Readers. Bike riders. Randonneurs. Members of the Always Be Coffeeneuring Club. Everyone (on Earth)!
The season has arrived. Year 14 of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. I’m pretty excited to say that we’re still here.
We are still here and October 6 we roll.
If you ride a bike, enjoy low-key adventures, drink coffee or tea (or even hot chocolate, coffee stouts, or cider, or some other seasonal beverage I’m certainly forgetting), please join us.
Our 14th year is all about small wins. Never have I appreciated them more than in 2024.
Let’s celebrate all the small wins we’ve had this year with bike rides that include a stop for our favorite fall beverages, and perhaps the consumption of a pastry. Or two. Solo or accompanied, shared on the socials or not. How you complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge is up to you.
The cortado version of the Coffeeneuring Challenge is as follows:
- between October 6 through November 18, 2024,
- ride your bike 7 times,
- to at least 6 different places (you can repeat 1!)
- at least 2 miles round trip every time,
- drink 7 total cups of coffee (or another fall-type beverage), and
- document your coffeeneuring (either photos, Strava tracks, journal entries, control card, etc.) just in case the Coffeeneuring Challenge Committee and the ever-striving Intern ever conduct an audit.
The 14 official Coffeeneuring Challenge rules are described below. These are totally manageable, maybe even sometimes breakable, and everyone who completes the challenge must follow them within reason. You may even be left with extra days for bonus rounds (c+1!).
The rules accommodate various coffeeneuring style preferences and comfort zones. So let’s keep pedaling forward together, collecting those small wins as we go.
How to Complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge:
The extra shot, extra whip, extra large, extra foam, full set of guidelines for 2024.
If you’re new here, these rules may look like a lot at first blush. I think you will see that it’s really an expansion on the cortado version. What I’m saying is, you can do it!
- General Rule. Ride your bike to 7 times to 6 different locations from Sunday October 6 through Monday November 18, 2024, and drink a coffeeneuring-approved beverage. Any place where you can drink a coffeeneuring-approved beverage counts as a location. This could be a coffee shop, café, gas station, or even a coffee shop without walls (see #3!). Back for Small Wins 2024: You may use one location twice (see Rule 12)! Reusable cups or mugs highly encouraged! Please, whenever you can, bring your own mug or ask for a real drinking cup that can be washed. That may not be feasible everywhere, but let’s do our part where we can.]
- Soft Launch Saturday. Want to start your official pedaling Saturday October 5 instead of waiting until Sunday? You can because Soft launch Saturday is here! Just go for it. Small win!
- Coffee Shop Without Walls. Fresh air is a tonic for both body and mind. A coffee shop without walls is a place like a park, campsite, gazebo, picnic table, field, a bridge (either under or over it), or even a parking lot. Essentially, a coffee shop without walls is anywhere you pause during your ride to prepare and/or drink a beverage.
- Two Rides Maximum Per Week. You can coffeeneur any day of the week. A maximum of two rides per week qualify, and only one coffee location per day counts toward official completion. There is latitude with how one defines their week. As long as you define it as seven consecutive days, you can start your week on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. You make the call, and don’t switch it around. If you reach your 7-ride total, go for some c+1 rides, you’ll thank yourself!
- Eligible Beverages. Hot chocolate qualifies, as does tea. Apple cider is also a coffeeneuring-approved beverage. Hard cider counts! Iced coffee too. I know some people love the stuff! Iced tea is a yes. Hopefully something better than Lipton! Coffee porters or stouts qualify as well. Affogato counts, yum! Coffee ice cream can count, but don’t go crazy with the ice cream, it’s a beverage-focused challenge after all. Note: Drinks do not have to be hot! They just have to be coffeeneuring-ish type drinks. Again, reusable cups when possible, por favor.
- Controversial Beverage Rule. Sometimes participants will introduce a questionable drink into the challenge. This will be arbitrated in the Court of Coffeeneur Public Opinion and ruled on by the Coffeneuring Challenge Committee and the Intern. Note that the most recent controversial beverage litigated in the court of public opinion was a San Pellegrino.
- Controversial Ride Rule. Sometimes participants introduce a questionable ride into their challenge. They may solicit the views of the Court of Coffeeneur Public Opinion, but they must ultimately appeal to the Coffeeneuring Challenge Committee to request that said ride to qualify.
- 2-Mile Minimum Distance. Your ride must be at least two miles total for each trip you take, but there is no maximum distance so you could ride 100 miles or more for a cup of coffee. You do you! At least two miles though.
- Documentation. Guess what, still working the honor system here. That said, all finishers will complete a form when they are done. THIS IS THE FORM. Please keep some proof of your ride. People take photos, some post on Instagram or in the Coffeeneurs Facebook Group, others illustrate their rides, some provide links to Strava, and still others have done handwritten journals. The trust level is high in this challenge. Therefore, we do not request proof of all rides, only completion of a Google form once your challenge is complete. Easy peasy! Basically don’t cheat, the Spirit of Coffeeneuring always rides with us (see Rule 11)! Just keep some ride documentation on hand in case you 1. Want to send it to me just for fun; or 2. In the event the Coffeeneuring Challenge Committee and/or the Intern reaches out to you for a spot check.
- Meetup Rule. We’re back with the the coffeeneur meetup concept. If you want to get together a group of people for a coffeeneuring ride, do it! You can use the Facebook group to publicize it, if you want, or any other way that works for you. Just be sure you all ride at least two miles round trip.
- Spirit of Coffeeneuring Rule. Regardless of when or how you choose to coffeeneur, you must always abide by the Spirit of Coffeeneuring. What is the Spirit of Coffeeneuring? The answer is inside you. Yes, you! If you wonder whether a particular ride should count then ask yourself, should this ride really qualify? Listen to the Spirit of Coffeeneuring, and let your conscience be your guide. It’s always there for you and this is the most righteous rule of all.
- Theme Within a Theme Option! A theme within a theme is any additional theme you use to go coffeeneuring. As an idea, a person might go coffeeneuring with their dog (everyone’s riding around with their dogs these days!), some are dedicated to the coffee outside theme. Others have done a coffeeneuring and painting theme, coffeeneuring and knitting, with friends, an exploration of teas, or supporting independent shops. The sky is the limit! This is an optional rule, so apply as you like. I love the themes!
- 7 Trips to 6 Different Places (on Earth!) Rule. To qualify, take 7 total trips to 6 different locations. Does the math look strange here? Simply put, if you have a favorite spot to go coffeeneuring, you can use it two times during the challenge.
- Earth Rule. Sorry space aspirants, still Earth only in 2024! There are no geographic limitations to the Coffeeneuring Challenge, except that you must coffeeneur on planet Earth. So don’t go into space and think you can coffeeneur. Because you can’t!
Submitting Coffeeneuring Challenge Rides
Submissions. There is one way to submit rides this year, and that is with this form! Please submit your entries by December 10 or so, please.
Prizes! You are eligible for a small prize for finishing the challenge. We’re sticking with the traditional patch this year for sure, and maybe something else if we are inspired, have the time, and people show interest! As mentioned above, Doug of Umbrella Works has partnered with the Coffeeneuring Challenge once again to design something great for this year of small wins. Thank you, Doug! I will get back with you on the cost on the grand patch prize, but anticipate it to be $10 or less.
The Socials
Fill us in on your coffeeneuring via any of the following methods. Post as you like, but don’t feel obligated to do so. This a no-pressure affair.
Blog it: Remember blogging? You must if you’re reading this! If you blog your coffeeneuring, let us know!
Facebook: There is a Coffeeneurs Facebook group where you can post and share about all sorts of coffeeneuring matters.
Flickr: Share your photos in the Coffeeneuring group on flickr. (I recognize this may be a dying platform, but I still love it and Shawn over at Urban Adventure League has offered to curate it again this year!)
Instagram: The hashtag for the Coffeeneuring Challenge is #coffeeneuring, or #coffeeneuring2024. You can also add #alwaysbecoffeeneuring for any ride you do. We’ll also be posting about the Coffeeneuring Challenge at @coffeeneuringclub.
Strava: It’s here! Strava Coffeeneuring Club! Please let me know if you’re interested in being an admin for this group. We’ll see about adding you.
TikTok: We’re not on TikTok but if you are, and you want to lead the Coffeeneuring Challenge charge there, please send me a note!
I think that covers everything, although it’s also tradition that I forgot something! Any questions or anything I missed, feel free to put them in the comments section or send me a note.
Many thanks to all who have participated and brought this challenge to life in the past, and hearty hellos to those who will take on the challenge for the first time!
Seven locations, six weeks. We look forward to turning the pedals with you again. Let’s make this our year full of Small Wins!
Chasing Mailboxes 