like riding down our four lane Main Street just to let people know that there are bikers in the area, so watch out!
DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
RIDING: Bike Friday Tandem

 

COFFEENEUR #3

WHERE: Story and Soil Coffee
                 387 Capital Ave., Hartford, CT              
                 https://www.storyandsoilcoffee.com/
DATE: October 22, 2017
DRANK: Pumpkin spice latte and mocha latte.
DETAILS: This is a new coffee shop that we found out about through the owners of Silk City Coffee, our home coffee shop. Located in Hartford, we always enjoy a ride into Hartford because there is a growing number of bike lanes and bike paths under development. Plus, it is actually fun riding around through the city. Now we have another great excuse to go.
DISTANCE: 21.2 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

 

COFFEENEUR #4

WHERE: Grounded Coffee Co.
                 387 Capital Ave., Willimantic, CT              
                 http://groundedcoffeecompany.org/
DATE: November 4, 2017
DRANK: Maple spice lattes.
DETAILS: Another new coffee shop that we found out about from our local coffee shop. This was our longest ride during the challenge, but it is a great ride as almost all of it is along the East Coast Greenway. In this area of Connecticut the ECG consists mostly of off road trails (parts currently being constructed) and rail trail. Certainly nice to get away from the traffic sometimes and just enjoy the surroundings.
DISTANCE: 38.0 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #5

WHERE: Berkins Blend Cafe
                 1003 Hebron Ave, Glastonbury, CT              
                 http://www.berkinsblendcafe.com/
DATE: November 5, 2017
DRANK: Mocha lattes.
DETAILS: One of our standard coffeeneuring stops not far into Glastonbury from our house. An easy ride along roads with mostly wide shoulders. Plus we love the access to the computers they have at some of the tables. Booked a room for a hotel in South Dakota while we were there. Badlands here we come!
DISTANCE: 9.8 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

 

COFFEENEUR #6

WHERE: Kevin's Coffee Roasters
                 78 Windsor Ave, Vernon, CT              
                 Kevins-Coffee-Connection
DATE: November 18, 2017
DRANK: Heath bar flavored coffees.
DETAILS: A new coffee shop for us, although they have been there for 27 years. Had a great conversation about travel with one of the "regulars" while we were there. An easy ride on a rail trail to get there and undulating back roads to get back home (we don't like to take the same route twice if we can help it).
DISTANCE: 21.4 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #7

WHERE: So G Coffee Roaster
                  882 Main St, South Glastonbury, CT
                  SoGcoffee
DATE: November 19, 2017
DRANK: Chai tea latte and mocha latte.
DETAILS: A nice undulating ride through the back roads of Glastonbury, through forests, over streams, you get the picture.
DISTANCE: 19.8 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem