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 those who take on the challenge as well as the fine work of Doug of Umbrella Works design. Doug’s work encapsulates the spirit of coffeeneuring and it’s exciting to see how part of the Coffeeneuring Challenge’s identity is reflected in his designs.
Prior to partnering with Umbrella Works, designs were put together by Coffeeneuring Headquarters, in partnership with a patch studio out in California. I liked these designs fine (and they are now rare vintage items!), but they didn’t always integrate neatly or have the distinctiveness you now see reflected in the designs.
Let’s jump into the wayback machine for a look at Coffeeneuring Challenge through the years.
2011, Year 1. Coffeeneuring Challenge: 7 coffee shops in 6 weekends
The year that started it all!
Launched in 2011 as a blog post to the universe. How about a season of riding slow and casual after a summer of big rides and adventures? Let’s do a bike ride to coffee thing. We called it the Coffeeneuring Challenge, and had no idea how many people would take it on and pedal through all the rules to that first year’s finish line. Would anybody?
The answer was YES. Twelve participants said we’re in, and coffeeneuring became real.
2011 Finishers: 12
2012, Year 2. Coffeeneuring Challenge: 7 coffee shops in 6 weekends
No patches in Year 2. Instead, Joe Platzner contributed Coffeeneuring Challenge pins and we supplemented those with a pewter coffee lapel pin. Coffeeneuring Headquarters jumped up and down at the rapid growth in participation – from 12 to 51 in 12 months. This thing has legs (and wheels, in this case)!
2012 Finishers: 51
2013, Year 3. Third Annual Chasing Mailboxes Coffeeneuring Challenge
Is it an official challenge yet? I think we really felt it was in 2013.
I worked with a company in California to put together this design for Year 3. The Coffeeneur script is a bit difficult to read on this black background, but it was a sweet little patch (and now a Coffeeneuring Challenge collectors item).
2013 Finishers: 125
2014, Year 4: Fourth Annual Chasing Mailboxes Coffeeneuring Challenge
We were in a long titles phase. Four years! Still embracing that official vibe.
I have a love/hate relationship with this design. I loved the concept of the diner mug! The “coffeeneur” font could have been better proportioned to the cup. But overall, cute, and another vintage treasure for the Coffeeneuring Challenge devotees.
2014 Finishers: 175
2015, Year 5. Coffeeneuring Challenge 2015: A Dream Within a Dream
This is the first year that an annual theme emerged. It’s also the first year we introduced the “Theme within a Theme” rule, based on coffeeneur input.
And in addition to those developments, Doug at Umbrella Works stepped in to begin designing the Coffeeneuring Challenge patches! People raved about the updated design, and design that grew along with the spirit of coffeeneuring was born.
2015 Finishers: 247
2016, Year 6. 6th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge: The Spirit of Coffeeneuring
The “Spirit of Coffeeneuring” rule makes its first appearance, and is the most important rule of all! We also introduced a shortened version of the rules for the skeptics, based on coffeeneur input, showing that it really is that easy to complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge.
ANY DAY OF THE WEEK FOR COFFEENEURING BECOMES ALLOWED, in order to accommodate busy schedules, especially those of the parenting kind. This is only the only all caps rule.
2016 Finishers: 306
2017, Year 7. Seven is a Lucky Number: The 7th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge
So many sevens! No new rules in 2017. The “Home Coffee Shop” – introduced in 2016 – continued into this year’s challenge, as did the Earth-only limitation. I’m really not sure of the origin story of this rule, but it continues today.
We went with multiple color options for patch prizes for the first time. Finishers could choose or even go with multiples, if desired. This was great fun (though also a bit of work to track everyone’s choices).
2017 Finishers: 356
2018, Year 8. Coffeeneuring Challenge 2018: The Best Intentions
Coffeeneur with intention, what could be better? We kept living the good life in year 8, basking in this now-annual tradition and another year of no rule changes.
We continued to offer prizes in multiple color options, with pretty-fast-pink winning the coffeeneuring version of the pantone-esque popularity contest.
2018 Finishers: 320
Year 9, 2019. Coffeeneuring Challenge 2019: Eight is Great and So Are We
What a theme, who doesn’t love eight? But as you can see if you’ve read and kept count this far, 2019 was the ninth year of the challenge and not the eighth! Ah well, this theme deserved its day, even if it did happen in year nine, and we made sure it happened.
This year we also emphasized the Rule Inside a Rule ALL CAPS Rule, specifying that coffeeneuring could occur “ANY DAY OF THE WEEK WHILE (always) ADHERING TO THE SPIRIT OF COFFEENEURING RULE.”
We offered two prizes this year, the traditional patch as well as a lapel pin. We’ve only done lapel pins twice, due to the costs to make and the additional shipping rigamarole. The final product sure was sharp, though!
2019 Finishers: 361
Year 10, 2020. Coffeeneuring Challenge 2020: One Good Thing
Ah yes, 2020. Did anything significant happen in 2020? Anything?!
Oh right, 2020 marked the start of the pandemic times, and made cycling and spending time outside in small groups a prized activities. Coffee outside and coffee shops without walls perfectly paired with this fraught time.
We titled this year One Good Thing because we needed activities like the Coffeeneuring Challenge to help us through.
This year also introduced the “We’re All in This Together and Comfort Zone Rule” that gave people freedom to not enter any shops and make the challenge work for them while still adhering to all rules and, of course, the Spirit of Coffeeneuring.
Comfort and ease have always been integral to coffeeneuring, but emphasizing that the challenge is meant to be fun and not an exercise in anxiety seemed worth special mention in 2020. Doug’s bright design foot-stomped our One Good Thing theme, with the diagonal “coffeeneur” banner sweeping over the front of the patch with a flourish, recognizing a little bright spot in a he%& of a year.
2020 Finishers: 490
Year 11, 2021. Coffeeneuring Challenge 2021: the c+1 edition
What is the optimal number of coffeeneuring rides you can complete during the Coffeeneuring Challenge? Why c+1, of course! One ride more than you thought you could do.
What a fun theme this year! And c+1 is now part of the Coffeeneuring Challenge vernacular. Complete the required rides of the challenge? Get in some c+1 rides!
In 2021, we also introduced form completion and reduced the rigorous audit and homologation process of past years. Thanks to everyone who worked through this transition with us and thanks to coffeeneurs everywhere for being honest people!
We stayed bright and bold in 2021 with this patch. No shrinking violet prizes allowed! I don’t recall exact size, but I think this striking design came in at close to three inches, which is on the large size for the challenge.
2021 Finishers: 329
Year 12, 2022. Coffeeneuring Challenge 2022: Year 12
Wait, that’s it? Year 12 and nothing else for a theme?! Yes, it’s true coffeeneuring friends and family, we ran this year with the theme of Year 12.
Maybe the last two years had worn us out and we were just relieved to be resuming some kind of normalcy. Maybe we just needed a year to recharge the thematic batteries, or wait for the Spirit of Coffeeneuring to whisper some new ideas in our ears.
That said, we did introduce the “Meetup” rule, based off the previous “Home Coffee Shop” rule, where we encouraged groups of people to meet up and share in a coffeeneuring ride and/or stop.
I also officially brought on the Intern, who continues to “help” with the challenge today.
In 2022 Doug shifted us away from the bold pink hues of previous years and toward more earthy, coffee tones with this petite 2022 diamond patch design in a rich chocolate and sagey green. Falls Creek Outfitters in Pennsylvania – a top-notch custom patch maker who we’ve been working with since 2015 – made this understated a beauty a reality.
2022 Finishers: 311
2023, Year 13. Coffeeneuring Challenge 2023: Lucky 13
This was a post-Paris-Brest-Paris coffeeneuring year. It felt extra special to transition from long rides to coffeeneuring and embrace autumn rides free of the brevet clock. We felt truly lucky to be kicking off year 13 with all of you.
We updated the Spirit of Coffeeneuring rule, mostly to remind people that coffeeneuring is its own distinct activity, meant to be enjoyed in some fashion on its own terms. Coffeeneuring isn’t meant to be a ride you check off a list, even if, at the end of it all, you need to have some kind of checklist of your rides.
It’s the journey not the destination, and other cheesy sayings that surprisingly are often somewhat true! The Intern actually helped with the mailings, showing particular enthusiasm for slapping postage stamps on envelopes.
Doug at Umbrella Works continued his design magic in the earthy tones realm and it also felt right to introduce a patch in the shape of a mug with a steaming cup of insert-your-hot-coffeeneuring-approved-beverage here.
2023 Finishers: 368
2024, Year 14. Coffeeneuring Challenge 2024: The Year of Small Wins
This was a year we (Coffeeneuring Headquarters) were grateful to simply be able to put host the Coffeeneuring Challenge again. It felt like the best of small wins.
This year reminded me that short rides to coffee (or other approved beverage) are never to be taken for granted. They can even be a life victory, a way of saying I’m still here. Still riding! Still getting out there.
Year 14 was another where Doug at Umbrella Works embraced the fall vibes, and conjured a vibrant design into existence. Simply stunning! (We are currently considering socks using this as the base design so I’ll keep you posted.)
2024 Finishers: 381
There’s so much more I want to add to this page, but for now I’ll end it here and revisit and update as time allows. I continue to want to share more information about finishers and those who have some seriously long streaks going! Maybe I can get some help on these areas from the Intern. He keeps saying he wants more responsibility!
In the meantime, thank you to all of you who make the challenge a reality and keep it going year after year. The 2025 prize design is on deck and we’ll be sharing that in the next couple days!
One official weekend left!
Chasing Mailboxes 