Today’s guest post is from a father-daughter team out of Minnesota. Charlie’s regular beverage was a latte while Emma (who, at 13, is the youngest female Coffeeneuring Challenge finisher so far) went the hot chocolate route.
By the way, what is the difference between hot cocoa, hot chocolate, and hot milk chocolate anyway? If anyone can answer my question, I’d love to know.
In the meantime, here is the coffeeneuring recount from Charlie and Emma.
Ride One: October 4, 2013
Starbucks
County Road 24
Plymouth, Minnesota
Distance 3 miles
Emma: Grande Hot Cocoa
Charlie: Grande Latte
57 degrees and light rain we opted for an easy one to get us started.
Ride Two: October 5, 2013
Dunn Brothers’ Coffee
Plymouth, MN
Distance 6 miles
Emma: Medium Hot Cocoa
Charlie: Medium Latte
50 degrees. A fairly short ride but there were some hills and my “shortcut” ended at a steep muddy hill. It rained hard on the way back and Emma’s bike slipped on the wet planks of a bridge over a creek.
The ride was so bad we laughed about our misfortune the whole way home. I am now forbidden to use the phrase “it builds character.”
Ride Three: October 19, 2013
Caribou Coffee
Lund’s Market
Plymouth, Minnesota
Distance: 5 Miles
Emma: Medium Hot Milk Chocolate
Charlie: Medium Latte
45 degrees and barely rained at all – best ride so far. Sunny skies on the way home.
Ride Four: October 26, 2013
Caribou Coffee
County Road 101
Plymouth, Minnesota
Distance: 4 miles
Emma: Medium Hot Chocolate
Charlie: Medium Latte
Low 40’s and windy but a bright fall day. It felt great and Emma tackled the hills like a pro.
Ride Five: November 2, 2013
Caribou Coffee
Vicksburg Ln
Plymouth, Minnesota
Note: Not the same Caribou Coffee as #3 but within a half mile!
Distance: 6 miles
Emma: Medium Dark Hot Chocolate
Charlie: Medium Latte
A beautiful fall day, we had a nice ride and sat outside on what will probably be one of our last really pleasant fall days here in Minnesota.
Ride Six: November 9, 2013
Starbucks
Lake St East
Wayzata, MN 55391
Distance 3 miles
Emma: Grande Hot Cocoa
Charlie: Grande Latte
It was cloudy and cold in the low 40s with a big wind but the snow had mostly melted.
We even got a wave acknowledging our fortitude from a peloton of much more serious cyclists.
7. Ride Seven: November 10, 2013
Caribou Coffee
609 Lake St E
Wayzata MN
Distance: 3 miles
Emma: Medium Hot Milk Chocolate
Charlie: Medium Latte
An unexpectedly nice day, we rode down the Dakota Rail Trail and into Wayzata with a view of Lake Minnetonka.
Congratulations to Charlie and Emma for completing the Coffeeneuring Challenge and very well done to Emma for the age group win :).
chasingmailboxes.com 
What we drink in the US is (almost exclusively) hot cocoa, made with milk, cocoa powder, and sugar. Even though we use that term interchangeably with “hot chocolate”, actual hot chocolate is literally melted chocolate with some milk added to make it drinkable. It is extremely decadent, as you can imagine!
Real hot chocolate is sometimes called “drinking chocolate”, but you really don’t ever see that in this country. Though if anyone is in New Paltz, NY, there is a chocolatier in that town (and right off a bike path) called Lagusta Luscious who actually does serve drinking chocolate (aka hot chocolate).
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Those are all places I could get to if I lived at my aunt’s place in Plymouth.
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I would be very happy if my 13 year old son accompanies me on the 2020 Coffeeneuring Challenge, especially in light rain and/or low 40s temperatures.
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Yay Minnesota!
We too have found that riding this time of year is a character builder. It sure helps that riding with someone you love keeps your heart warm. (Pardon the sappiness)
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SO CUTE!
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[…] Emma W. Plymouth, Minnesota (13 years old!) […]
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