Coffeeneuring the Second: Intelligentsia in Silver Lake

Official Coffeeneur Log

Entry No. 2

Date: October 11, 2015

Weather conditions: Sunny & mild

Destination: Intelligentsia Coffee, Silver Lake, California

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Distance (complete trip): 13.9 miles

Qualifying Beverage & Bonus Edible(s): Riakiberu (or was it kairebu?) brew & Croissant

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Bike-friendliness: Large bike rack right in front and visible from large courtyard dining/sipping space. Gives discount to guests arriving by bike!

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Bloomers of the day: Blue Denim Bloomers (under a Nuu-Muu dress)

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Route map:

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Notes:

To earn my coffee and treat, and to enjoy the morning, I had to first ride a loop around the Silver Lake Reservoir. The first part of that loop meant navigating a little construction, but not too much of a bother.

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Usually, when circling Silver Lake, I ride in the bike lane on the street, but this time I was curious to try the gravel path that runs along the meadow. It is a well-maintained and firm path, so no problem on my road bike, and well worth checking out.

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Riding the path gives a better view of the reservoir, although I still had to put my phone right up to an open space in the chain link fence in order to get this shot:

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At one point the path runs close enough to the street that you can see how it compares to the bike lane. Although a road bike can handle the path’s surface, you do have to navigate a lot of dog walkers and joggers.

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I enjoyed bike lane, albeit not in the best shape, pretty much the whole way from the reservoir to the business district, passing some nice public spaces:

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Best of all, after leaving the coffee shop, I turned onto one of my favorite streets to ride on, Hyperion. This is why I brought the road bike on this day, as these hills would be a bit much for my dutch bike.

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All in all, a delightful way to start my Sunday.

Coffeeneuring the First: Cognoscenti Coffee in Culver City

Official Coffeeneur Log

Entry No. 1

Date: Sunday, October 4, 2015

Weather conditions: Drizzly

Destination: Cognoscenti Coffee, Culver City, California

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Distance (complete trip): 12.85 miles

Qualifying Beverage & Bonus Edible(s): Cortado, Almond croissant

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Bike-friendliness: One U-rack on sidewalk directly in front and visible from both indoor and outdoor seating areas. Easy to access via bike-friendly streets.

Bloomers of the day: Crazy Daisy

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Route map:

Route of Coffeeneuring No 1

Notes:

First portion of route was familiar bike-able route to and on Venice Blvd. Opted to head south on Redondo, a fairly wide arterial with sharrows – very quiet and few cars on a Sunday morning.

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Took Expo Line Bike Path into Culver City, and appreciated that there is a bike repair stand along the path.

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Turned off the bike path onto Fay, one of Culver City’s beautiful tree-lined streets covered with a canopy of Chinese Elms.

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Coffeeneuring!

I was intrigued when I heard about the coffeeneuring challenge — a weekend cycling endeavor for those who like bicycling and coffee that is organized by Chasing Mailboxes, who set forth the rules here. It basically involves riding your bike to 7 coffee shops over the course of 7 weekends, October 3 – November 15, 2015. This is its fifth year, but for me, it is the first.

I knew I had to do it, and besides, how hard could it be? Plus, with the suggestion to throw in a theme within the theme, well, I just adore themes! I turned to the Google to start researching coffee shops worth trying in the Los Angeles area. A few lists came up, and I loved that I could explore a new artisanal coffee shop each weekend in a different part of the Los Angeles area.

Since one of the requirements is to report on each ride, and linking to a blog is an acceptable means of reporting, I also decided this would also help me finally get rolling with blogging. I sort of tried to start blogging a couple of times before, but never got past the first post. Perhaps with these “homework” assignments and a deadline, I could make myself take it beyond a single post. Of course, I’m starting the blog during the fourth week, so there will be some retroactive posting. Lame or not, here I go!