COFFEENEURING 2020

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: 

COFFEENEUR #1

 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

COFFEENEUR #2

WHERE: Silk City Coffee

                 763 Main St, Manchester, CT              

                 http://www.silkcitycoffee.com/

DATE: October 21, 2020
DRANK: Two pumpkin lattes.

DETAILS: By far our absolute favorite coffee shop, just down the street from our former house. Pre-COVID we went there every Friday night for games and live music, and of course coffee and treats. Great ride down Main St. in Manchester.

DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
RIDING: Rodriguez Tandem

 

COFFEENEUR #3

WHERE: Young Buns Doughnuts

                 46 W Main St, Mystic, CT              

                 https://www.youngbunsdoughnuts.com/

DATE: November 2, 2020
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

 

COFFEENEUR #4

WHERE: Clyde's Cider Mill

                 129 N Stonington Rd, Old Mystic, CT              

                 https://www.clydescidermill.com/

DATE: November 5, 2020

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

 

COFFEENEUR #5

WHERE: Lis Bake Shop

                 15 Holmes St, Mystic, CT              

                 Lis Bake Shop

DATE: November 8, 2020
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

 

COFFEENEUR #6

WHERE: Carsons Store

                 43 Main St, Noank, CT              

                 https://www.carsonsnoankct.com/

DATE: November 10, 2020
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

COFFEENEUR #7

WHERE: Mystic Depot Roasters

                 2 Roosevelt Ave., Mystic, CT              

                 https://www.mysticdepotroasters.com/null

DATE: November 21, 2020
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

 

COFFEENEURING 2019

Another season of the Coffeeneuring Challenge has been completed, and this one felt more of a challenge with life seeming to get in the way. We made it work, however, because we cold not miss out on a season of coffeeneuring. 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 seven pictures as proof of your coffeeneuring. That is all it takes, but it is amazing how time can get away from you, hence making it the challenge. You have to be purposeful, get on the bike, and go get some coffee. This year we tried to keep it simple; just taking our Costa Rican, Pura Vida (which means "simple life" or "pure life") coffee mugs with us to save on disposable coffee cups (although we missed once due to coffee mugs being washed in the dishwasher at the time we left the house). The coffee places we went to were a mix of locally owned and chain establishments. None of them disappointed.

Below are the results of our seven coffeeneuring rides:

COFFEENEUR #1

WHERE: Starbucks

                 185 Spencer St, Manchester, CT              

                 http://www.starbucks.com/

DATE: October 13, 2019
DRANK: Two pumpkin lattes

DETAILS: At the end of a mostly woodsy, off road bike path along the highway, is Starbucks. Makes for a simple, easy ride, which is what we need sometimes. Usually we do not frequent Starbucks, but the convenience made it worth it this time.

DISTANCE: 6.6 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #2

WHERE: Silk City Coffee

                 763 Main St, Manchester, CT              

                 http://www.silkcitycoffee.com/

DATE: October 14, 2019
DRANK: Two pumpkin lattes

DETAILS: By far our absolute favorite coffee shop, just down the street from our house. We go there every Friday night when we aren't out of town for games and live music, and of course coffee and treats. Great ride down Main St. in Manchester.

DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #3

WHERE: Berkins Blend Cafe
                 1003 Hebron Ave, Glastonbury, CT              
                 http://www.berkinsblendcafe.com/
DATE: October 20, 2019
DRANK: Two drip coffees.
DETAILS: One of our standard coffeeneuring stops not far into Glastonbury from our house. An easy ride along mostly back roads with decent space for cars and bikes alike.
DISTANCE: 9.8 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #4

WHERE: Starbucks

                 135 Talcottville Rd, Vernon, CT              

                 http://www.starbucks.com/

DATE: October 28, 2019
DRANK: Two pumpkin lattes

DETAILS: We combined this ride with an errand to the automotive store to pick up headlights for the car using a coupon we had on hand. Definitely not a bike friendly main road once we got out there, but with our lights and reflective vests, I think we were easily seen. Most cars gave us space, but it was a relief to relax a bit and enjoy a worm drink on a cool night.

DISTANCE: 13.8 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #5

WHERE: Bread From Heaven Bakery
                 912 Main St, East Hartford, CT              

DATE: November 3, 2019
DRANK: Two drip coffees.
DETAILS: Actually had some free time to take a longer ride on this day. Ended up at a simple Puerto Rican bakery for a nice cup of coffee. Getting there is mostly along bike trail and bike lane so maked for an easy ride.
DISTANCE: 16.4 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #6

WHERE: Dunkin Donuts

                 244 Center St, Manchester, CT              
                 http://dunkindonuts.com/
DATE: November 9, 2019
DRANK: Two pumpkin lattes.
DETAILS: Combined this outing with some grocery shopping. Found out they are actually working on extending the Cheney Rail Trail further to the south making a continuous off road trail through the center of Manchester from north to south. They only have to complete the bridge crossing over Center St. Once complete it will make grocery shopping much easier. Excited for that!
DISTANCE: 5.0 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

COFFEENEUR #7

WHERE: Daybreak Coffee Roasters
                  2377 Main St, Glastonbury, CT              
                  http://www.daybreakcoffee.com/ 
DATE: November 23, 2019
DRANK: A mocha latte and drip coffee.
DETAILS: A nice ride through the back roads of Manchester and Glastonbury to the busy Main St. of Glastonbury. Had been fighting a nasty cold for several days, so lucky to get this ride in. It felt good to breathe in some fresh air.
DISTANCE: 14.7 miles
RIDING: Hokitika Tandem

MANCHESTER TO MONTREAL, ROUNDTRIP

Some day I'll get round to writing about our round trip bicycle tour from Manchester, CT to Montreal, Quebec, Canada that happened summer 2019. Until then, here is a picture of us with our loaded tandem at Lake George, NY.