Readers. Bike riders. Randonneurs. Always Be Coffeeneuring Club members. Scenesters. People everywhere!
We’re 16! We’re 16! Can you believe it? This year we launch the 16th edition of the Coffeeneuring Challenge.
Sixteen years on and still going strong. What’s the secret to our success?
I say it’s the autumn appeal of low-key two-wheeled rides on bikes, coffee and fall-inspired drinks with friends, a goal to strive toward, and the best community.
So if you haven’t joined in yet, make 2026 your year!
In this 2026 edition we’re going back to basics. Our world is filled with impersonal interactions, algorithms and AI, and all sorts of complication.
The Coffeeneuring Challenge is deliciously basic. Two wheels, fresh air, and a spirit of community and exploration. Let’s make it basic in the best way again this year.
How you complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge is up to you, but the cortado requirements for it are as follows:
- between October 10 through November 25, 2026,
- ride your bike 8 times,
- to at least 7 different places (you can repeat 1)
- at least 2 miles round trip every time,
- max 2 rides per week,
- drink 8 total cups of coffee (or another approved 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 Intern (yes, he’s back and trying as hard as ever!) conduct an audit.
The 15 official Coffeeneuring Challenge rules are described below. These are totally manageable, possibly sometimes breakable, and all who complete the challenge must follow them within reason. You may even be left with extra days for basic in the best way bonus rounds (c+1!).
The rules accommodate many coffeeneuring styles and preferences. So make it your own as we celebrate this special season together.
How to Complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge
This is the triple shot, extra flavor, give me all the whip, extra large, full set of 2026 guidelines.
For those newly participating, these rules may look overwhelming at first blush. (I mean, everyone keeps saying there are so many rules!) But seasoned coffeeneurs will tell you they are completely doable! Fun, even! Lots of thought go into these guidelines and as you read through them I think you will see that it’s really an expansion on the cortado version. As I said, you can do it!
- General Rule. Ride your bike to 8 times to 7 different locations from Saturday October 11 through Wednesday November 25, 2026, and drink a coffeeneuring-approved beverage. Eight is great so we’re making it 8 trips this year. Any place where you can drink a coffeeneuring-approved beverage counts as a location. This could be a coffee shop, café, gas station, even a coffee shop without walls (see #3!). You may use one location twice (see Rule 12)! Yes, we added 1 more trip this year! 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.]
- Early Bird Friday. Want to start your official challenge Friday October 9 instead of waiting until Saturday? You can because Early Bird Friday is back! The rules are going out late, but you can still start one day early! It’s like a soft opening, just go for it. The early bird get the worm and who doesn’t love worms?!
- Coffee Shop Without Walls. Fresh air is a tonic for 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. 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. 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 any day. You make the call, and don’t switch it around. If you’re short on rides and need an exception, reach out to the Coffeeneuring Challenge Committee!If you reach your 8-ride total early, take yourself out on some c+1 rides, you’ll thank yourself!
- Eligible Beverages. Hot and cold beverages are eligible for this challenge. Hot chocolate qualifies, as does tea. Chocolate milk for the kiddos? Okay! Apple cider is also a coffeeneuring-approved beverage. Hard cider counts! Iced coffee too. Iced tea is a yes – hopefully something better than Lipton! Espresso martinis are a yes. Coffee porters or stouts qualify as well. Affogato counts, yum! Coffee ice cream can count, but don’t go crazy with ice cream, it’s a beverage-focused challenge after all. There’s something else I always for get so someone remind me. 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 introduce a questionable drink into the challenge. Don’t be shy, tell us what it is! We want to know, and people will have thoughts! The beverage eligibility will be arbitrated in the Court of Coffeeneur Public Opinion (CCPO) and ruled on by the Coffeneuring Challenge Committee and the Intern, who has recommendation privileges only.
- Controversial Ride Rule. Sometimes participants introduce a questionable ride into their challenge. First step: Please solicit the views of the Court of Coffeeneur Public Opinion (CCPO), as the CCPO has proven to be pretty fair arbitrators! For example someone broke a bone last year and wondered if it would be okay for indoor rides to count. Second step: Final decision for a controversial ride rests with the Coffeeneuring Challenge Committee.
- 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. At least two miles round trip though.
- Secret Bonus Day. There will be a secret bonus day for anyone who is a ride or two short. As of now it’s a secret! We will let you know when that occurs, but it will be after the official end date of the Challenge
- Documentation. The honor system continues at Coffeeneuring Headquarters. All finishers will complete a form when they are done because we are into forms. In every challenge there is a little paperwork. The form will be posted here so watch this space! Please keep some evidence 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. 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.
- Spirit of Coffeeneuring Rule. This is the most importan, most righteous rule of all. Regardless of when or how you choose to coffeeneur, you must always abide by the Spirit of Coffeeneuring. What is the Spirit of Coffeeneuring, you ask? The answer is inside you. Yes, you! If you wonder whether a particular ride should count then ask yourself, should this ride really qualify? Do I really think it should count? Listen to the Spirit of Coffeeneuring, and let it guide you in deciding.
- Meetup Option. The coffeeneuring meetup concept continues in 2026 because it is so great and what is more basic that riding your bike to meet up with people in real life. If you want to gather a group of people for a coffeeneuring ride, do it! We put together a meetup in DC last year, and it was so fun (and we’re going to do it again, BikeDC locals, we’ll let you know when)! 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 so your trip counts.
- Theme Within a Theme Option! How much do I love this rule? I LOVE IT. A theme within a theme is any additional theme you use to go coffeeneuring. As an idea, a person might go coffeeneuring and paint, read, illustrate. Others have gone coffeeneuring with friends for all their outings, explored teas, used different personal cups each time, supported independent shops. The sky is the limit! This is an optional rule, so apply as you like. I love the themes!
- 8 Trips to 7 Different Places Rule. To qualify, take 8 total trips to 7 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.
- Anywhere on Earth Rule. People are trying to mess with this rule, but with no success! Have you seen a coffee shop on the moon yet? Me neither! We remain Earth only in 2026. Other than that, there are no geographic limitations to the Coffeeneuring Challenge.
Submitting Coffeeneuring Challenge Rides
Submissions. There is one way to submit rides this year, and that is with the form I will be posting in the near future! Please submit your entries by December 10 or so, please.
Prizes! You are eligible for a small prize for completing the challenge. Doug at Umbrella Works has partnered with the Coffeeneuring Challenge once again to design something great for our 16th year celebration. You know he makes the best designs! I will get back with you on grand prize details as well as cost.
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. The socials can be fun and they can also be distracting. So post as you please!
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. It’s a nice group of people!
Flickr: Share your photos in the Coffeeneuring group on flickr. Shawn over at Urban Adventure League curated it for us last year.
Instagram: Tag @coffeeneuringclub when you post! I have been terrible about Instagram because that app was totally messing with my head. But I admit it is good for socializing about the Coffeeneuring Challenge so I’ll be reviving our account to post and share about the Coffeeneuring Challenge at @coffeeneuringclub.
Mastodon: Several coffeeneurs can be found on mastodon.social. Label your rides with the hashtags #coffeeneuring and #coffeeneuring2026.
Strava: It’s here! Strava Coffeeneuring Club! Please join the one I’ve linked here.
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 tradition that we forget something, get a date wrong, and make at least one other error! Any questions or anything I missed, please comment or send me a note.
Many thanks to all who have participated and brought the Coffeeneuring Challenge to life in the past, and a huge welcome to those who will take it on for the first time in 2026!
Eight (is great!) locations, just under seven weeks. We can’t wait to turn the pedals with all of you again this year.
October 10 we go (October 9 if you’re an early bird)!
Comments welcome. Keep it civil, por favor!