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Life is Uncertain, Eat Dessert First
It’s a new year, time to stop eating all the holiday M&Ms and candy canes I bought for 80 percent off at CVS. Ready to start 2017, I tell myself. Just two weeks ago I set aside time to consider my goals for the year, but did so in front of the computer interspersed with way too… Continue reading
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2016: Bike as Backbone
My year in cycling was another surprise when I compare how I felt about it versus the story reflected in photos and miles. The story was far better than perception during a period when time on the bike was – like my running in 2016 – inconsistent from month to month, making for a herky jerky year.… Continue reading
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Running Down the Hits: 12 Months on 2 Feet
The year winds down, and the lull in normal activity opens up time for reflection. The last 12 months have signified intense growth for me, but not in the areas that I write about here. I tried some new things I wanted to do, and learned a lot about the importance of incremental progress and a good sense… Continue reading
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The Running Drug
The trees outside my window waved vigorously, their movement dissuading me from any outdoor time. I checked the weekend temperature, and 30s looked back at me. But with my cycling partner Felkerino under the weather this weekend, I was left with a window of time to do as I pleased. While the lure of the… Continue reading
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Everyday Magic
I almost didn’t run the Coffeeneuring Challenge this year. Really, I was on the fence about it. While gratified to see the challenge grow over time, I was also concerned it would be too much to manage, especially the way my year has gone in other areas. Felkerino convinced me that I should run the Coffeeneuring… Continue reading
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Opting
The last couple of days, my Instagram feed has filled with the #optoutside hashtag, as Insta connections spend the day in nature and the outdoors instead of dedicating time in retail spaces or in front of their computer. Part of me is glad for that, although I suspect that most of the people I know would choose… Continue reading
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Heavy Hearts and Bicycle Breezes
Heavy hearts are the worst. A heavy heart burrows into your stomach and crowds other organs, causing discomfort. A heavy heart – being so burdened – needs extra oxygen to function, which can leave a person deflated and lethargic. It takes a lot of energy to endure a heavy heart. While it seems counterintuitive, a bicycle breeze may help temporarily lighten… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge Prize Reveal and… Maps!
The Coffeeneuring Challenge continues to be in full swing, and riders have until November 20 to complete 7 rides to 7 different places for 7 cups of coffee. That means if you have completed at least one ride, you can still successfully complete this year’s Coffeeneuring Challenge. As submissions arrive at Coffeeneuring Challenge Headquarters, they will be reviewed… Continue reading
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Harvest in Iowa
It’s been years since I was in Iowa during the fall, but in an effort to avoid the harsher months of Midwest weather, I scheduled an October return to my home state. I arrived during the sweet spot of harvest, when farmers work all hours to remove the crops that have been growing all summer and just… Continue reading
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The Coffeeneur Behind the Coffeeneuring Patch Designs: Doug of Umbrella Works
The 2016 Coffeeneuring Challenge prize is about to be revealed, but before the grand unveiling, I’m featuring the man behind the excellent coffeeneuring designs of the past two years. Doug of umbrella works stepped forward last year to offer his skills in creating the Coffeeneuring Challenge patch prize, and we’ve been working together since. Many… Continue reading
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How to Take a Coffeeneuring Photo
While there is no shortage of rules for the Coffeeneuring Challenge, there is nothing specific in the rules about what constitutes an acceptable coffeeneuring photo entry, only that your ride must be documented in some way. Even so, people regularly ask me what sort of photo will pass muster. Does your coffee mug have to be in… Continue reading
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All Coffeeneuring All The Time: 2016 Blogroll
In contrast to previous editions of the Coffeeneuring Challenge, where official coffeeneuring was limited to weekend days except in a few limited circumstances, this year there is no such restriction. As a result, every time I check a social media outlet, someone somewhere is out on a coffeeneuring ride. It’s an unexpected benefit of the any day… Continue reading
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Mind Over Matter: the Des Moines Marathon
I spent the latter half of my 20’s living and working in Des Moines, Iowa. These were years of mixed experiences. I secured gainful employment, began living on my own, and gradually grasped the expectations of post-college life and a professional work environment. This was also a time of testing boundaries, and learning through some… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Challenge Pop Quiz!
Alright, coffeeneurs and scenesters, put your thinking caps on for this very important pop quiz about the Coffeeneuring Challenge! 1. When does the Coffeeneuring Challenge start? Answer: This Friday, October 7! 2. True or False, I can go coffeeneuring on a weekday in 2016? Answer: TRUE! 3. What is the minimum distance I have to… Continue reading
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Freedom’s Run Marathon: Finding Flow on the C&O
If you ride or run in D.C., you’ve probably had your share of conversations about the C&O Towpath, a hardpack multi-use and car-free path that starts in Georgetown and extends all the way to Cumberland, Maryland. The C&O: sublime urban escape or an exercise in monotony? Tooth-jarring nightmare or just what the doctor (not your dentist)… Continue reading
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Remembering Michael Prater: Cycling Fed His Soul, Coffee Fueled His Ride
The Coffeeneuring Challenge allows for an appreciation of cycling different from the oftentimes more active spring and summer months. Slow down. Relax. Spend time with a friend and drink a cup of coffee (or similar). Such was the case with Michael and Chauncey – best friends and riding buddies – who took on last year’s challenge… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring Rewind: Rediscovering a Passion for Bicycling with Marya and Bret
Perhaps I’m a bit biased, being an Iowan and all, but the simple beauty of cycling expressed by Marya and Bret pulled at my heart when I read it last year. I think many of us can relate to growing up with bikes, and then setting them aside in favor of other pasttimes and transportation modes… Continue reading
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6th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge: The Spirit of Coffeeneuring
Now in its sixth year, the Chasing Mailboxes Coffeeneuring Challenge is a relaxed cycling endeavor for people everywhere. If you like riding a bike and enjoy drinking coffee or tea (or even hot chocolate or cider), consider this challenge. In a nod to the French as well as randonneuring, the Coffeeneuring Challenge has its share of rules. Don’t let… Continue reading
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A Theme Within a Theme Coffeeneuring Rewind: Visual Journaling with Kathy
Last year’s Coffeeneuring Challenge introduced a new option for participants: the theme within a theme. The idea took off with quite a few, including Kathy, the author and illustrator of today’s post. Kathy took on the theme of visual journaling, and the result is a vivid set of watercolor pieces Kathy painted during the course of… Continue reading
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The Capital City of Coffeeneuring: Pittsburgh, PA
When the Coffeeneuring Challenge first began, I had no idea who would participate and what cities would be represented. Over the years, Pittsburgh has consistently emerged as the city with the most participants. Last year, Pittsburgh coffeeneurs put together a poster announcing the challenge, and also worked with a local bike shop to coordinate both… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring 2016: Save the Date and Rules Comment Period
Time to make a couple of announcements for the coffeeneuring register. First, the 6th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge is a go for 2016. If you want to keep your official coffeeneuring streak alive, or if you want to give the challenge a whirl for the first time, the time for action is soon. The 2016 Coffeeneuring Challenge will… Continue reading
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The Always Be Coffeeneuring Club
Do you ride your bike to drink coffee or tea? Or even hot chocolate? Do you not care about rules, or perhaps not care for rules? Are you in training for the upcoming coffeeneuring season? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you might be want to join the Always Be Coffeeneuring (ABC) Club. Requirements… Continue reading
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Coffeeneuring is Coming: An Inside Look at Coffeeneuring in Milwaukee
After five years in existence, the Coffeeneuring Challenge is becoming a fall tradition. For most of us, coffeeneuring never truly stops, but there is something especially enticing about the cool fall air, crunchy leaves under our wheels, and rides to coffee (or other coffee-ish) beverages with friends. This year, I talked with people in a… Continue reading
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Ride Your Bikes, People
I’m fond of my active commute routine. My regular commute to work is predictable, pleasant. Over the years I’ve devised a sweet route that minimizes high-volume car traffic, and I store a nice selection of seasonal work clothes in my office. This week I’ve been thrust outside of my routine, which is pretty much a… Continue reading
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Area Woman Stops Blogging for One Month. Here’s What Happened…
Lately it feels like life is running on ahead of me at a pace I cannot match. I try to catch up, and my life skips easily away. Just as my life reaches the other side of the street, the stoplight turns red and halts me. Life ambles forward. Optimal velocity is difficult to achieve… Continue reading
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Making the Experience Yours: Randonneuring
A while back, I wrote a post called Randonneur- and Real-Life Spouse, which attempted to articulate my frustration about feelings of exclusion from a particular brevet experience (the #randbro adventure). This piece also discussed some of the demeaning comments we have received over the years from men who think that my willingness to stoke a tandem was my partner’s… Continue reading
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Acclimation Frustration in DC: Passing Out
“Ma’am, are you okay?” I realize a teenage boy is talking to me. “Yes, yes, I think so,” I answer, confused how the three boys came to be standing in front of me. Last I looked, they were several feet further down the path. I’m standing too, but a quick body check reveals that I… Continue reading
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Sierra Cascades Day 11: Detroit to Portland
If I don’t write about this day, I can pretend we will ride on to the next destination. Our tour won’t have ended, D.C. won’t be calling me home. But our final day on the road is over. We are in Portland now, our journey from Sacramento to Portland complete, and Felkerino breaks down the… Continue reading
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Sierra Cascades Day 10: Bend to Detroit
Leaving Bend was a surprisingly subdued experience, once the city streets were behind us. We followed one of the Oregon Bikeways for the first 15 miles- the best cycling miles of the day. In retrospect, we should have figured out if there was an Oregon Bikeway long cut to the town of Sisters because once… Continue reading
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Sierra Cascades Day 9: Crescent Junction to Bend
The small towns in Oregon have been good to us. They manage to survive with decent to good lodging options, a convenience store, and often a nearby restaurant that opens early enough for bike touring breakfast and late enough for bike touring dinner. I’m grateful these towns hang on, unlike what you might find in… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 