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Unintended Consequences of Not Setting Goals: A Century a Month
Lately, I have been mulling over the question of what we can accomplish even when we do not set specific goals. This is a concept I was first introduced to when I read an interview with Leo Babauta, the author of the Zen Habits blog. Babauta writes that goals foster inflexibility and turn activities into… Continue reading
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A Return to the Single Bike Lifestyle
This past year, we retired our custom-fit Co-Motion tandem. It wasn’t by choice. Over the six years we had owned it and an estimated 25,000 miles, it gradually developed a crack in the area near the stoker seat tube. Felkerino wrote a post about it complete with a photo of the crack, here. As you… Continue reading
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A Coffeeneuring Map Made by a Pro
COFFEENEURING OFFICIAL BUSINESS: If you were a Coffeeneuring Challenge finisher or honorable mention, please send me your snail mail address via my gmail address OR the “Contact” page so that I may send out your PRIZES! Earlier this week, I received a note from a North Carolina randonneur and blogosphere buddy. Andy had used the… Continue reading
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The People who Coffeeneur: Participation Rates of Women and Men
As I looked through the coffeeneuring submissions, I thought it might be fun to share a few more facts about the 2012 coffeeneuring community. So hang onto your helmets and be prepared to be wowed by my data mining skills. The first topic I thought I’d cover is the participation of women versus men in… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge: Winners and Honorable Mentions!
While I still have a couple of Coffeeneuring Rewinds up my sleeve, it’s time to announce the winners. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the growth of coffeeneuring. In its inaugural year, 12 participants successfully completed the Coffeeneuring Challenge. In only its second edition, that number has grown to 51 coffeeneurs, each of whom visited… Continue reading
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Charlie T.’s Coffeeneuring Rewind (Bikeshare-centric!) in Minnesota, Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.
A surprise entry from Charlie T. is today’s guest post. Charlie is a D.C. Randonneur who I had no idea was coffeeneuring until I read a Velo Orange blog post by VO staff member and randonneur Scott G. that featured one of their coffeeneuring outings. When I received Charlie’s “Coffeeneuring Paper,” as he called it,… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Rewind with Julie and Steve in Maryland
Today’s Coffeeneuring Challenge edition is brought to us by Julie up in Silver Spring, Maryland. Julie and her husband visited various Maryland coffee destinations during the weeks of the challenge, and perfected the cyclist with bike in front of the coffee shop photo along the way. Julie completed all seven trips for an official finish,… Continue reading
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Seattle Coffeeneuring with Coffeeneur Conceptualizer and Randonneur Joe Platzner
While the beginning of this guest post may sound more like a medical diary than a coffeeneur tale, I assure you it is not. Joe Platzer, the Seattle randonneur behind the concept of coffeeneuring, provided me a convincing doctor’s note about why he was starting the challenge late, and I gave him a small extension… Continue reading
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A Weekend Adventure for a Commuting Cyclist in Vienna, VA: Coffeeneuring Rewind with Liz
As I continue to homologate results, I learn more about the appeal of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. Liz, today’s guest contributor, is a #BikeDC commuter who rides extensively during the week– 28 miles every day. She used the Coffeeneuring Challenge as an opportunity to work in more casual weekend riding. As a bicycle commuter with a 28-mile… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Rewind in Maine: Gary and Sara’s Excellent, if Limited, Coffeeneuring Adventures
Today features a guest post from the I Was Going to Complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge, but… category. Sara and her husband, Gary, are North Carolina randonneurs turned Maine residents (and coffeeneurs). Without further ado, here is their story, along with an extensive excuse well worthy of a Coffeeneuring Challenge Honorable Mention. Something about this thing… Continue reading
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Giving Thanks for Good Stories
I hope you have been enjoying the Coffeeneuring Rewind posts as much as I have. I’m learning so much about the places people visited, coffeeneurs’ beverage preferences, and assessments of the beverages served. I also have a growing database of coffeeneuring destinations in various parts of the country. This week, I took a small break… Continue reading
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Patti’s Coffeeneuring Rewind: Delaware Coffeeneuring with a Side of Trail Running
It’s a thrill to announce that we had our first Coffeeneuring Challenge participants from Delaware this year. Patti, a runner as well as cyclist, embarked on at least two of her coffeeneuring outings on the heels (ha ha!) of a trail run. Does that count as a brick workout? She also completed over half of… Continue reading
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Back to Pittsburgh: Coffeeneuring in Plonk Season with Hyla
We’re kicking off the week with a Coffeeneuring Rewind from another Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, participant. Hyla’s succinct write-ups and accompanying photo-diary make for an amusing read and had me reliving the days when there were more leaves on the trees. (Yes, that was just last week for those of us in the D.C.-area!) Coffeeneur #1: Hot… Continue reading
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I was Going to Complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge, but… Honorable Mention Category!
This post is for those who entered the Coffeeneuring Challenge with great ambitions, but for some reason or another, fell short in their quests to complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge. Don’t fret. You may still submit the coffeeneuring rides you accomplished and perhaps be eligible for the “I was Going to Complete the Coffeeneuring Challenge, but…… Continue reading
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The Magic Coffeeneuring Map and Submission Housekeeping
After six weeks rich in riding and imbibing, the time for Coffeeneuring Challenge submissions has arrived. Thus, I’m taking the opportunity to clarify a few items. Continue reading
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D.C. Randonneurs Flatbread 200K Brevet Roundup
This past weekend, Felkerino and I broke the tandem in two and took off for the Eastern Shore to ride the D.C. Randonneurs 200K Flatbread brevet. While I’ve ridden this brevet once or twice before, this time was unique because instead of the usual tandem routine, I rode it on my Rivendell Romulus.See? Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring: The Final Countdown!
Hard to believe, but we’ve reached the last full weekend of the 2nd Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge. Submissions have started coming into Chasing Mailboxes headquarters, and I see through the tweets and blog posts that people are in the final throes of their coffeeneuring quests. I’ve included some photos from the Tweets as well as a… Continue reading
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I Voted… In My Socks
Today was Election Day, and like a good citizen who believes in our democratic process, I rode over to my D.C. polling place after work to cast my vote. I parked my bike in the rock star parking zone right outside the community center and walked in to cast my vote. As I stood in… Continue reading
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The Grand Fondue: A Superbly Challenging Bike Ride
Every once in a while it seems like a good idea to test my tandem stoker climbing skills on an ultra-hilly bike ride. The opportunity to do just that came in the shape of the Grand Fondue, a combination of dirt and paved roads ride sponsored by the Bike Doctor of Frederick, Maryland. The full… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Rewind from S.R. in Pittsburgh, PA: Murals and Tea
I couldn’t let a week go by without a post about coffeeneuring. Today features a guest post from one of the first people to complete this year’s Coffeeneuring Challenge. S.R., a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, completed the challenge this past weekend. Her coffeeneuring “events” took her to a variety of places (none of which I… Continue reading
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Happy Halloween from @ZombiesDC
Those who don’t follow me on Twitter may not know about some new companions who came into my life earlier this year. One day, without warning, four green creatures showed up at my doorstep. Their intentions were clear. They wanted my BRAINS and they wanted to live in Washington, D.C. I said no to the… Continue reading
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My Washington D.C. Neighborhood, Post-Sandy
It’s been a dramatic couple of days here. High winds, rain, and perpetual monitoring of the Weather Channel with one eye while looking apprehensively out the window with the other as tropical storm Sandy pelted our region. Fortunately, the area where I reside did not lose power and damage to our immediate area does not… Continue reading
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Running Away from Sandy: 2012 Marine Corps Marathon
Yesterday I lined up with more than 23,500 people to participate in my last big event for 2012: the Marine Corps Marathon. Continue reading
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Bikes + Coffee = True Love = Coffeeneuring: Blog Roundup
As I’ve been reading through the tweets and blogs, I see that even though everybody has to follow the same 15 rules to be an official finisher, people have still customized the challenge and their coffeeneuring rides. Continue reading
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Commute Trade-Offs: Safety
Seldom does a commute not involve some kind of trade-off. Bike commuters are often dealing with compromises, and my sense of safety is often one of those. Take yesterday, for example. I had to run an errand out in Bethesda. The first half of it had to be via car (Booooo. That’s a compromise already!).… Continue reading
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Mandatory Fall Foliage Dirt Road Ride
With the shades of fall intensely pulsing through our area, Felkerino and I decided we better get out for a good autumn ride before showers or windy days wrested the brilliant leaves from the trees. We looked at the Saturday forecast, which indicated overnight temperatures would not be bitingly cold. Sun was also predicted, with… Continue reading
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Get On the Sidewalk!
Most days, riding my bike is one of the most pleasurable activities of my day. Fresh air, exercise, breeze on my face, and pride in my mode of transport abound. Every once in a while, though, something happens to disrupt these moments of reverie. Like yesterday, for example, when I was riding to dinner with… Continue reading
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Bike Commute Guide: The Essentials
Today I’m talking commute basics, as somebody recently asked me what to keep in mind when making the transition to bike commuting. It took me back to when I dusted off my old Ross mountain bike and said to myself, “Metro no more. I’m going to make this bike commute thing happen.” Happily, it wasn’t a tough transition to… Continue reading
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What Makes Coffeeneuring Special, via the Coffeeneur Blogosphere
Ride your bike to coffee. The premise of the Coffeeneuring Challenge is a pretty simple one. Yet, the writing from the coffeeneuring blogs suggests there’s something about the two-wheeled journey to a coffee shop and the subsequent consumption of a hot beverage. Something worth writing about and sharing. As I read through the posts, that vague something evolved… Continue reading
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Baseball Will Break Your Heart, but Coffeeneuring Won’t
What a weekend! The Nationals came so close, but could not eek out a place in the next round of post-season play. What’s a coffeeneur to do but shed a few tears, get on the bike, and go for a latte? That’s what I did. Felkerino, Ultrarunnergirl, and Mr. Ultrarunnergirl coaxed me out the door. The sunny… Continue reading
