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2014: Bike Rides (Mostly) and Photos
As December approaches its final days, I find myself in a reflective mood. As in previous years, I’ve put together a set of Year in Review photos to summarize many of the year’s activities. This is my image-centric summary of 2014. Continue reading
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Rounding Out 2014 With The Hains Point 100
For the third consecutive year, Felkerino and I pedaled around with our #BikeDC peeps to support the Hains Point 100, an event hosted by Megan (and friends) to raise money and awareness for WABA’s Women & Bicycles program. Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge 2014: Unofficially Official
When I announced the list of 2014 Coffeeneuring Challenge Finishers, reader and original coffeeneur Vannevar asked me about my own coffeeneuring for the year. While I am a big fan of riding one’s bike in the pursuit of a good cup of coffee, there is at least one year where I did not officially complete… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Achievement Badges
Hi all. This post is for those coffeeneurs who ordered patches. The patches have arrived! I will be sending them out over the holidays. If you think you earned a patch, there is still a small window of time to send your coffeeneuring documentation to me. Continue reading
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2014 Coffeeneuring Challenge Finishers and Honorable Mentions
The 2014 edition of the Coffeeneuring Challenge shows that people’s dedication to riding bikes and drinking coffee (or similar beverage substitutes) while also following a general set of rules remains strong. After the homologation of results, the season ends with 175 Finishers and 4 people securing an Honorable Mention spot. Continue reading
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Giving Thanks for Bike Rides
Ten years ago I began life as a daily bike rider, after years of mass transit and more driving than I care to remember. My bike was my tour guide, encouraging me to explore and familiarize myself with the city. Because of bike rides, I gained physical strength and confidence. Continue reading
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Hard Reset
I came over to this computer intending to write a Coffeeneuring Challenge update (entries due this Monday!), but instead I’m pondering other matters– small changes in my own life that have altered my daily routine and energy levels for the past few months. One month ago– though it feels longer– I completed my second marathon of October,… Continue reading
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We Love Coffeeneuring, Featuring the Ultimate Coffeeneur for Final Weekend Inspiration
In the great city of Portland, there is a person who has coffeeneured more than anyone I know. His name is Bill, and in the course of 94 weekends he visited 110 distinct coffee shops. That accomplishment is a testament not only to the preponderance of Portland-area coffee shops (yay, alliteration!), as well as Bill’s… Continue reading
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We Love Coffeeneuring: A Talk with Four-Time Coffeeneur John R. in #BikeDC
The final weekend of the Coffeeneuring Challenge approaches, and as part of the final week festivities I took the opportunity to chat with four-time challenge finisher John of #BikeDC. You may know John from Twitter (@dirteng) or through his blog, Portajohn. John used concepts from the Coffeeneuring Challenge and created a beer and bikes challenge known… Continue reading
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We Love Coffeeneuring: A Talk with Original Coffeeneurs Tara and Simon in Maryland
Today Chasing Mailboxes talks with the coffeeneuring duo of Tara and Simon. You may recognize this pair from previous guest posts, or perhaps Tara’s name rings familiar to you because of the “Tara Rule” (This year it’s Rule #16). Tara’s suggestion that people be allowed to coffeeneur on Columbus Day sparked not only the creation… Continue reading
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Big Dummy Family Coffeeneuring with Judy, DS, and DD in Toronto, Ontario
Today’s guest post may require you to employ your conversion skills, because it’s kilometers-centric. Yes! In addition, get ready to enjoy a peek into bicycling life with kids and a Big Dummy. Judy, of Toronto, completed the challenge this week, managing several rides with DS and DD. Thanks so much, Judy (and DS and DD, too!), for… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge Announcements and… More About Maps!
Hello, everyone. I hope you enjoyed Vannevar’s recent guest post, and that your coffeeneuring exploits are going well. The Northeast Regional Office of Coffeeneuring and I have been putting together some maps to show where the year’s coffeeneuring activity has been occurring. For 2014, we created three maps. Coffeeneurs in the U.S. by state Cities… Continue reading
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We Love Coffeeneuring: A Chat with Original Coffeeneur Vannevar in Pittsburgh, PA
The Coffeeneuring Challenge kicked off four years ago as a small affair with 12 finishers. Thanks to their efforts, word of mouth, and I’m not even sure what else, coffeeneuring is now an annual event that keeps expanding in popularity. Some don’t know the history of coffeeneuring, and that’s okay. There are enough of us around… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring with MrTinDC around Washington, D.C.: Bikes, Coffee, and Good Friends
This weekend, the first two official Coffeeneuring Challenge submissions arrived in my mailbox. The first was from #bikeDC’s own MrTinDC. In the next weeks I expect many more to make it to the official finishing line. I am a big fan of MrTinDC’s photography and his work is frequently featured in some of the on-line… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring with Paul and Maureen on the “Great White” Santana Noventa Tandem in Lynchburg, Virginia
How is your coffeeneuring progressing? Leaves might be falling and temps dropping, but I have a great story that might motivate you to step outside on these shorter cooler days of fall. By the way, if you have not yet added your stops to the Coffeeneuring Destinations Map, please feel free to contact Daniel in the Northeast… Continue reading
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Marine Corps Marathon: Celebrating Runners for 26.2 Miles
For 26.2 miles this past Sunday, I was a spec in a mammoth event, one of more than 27,000 people who swarmed the Washington, D.C. area for the opportunity to be part of an annual two-footed tour of the city—the Marine Corps Marathon. For 26.2 miles, people’s cheers and encouragement seeped into my heart, propelling me… Continue reading
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A Coffeeneuring Destinations Map for Everyone: Your Help Welcome!
Hello, coffeeneurs (and other readers, too). I hope you were able to enjoy the weekend and perhaps even a cup of coffee (or tea) or two. I’ve been talking with Daniel in the Northeast Regional Office of Coffeeneuring about setting up a map that includes coffeeneur ride destinations. He is the person behind last year’s… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring: More Than A Bike Ride in Search of a Hashtag
Lots of us ride to coffee (or tea), but only during this seven-week sliver between October and November do we officially coffeeneur.* Coffeeneuring is when bike rides to coffee (and other beverages) are shared and enjoyed by people far and wide. Start this weekend and you can still officially complete the challenge of 7 rides to… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Rewind in Pittsburgh with @rfglenn
Ingredients Fall Bike rides Coffee Directions Blend together, bake for an hour for at least two miles or to your taste at dipping seasonal temperatures. Repeat seven times. Coffeeneuring. Continue reading
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Contemplative Fall
Recollections of the harvest and farmers working fields long past sundown. Walks across campus, heavy book-filled backpacks on our shoulders, feet drifting through drying leaves. The donning of long sleeves to absorb the chill of mornings that advise of even colder times to come. It’s odd how this time can feel like a stopping point. The end of one cycle,… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Week 3: Kitteh-neuring with Janice and Jayne
This weekend I received an unexpected note from the coffeeneuring team of Janice and Jayne. What started out for them as a regular coffee ride turned into something much much more. The idea was to ride 2 1/2 miles to the store/deli in Boyer Junction, have lunch and coffee and retrace our steps up the hill… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge News: Weekend Plans?
The Coffeeneuring Challenge reaches the end of Week 2 and, like that, Week 3 begins tomorrow. What are your plans? The Facebook Coffeeneurs group is going gangbusters, and Twitter and Instagram light up on the weekends. The “Coffeeneuring” group on flickr welcomes your photos, too. Images in this group range from: Continue reading
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Functional Fitness, Everyday Joy
Today I ran into work, my eyes soaking in the fall colors as I breathed the aroma of wet ground from yesterday’s rain and the dying leaves on the pavement. Despite overcast skies, the 60-degree temperatures and quiet air made for delicious running conditions. I recalled my life in the city last year at this time, when the federal government… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Quiz
Welcome to another week of coffeeneuring as we know it. Time to test your Coffeeneuring Challenge knowledge. No cheating. You’re only cheating yourself, as one of my old workout instructors used to say. Coffeeneuring Quiz! Continue reading
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The Randonneur Q&A Interview Series
Just before PBP 2011, I interviewed a group of 12 randonneurs to get their perspectives on various aspects of long-distance cycling. I talked with both men and women who were members of clubs throughout the United States. I called it the Randonneur Q&A. The Randonneur Q&A covered big-picture randonneuring themes, including insights over the various brevet distances, and what it is… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Week 1: It’s On!
We’re almost one week into the Coffeeneuring Challenge, and already I’m amazed by all the people riding their bikes to tasty beverages all over the land. Some ride to four-walled establishments, and others enjoy beverages in the open air. Much of the coffeeneuring activity is taking place on Twitter (search the #coffeeneuring hashtag), the Coffeeneurs Facebook… Continue reading
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Freedom’s Run Marathon: The Eventure Continues
Run Summary I first participated in Freedom’s Run Marathon in 2009, its inaugural year. I remembered loving the course — the way it rambled around Harpers Ferry, traveled along the C&O, and eventually crawled away from the Shenandoah River into the beautiful, hallowed, and hilly place that is Antietam Battlefield. I even liked the mileage… Continue reading
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Choose Your Own Eventure: C&O Bike Tour to a Marathon
Hello friends. I’ve just returned from a weekend concept ride I’ve been plotting for the past year. It involved a 134-mile mini bike tour from Washington, D.C., out the C&O to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and the Freedom’s Run marathon. I don’t know what I was expecting, but what I ended up with was a satisfying fall… Continue reading
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Mr. and Mrs. Bike Snick Go Coffeeneuring
We can’t go into the weekend (THE FIRST WEEKEND OF OFFICIAL COFFEENEURING SEASON) without another example of how coffeeneuring happens. And, of course, it’s always nice to give the locals of #BikeDC and #BikeArlington a shout-out, especially ones who’ve taken such care with capturing their coffeeneuring images. With that, I present you with the coffeeneuring… Continue reading
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Coffeeneurs International: Martin in Ye Olde England
It’s not every day that someone says coffeeneuring has the potential to change his or her life. Coffee and bike riding can be powerful stuff, however, so who’s to say it isn’t these little pleasures that have great impact on us over time? I will let you ponder that, as I share this post from… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 