The year 2020 has been one heck of a year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. This year has seen the retirement of Laura from ten years of teaching. The clearing out of our house in Manchester, CT (And there was a lot of stuff to clear out. I mean a lot of stuff! Like 26 years of stuff. And this is not necessarily garbage kind of stuff, but stuff that might get used some day, but then is forgotten about because it is under other stuff, but then you find it and think I should keep this stuff because I might need it some day. That kind of stuff.) in preparation for some renovation and eventual sell of the house. Moving in with Jamie's parents in Mystic, CT (which resulted in the idea of keeping too much stuff not being an option, having limited space to store the stuff, which is a good thing). And we got a new tandem bicycle, a Rodriguez 8-Ball Convertible tandem that will be the bike we ride around the world starting April 2021 (hence the retirement, selling house, moving in with parents, etc). Thrown into the chaos was the 2020 Coffeeneuring Challenge, which did end up being "one good thing" this year to serve as a distraction to all the chaos, and allowing us to visit some new places since our move to Mystic at the end of October. If you don't know what it is, the coffeeneuring challenge is a fun biking/coffee
drinking 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 pictures as proof of your
coffeeneuring. That is pretty much all it takes, but it is amazing how time can get
away from you, hence making it the challenge. We were, however, successful once again this year.
Below are the results of our seven coffeeneuring rides:
WHERE: Berkins Blend Cafe
1003 Hebron Ave, Glastonbury, CT
http://www.berkinsblendcafe.com/
DATE: October 11, 2020
DRANK: Two pumpkin spice coffees.
DETAILS: One of our standard
coffeeneuring stops not far into Glastonbury from our house. An easy
cruise down into the Connecticut River valley and ride along mostly back roads with decent space for cars and bikes alike.
DISTANCE: 9.8 miles
RIDING: Rodriguez Tandem
DRANK: Two pumpkin lattes.
DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
RIDING: Rodriguez Tandem
DRANK: Two drip coffees and doughnuts.
DETAILS: New place for us now that we are making Mystic our home. Fairly new place in downtown Mystic with a plethora of doughnuts to choose from. The riding is up and down in these coastal Connecticut parts. Good practice with doughnuts to follow. Can't beat that!
DISTANCE: 3.9 miles
RIDING: Rodriguez Tandem
DRANK: Hot cider and cider doughnuts.
DETAILS: A Mystic area staple in the Fall, renowned for their apple cider and cider doughnuts. Made especially special as we met up with our friend Tim (@mr.timhahn) who was nearing the end of his cross country bicycle tour, and we were able to ride with him for a couple of days towards his ending point at Provincetown, MA on Cape Cod.
DISTANCE: 6.4 miles (not counting the additional 70 miles we rode with Tim)
RIDING: Rodriguez Tandem
DRANK: Two drip coffees and pastry.
DETAILS: A cute little coffee shop and bake shop around the corner from the classic Mystic Draw Bridge. Apparently known for their cup cakes (which we did not have, opted for cinnamon buns), but enjoyable none-the-less.
DISTANCE: 4.3 miles
RIDING: Rodriguez Tandem
DRANK: Two drip coffees and pumpkin ice cream.
DETAILS: Carsons Store in the quaint village of Noank is a Noank icon, having served the citizenry of the village for over 100 years. It was such a beautiful and warm early November day that we could not resist the ice cream and enjoy the views along the Mystic River.
DISTANCE: 3.8 miles
RIDING: Rodriguez Tandem
DRANK: Two drip coffees and coffee cake.
DETAILS: Another new stop for us in Mystic, located in the old Mystic railroad station that is still served by Amtrak. Another nice day to sit outside enjoying a treat and watching the trains go by.
DISTANCE: 3.2 miles
RIDING: Rodriguez Tandem
