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The Month (of March) in Books
Reading: still a thing, no matter what the haters say! A To Be Read (TBR) list interspersed with recommendations from friends, podcasts, and other places is proving to be my ideal 2026 reading recipe for success. I’m not reading at the same pace as last year, but rather at a more deliberate velocity with a… Continue reading
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Remembering the Titanic, 114 Years Ago
Yesterday I returned from a weekday run and came upon a group holding a wreath-laying ceremony in remembrance of those who died in the Titanic disaster in the early hours of April 15, 1912. At 11:40 p.m. on April 14 the great ship hit an iceberg and at 2:20 a.m. April 15, 1912, the vessel… Continue reading
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February in Books (that I am Only Just Now Writing About)
Hello dear readers. I’ve had a writer’s block of late, but happy to report it hasn’t crept into my reading. The reading life is on fire and to that I say what relief. Books forever! Before we move into another month I’m penning my February reviews. After a sluggish January, my reading year is galloping… Continue reading
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January in Books
Unlike last year, where I flitted like a butterfly from title to title without a real reading plan, for 2026 I put together a To Be Read (TBR) list that also allows wiggle room to flap my wings over to an unplanned title here and there. In January I read seven books, four of them… Continue reading
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More Less 2026: Deliberate vs Dashed
Time for another installment in More Less 2026. Today’s subject includes a very important update as well: all 2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge prizes have been mailed (provided you ordered and paid for one). They’ve been traveling fast so be on the lookout in a mailbox near you! If you finished this year’s challenge and still want… Continue reading
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More Less 2026: Fellowship vs Isolation
Patch prize update: these are being finalized as we speak and will be en route to me soon, let’s say 7-10 days estimate. I’ll then be working with the Intern to package up the premiums and send them your way later this month. That’s the goal and we will send an update once the mailing… Continue reading
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2025 in Books: Myth, Growth, and Reckoning
Similar to last year, in 2025 I read books whenever spare moments allowed. Unlike last year, where most of my reading was digital, I read more real paper books (all part of my “live more analog” life goals), listened to more books on audio, and peppered in e-reads along the way. When I wasn’t listening… Continue reading
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2025 in Photos: Fraught & Rumpled, Glints of Sun
Regular readers know that I am committed to the annual retrospective. I like the exercise of looking back, though I admit that 2025 is another one that I’m doing with my hands half-covering my eyeballs. It was a topsy turvy time with a gut punch here and there. I hate gut punches! Someone said to… Continue reading
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Weekend To-Do List: Challenge Submission Form
Readers and coffeeneurs, what are your weekend plans? If you completed the Coffeeneuring Challenge, be sure to make time to submit your finisher’s form. Find it here. Easy peasy and feels so good to cross it off the December to-do list! All finishers are eligible for the grand patch prize! This year’s design from Umbrella… Continue reading
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Black Coffee Friday: Career Transition Takeaways
As many of you know, earlier this year I departed federal service. This marked my first break from work in more than 25 years (!!!). The ensuing months were both freeing and anxiety-inducing as I tried to map myself to the next place. I was reminded of my emotions right after graduating undergrad– a world… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Prize Reveal and Black Friday Extension
As I write, the Coffeeneuring Challenge is in its final throes. The edge of 15 is upon us, but I’m not ready to turn the page on this year quite yet. After all, we’re only 15 once, and I’ve been loving every minute. Still short a ride or two? Craving some c+1 bonus rides? Good… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge and Prizes: 2011 to Today
As we roll into the final week of the 2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge, I realized that we have no rollup of coffeeneuring through the ages. Granted, the age is 15 years and not 150, but in that time the challenge’s character and premium designs have grown with it. That evolution is in large part thanks to… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Clatch: November Days
So much coffeeneuring happening, it’s like a coffetti explosion. No, coffetti is not a real word, but it’s fun to say, fits with the season, and conjures all kinds of exciting images. Speaking of which, let’s jump into a little roundup like a kid hurtling themselves into a leafpile. Am I using up all the… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Clatch: Halloween Edition
The weeks are flying by, and the 2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge is near its midpoint. Have you been on the fence about taking on the challenge? Well, hop off the fence and start riding because if you start this weekend you still have enough time to become an official finisher! The early birds will begin making… Continue reading
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D.C. Coffeeneurs Meetup! November 2, 2025
Calling all D.C. area coffeeneurs! We are planning a meetup on Sunday November 2, please join us. Other details: Grace Street Coffee has a café located inside the Rubell Museum. The coffee shop opens at 8, and the museum opens at 11 (and it’s free for D.C.residents!). Let’s meet for coffee and share our coffeeneuring… Continue reading
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Café Cruiser Is Not Invited: AI Antics in the Coffeeneuring Challenge
Recently the Admins of the Coffeeneurs Facebook group had to shut down an interloper. At first, this contributor – going by the name Café Cruiser – seemed innocuous enough, so much so that we didn’t even notice their activity. Café Cruiser – perhaps thinking it would be helpful – put together weekly summary posts based… Continue reading
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Monday Coffeeneuring Clatch
We’re officially one weekend into the 2025 Coffeeneuring Challenge, and people everywhere on earth are starting their beverage-filled bike journeys. The Monday Coffeeneuring Clatch is here to highlight a few of the recent goings-on. Finland Represent! Over the last week, the Coffeeneurs Facebook Group added several new members from Finland. Welcome and we can’t wait… Continue reading
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Almost There! Coffeeneuring Challenge 2025
Hello friends. Have you been thinking about the Coffeeneuring Challenge? I have and I’m ready! I hope you are too. I’ve seen lots of people getting in their final Always Be Coffeeneuring rounds and organizing themselves – as well as friends – to be ready for the big day. There’s a bunch of stuff going… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge 2025: You’re Only 15 Once
Readers. Bike riders. Randonneurs. Always Be Coffeeneuring Club members. Scenesters. People (on Earth)! It’s back again and it’s a big one. That’s right, it’s the 15th edition of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. You’re only 15 once so let’s make it the most of it. Saturday, October 11, we launch. If you ride a bike, enjoy low-key… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge 2025: October 11 We Roll
Friends, coffeeneurs, and scenesters, we are coming back for the 15th edition of the Coffeeneuring Challenge! This year we kick it all off on October 11. Rules and the other fun stuff forthcoming. Was it ever in doubt that we’d make it this far? Yes it was! But we’re here again and ready to celebrate… Continue reading
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Recognition Through Motion: Leaving Federal Service
Readers, I didn’t have it on my 2025 bingo card, but recently I spent my last day in the office as a federal employee. It was an unexpected transition that came about in an unexpected way after more than two decades of civil service. Two decades! When I first started out as a fed, my… Continue reading
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Let’s Talk Books! Fave Reads First Half of 2025
In recent years I’ve been attacking reading like a starving person. There is so much reading to experience and I’m hungry to get to it all, yet constantly behind in meeting my reading dreams. Who are these people doing re-reads of their favorite books?! How do they do it? I make it through a book… Continue reading
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All Head No Body
I’ve been walking around as a head without a body for quite a while now. I wish someone would have said something to me because surely it was noticeable. “Hey! You forgot to put a body with that head of yours!” Are people in this town really too shy to bring such things to a… Continue reading
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PBP Stories: On Tandem with Felkerino
Hi there, Chasing Mailboxes readers, it’s been a while! I hope everyone’s year is shaping up the best that it can. It’s certainly been a time of change for me and I plan to update you on some of that soon. (Surely I am a chrysalis soon to emerge into a butterly? I’ll keep you… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge 2024: A note on mailings and grand patch prize
Hello everyone. A quick note to all those who completed the 2024 Coffeeneuring Challenge. The last group of patches was mailed out over the weekend. Keep an eye on your mailboxes over the next couple of weeks! As a heads up, I am looking to move away from some of the other social media platforms… Continue reading
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2024 in Books: My Fave 15 Reads
It may not have been a big year in the feats of human strength department, but in place of long rides and runs I started reading lots. In 2024, I finished 96 books, a personal record. As I wrote in my other wrap-up post, books became a balm to manage my experiences in a way… Continue reading
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Year in Review: 2024
It’s a bit hard to reflect and write about this year, mostly because of the mean way it started. Still, I have generally liked the practice of the wrap-up post. It gives me a sense of where I’ve been and helps me think about what to look forward to in the coming year. So let’s… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge Gratitude Day
Life has been a jumble this year, both humbling and disruptive, spent with a reeling mind as my comfy routine evaporated. I’ve confronted unfun truths and come closer to understanding our finite nature. At times, it’s been a challenge to accept, recover, and move through. This mishmash of the unfun and uncertain made me think… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Patch Design Reveal and Challenge Extension!
We’re riding into the sunset of the Coffeeneuring Challenge, but in the interest of making most of this year’s edition, the Coffeeneuring Challenge Committee is offering an extension until November 25 to complete the challenge. Another small win! Don’t forget, once you complete the challenge, complete this finisher’s form. Extension! That’s right, all participants have… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge 2024: Submission Information
Hi friends, we’re over the halfway point of this year’s challenge and that means the first group of coffeeneurs is crossing the finish line. Want to get the paperwork done early? Complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge Finishers Form and cross it off your To-Do list. Don’t worry if you still have trips remaining. There is still… Continue reading
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