Coffeeneuring 2019: Rolling Themelessly

Posted on by bikiegirl

My fifth round of participating in the Coffeeneuring challenge happens to be the eighth year since it was first launched by Coffeeneur-in-Chief of Chasing Mailboxes. She proclaimed “Eight is Great” when announcing this year’s theme. In years past, I’ve had fun working my own theme into the master theme, with themes like making sure each coffee shop is in a different city, or trying different donut shops, or showing off a different pair of Bloomers for each ride. Last year, I honored the master theme of “Best Intentions” by backing away from elaborate planning of special sub-themes, and simply focusing on intention. This year, I had zero interest in planning a theme for my rides, or carefully selecting new coffee shops to try for each ride. I decided to let myself roll through the challenge themelessly. I am quite pleased that I managed to avoid re-arranging my life around coffeeneuring. Rather, I worked the coffeeneuring into whatever was going on each week.

Here is my control card:

Control No. 1: 10/13/19 – Kaldi in Atwater Village, Los Angeles

Beverage: Iced Americano (with pumpkin scone)

Bike-friendliness: Excellent bike parking – large bike corral right in front

Mileage: 26

Outfit: Crazy Daisy Bloomers under a Mermaid Nuu-Muu dress

Notes: El Cochinito had a meeting to attend in Atwater Village and invited me to ride along. Well, what a great way to kick off coffeeneuring season, especially since I hadn’t been to any coffee shops in Atwater Village. Plus, it’s not far from Griffith Park, giving me a great opportunity to spin my wheels while he was at his meeting.

Control No. 2: 10/20/19 – The Helipad in Griffith Park, Los Angeles

Beverage: Delivered by thermos from Kettle-Glazed Doughnuts (along with some donuts!)

Bike-friendliness: Doesn’t get any friendlier than Griffith Park, especially the Helipad, where local bike friends gather regularly to take in a great view of L.A. together.

Mileage: 20

Outfit: Tealicious Nuu-Muu dress over Black Bloomers (not pictured)

Some of the gents looked so dapper, matching their outfits to their bikes.

Notes: Many Thursdays this summer, I joined a group that bikes up to the Helipad after work to watch the sunset and sip beer. As the sunsets became too early in the Fall, the group switched to Sunday mornings and coffee. An advantage to doing it in the morning is that I could then continue riding on through the park. The photo in the lower left panel is the view of the Hollywood sign from the Griffith Observatory. Lower right is a favorite mural I pass on my way home from the park.

Control No. 3: 10/26/19 – Cameron Cafe in Alexandria, Virginia

Beverage: Cafe au Lait (with an apple turnover)

Bike-friendliness: Conveniently close to the Holmes Run Trail and offers bike parking right out front. I was rolling on Capital Bikeshare that day, and there are no docking stations anywhere in that area, so I just parked it in front, next to the bike rack (with timer still running!), and kept an eye on it from my window seat inside.

Mileage: 13

Outfit: Purple Drape Neck Top over Black Hitchable Flounce Skirt & Pinstripe Bloomers (prototype for new style)

Notes: Every year in late October, I attend a conference in the Washington, D.C. area, right in the middle of Coffeeneuring season. In fact, two years ago, I was able to join a fellow coffeeneur who lives in D.C., and share a Coffeeneuring ride together! This year, I was staying in Old Town Alexandria, and thought it would be fun to explore the Holmes Run Trail and visit a coffee shop along the way. Cameron Cafe turned out to be an excellent choice. Both the coffee and the turnover were delicious. Plus I enjoyed visiting with a couple who’d also biked there and had been curious about my use of the bikeshare bike (given that we were well outside the Capital Bikeshare territory).

Control No. 4: 10/27/19 – Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park, Los Angeles

Beverage: Cappuccino (with coffee cake)

Bike-friendliness: There are bike racks on the sidewalk out front on Sunset Boulevard, but some of us like to bring our bikes into the patio area in the back, off the alley. The bookstore is always kind to the Street Librarians who gather there on the last Sunday of each month for drinks and eats, to gather some books generously offered to us from the clearance rack, as we head out on our bicycles to re-stock the local Little Free Libraries.

Mileage: 16

Outfit: Zen Nuu-Muu dress over Pinka Dot Black Bloomers

Notes: The Street Librarians Ride always has a theme. This time the theme was Day of the Dead. As we stop to do our re-stocking at each Little Free Library, we also take a moment to share a reading, usually in line with the theme. For my turn, I read from a children’s book called “What is Death?”

Control No. 5: 10/28/19 – Bar Nine in Culver City

Beverage: Mocha (with a cheese biscuit)

Bike-friendliness: Well, they got rid of the bike rack they used to have out front, but we are inclined to forgive them since there is now an electric car charging station in its place. Several of us rolled our bikes inside, and no one seemed to mind.

Mileage: 12

Outfit: Blue Toad & Co. dress over Leopard Print Bloomers

Notes: This was a meet up with the Women on Bikes Culver City group. These women have a regular tradition of meeting up at a different local coffee shop every other Monday morning. They are especially great at supporting women who are new to city biking.

Control No. 6: 11/3/19 – Blue Bottle Coffee, Downtown L.A.

Beverage: Cafe au Lait (with a maple pecan scone)

Bike-friendliness: There may be bike parking right in front, I forgot to look. I parked across the street in front of the Grand Central Market.

Mileage: 21

Outfit: Jade Nuu-Muu dress over Shimmering Sapphire Bloomers, topped off with a green Bikie Girl Bloomers Boat Neck Tee

Notes: El Cochinito had a field trip in downtown L.A., having his Economics students explore relevant principles at the Grand Central Market. He first has them walk across the street to see the beautiful Bradbury Building, often used in filming, most notably the original Bladerunner. I rode along and enjoyed my treats at Blue Bottle Coffee, right there on the corner in the Bradbury Building, while they did their field trip. Afterward, he and I continued on through Chinatown into Elysian Park to take in some iconic views of the city.

Control No. 7: 11/10/19 – Hot & Cool Cafe, Leimert Park in South Los Angeles

Beverage: Cinnful Coffee (with coffee cake)

Bike-friendliness: There is bike parking right in front and the Ride On Bike Co-op is next door, should you need any parts or repairs.

Mileage: 15

Outfit: Wildfire Nuu-Muu dress over Romantic Ruby Bloomers

Notes: El Cochinito and I will be doing a bike tour in Cuba over the upcoming holidays, and I wanted to make sure we squeezed at least one ride into this busy weekend. I also wanted to make sure we climbed some sort of hill to get some training value out of a short ride. I decided the perfect route would be to nearby Kenneth Hahn Park in the Baldwin Hills. This 400-acre park atop some sizable hills in the midst of a large metropolis offers great views. I used to think there was no way to ride a bike to this park until a group ride I was on a couple years ago took us there. I was delighted to be able to show this route to El Cochinito (who otherwise knows his way around L.A. more thoroughly than I do). He also hadn’t been to this park in well over 20 years, since before the basin at the top had been made into a grassy meadow. This was once the site of a reservoir that spilled down the hillside in 1963 when a dam broke and the ensuing disaster took five lives and damaged over 200 homes.

We then descended gleefully down into Leimert Park to enjoy one of my favorite local cafes. If you like some flavor and a hint of spice in your coffee like I do, I strongly recommend the Cinnful Coffee. Their coffee cake is a delicious accompaniment.

What looks like a dead-end street actually goes through via a small bridge for pedestrians & bikes.

Control No. 8: 11/17/19 – The Free Cafe in Leimert Park in South Los Angeles

Beverage: Iced Coffee

Bike-friendliness: It doesn’t get any friendlier than this – the host is a bicyclist who sets up the cafe in his backyard. Bikes are welcome, and can be leaned against the fence along the driveway.

Mileage: 7

Outfit: Sirena Nuu-Muu dress over Shimmering Sapphire Bloomers

Approaching the bridge from the south is much prettier.

Notes: The Free Cafe is a friend’s project intended to cultivate community. He invites all his neighbors to come to his yard for coffee and conversation about once a month. Occasionally, he sets up the Free Cafe at other locations, such as parks or other host homes. I enjoy riding there, as it’s only 3 miles from home, and it takes me on some bike-friendly streets through pretty neighborhoods, and over a small bridge that crosses the freeway. I love going over this bridge, because it is a hidden delight.

Originally this was to be my celebratory “Eight is Great” ride, but I completely forgot to snap a photo of my bike or my coffee! I don’t think that made it any less great. In fact, it was a great way to cap another great season of coffeeneuring.

The following week, I was able to sport my new socks!

Coffeeneuring the Fifth: Day of the Dead in Santa Monica

Posted on by bikiegirl

Official Coffeeneur Log

Entry No. 5

Date: November 1, 2015

Destination: Espresso Cielo, Santa Monica, California

Espresso Cielo

Distance (complete trip): 27.6 miles

Qualifying Beverage & Bonus edible(s): Café au Lait

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Bloomers of the day: Blue Bandana (seemed like a good fit for Day of the Dead)

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Bike-friendliness: Not so much. Very bike-friendly area, but this particular shop only has a silly non-usable bike rack out front. It’s more of a style piece, as it looks cute, but you can barely get a front tire into it because it’s too close to the wall. And if you do park a bike there, your bike will block the sidewalk. Inside, however, the woman at the counter told me that most cyclists just bring their bikes inside.

Not a bike rack

Route map:

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Notes:

For this week’s ride, I decided to work a coffee shop into a trip to Santa Monica for a 6:00 p.m. remembrance vespers service being held at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church for Day of the Dead. We had just turned our clocks back, so it really was an evening ride. It was already twilight when I began, despite leaving the house at 4:15 p.m. It takes about an hour to bike to Santa Monica from my home in the Koreatown area, so I had to give myself plenty of time. I’m not one to drink coffee in the evening, but it was rather exciting to break from the usual morning approach to coffeeneuring. I chose Espresso Cielo because it was just under 3 miles from there to the UU church, and an easy route from my house.

I took the Venice Boulevard bike lane for 9 miles, all the way from Mid-City to Abbot Kinney.

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In the last year, they added a huge buffer zone by removing a traffic lane from the section of Venice Boulevard between Crenshaw & West, where motorists tend to drive 15-20 MPH over the posted 35 MPH speed limit. That extra space makes it feel much safer than it used to. Then all of a sudden it gets a little weird in the zone where many cars are angling over to veer right onto San Vicente. The most dangerous stretch is the part where the bike lane just isn’t, and you really have to watch out for fast-moving cars crossing over to the right lane.

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But that’s just a brief part. It’s still nice to have a long stretch with a bike lane for getting over to the west side. You can take this all the way to the beach. I turned off in Venice at Abbot Kinney, though, and was agape at all the trendy shops, restaurants and bars that line this cute street that angles over from Venice Boulevard to Main Street. I realized as I rode into Santa Monica that it has been a couple of years since the last time I rode a bike on Main Street, and the bike infrastructure has really grown, as has the number of cyclists you see here. That said, when I got to Espresso Cielo, realistic bike parking did not seem to be available. Instead, I found the odd little bike rack that isn’t really a bike rack out front. I moved the bike inside after ordering my cafe au lait.

Not a bike rack

The cafe au lait was dreamy in a milky-good sort of way (I get disappointed when a cafe au lait tastes like someone thought they should hold back on the milk – it’s all about the lait), which made it nice for an evening hot beverage. I had to gulp it down rather quickly, though, as I needed to hurry on my way in order to catch the 6 pm vespers service.

I managed to get there at 6:01, so by the time I’d parked my bike and went inside, the music had begun. It was a a double choir, the combined choirs of the UU Community Church of Santa Monica and First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles in Koreatown (I joined the Santa Monica church in 1998, when I was living on the west side, and then joined First Church after moving to Koreatown, so I’ve got ties to both places).

They sang Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem in C-minor, interspersed with some prayers, readings, candle-lighting, and most moving of all, the singing of names. We had been invited to provide names of loved ones who died during the past year. A few soloists stepped forward and took turns singing the names. After each person’s name was sung, the choir followed with “you are not forgotten”. Just at the point when I started kicking myself for not remembering to submit my brother’s name, the soloist sang: “Craig Canady” and the choir sang “you are not forgotten”. It was beautiful. The tears felt beautiful rolling down my cheeks. Maybe I had remembered to submit his name. I know it would mean a lot to Craig to be remembered like this. Exactly 11 months after he died. Exactly two weeks before his birthday. Craig would have noted those details.

It was after the singing of the names that we had our opportunity to step up and light candles to acknowledge our memories, our grief. I wanted to light so many candles, as there have been so many deaths to grieve. I lit three, one for each of the three I’ve been grieving the most this past year: my brother Craig, my first cousin once removed Bill, and my friend Adriane. I really should have brought more tissues with me.

Emerging from that beautiful service, after having a good cry, it felt great to be in the fresh night air, feeling the breeze as I biked my way back home. I took a different way back, heading straight east from the church into Westwood, then Century City, through Beverly Hills, into Mid-City and home again. How lucky I am to be not just alive, but really living, breathing, feeling my body move as I pedal my way through my city.

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Craig, in his youth, in his element (at a family gathering). He was always the best at bringing family together, staying in touch with each of us, no matter where we were, and remembering all the details of what happened on what date.

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Cuz Bill, in his later years, but still plenty spunky. He taught me to write limericks. He exemplified a tasteful classiness, punctuated by a clever wit.

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Adriane, standing next to her favorite painting. She would rarely allow herself to be photographed. I got away with it this time only because I wanted a picture of her in the cowl I had knitted for her.

Rulebreaker Ride in the Nation’s Captiol

Posted on by bikiegirl

UNOfficial Coffeeneur Log

Entry No. 3.5 (Bonus Ride: Doesn’t count toward the official coffeeneur challenge)

Date: October 21, 2015 (A Wednesday, outside the rules!)

Destination: Compass Coffee, Shaw, Washington, D.C.

Distance (complete trip): 5.6 miles (plus about a mile of walking)

Qualifying Beverage & Bonus edible(s): Cafe au lait & Almond croissant

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Bloomers of the day: Pink dots on black

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Bike-friendliness: Large bike rack right in front and visible from seating area. Within a block or two of Capital Bikeshare stations (in two different directions).

Route map:

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I left the app in tracking mode while wandering on foot between miles 2.5 and 4+, as I searched for an available bikeshare bike. Note the squiggly lines during the walking time.

Notes:

Why the rulebreaker ride? Well, I was in Washington, D.C., for a conference from Wednesday through Saturday this particular week. I often travel to D.C. for meetings, and I love having an excuse to get around using Capital Bikeshare. I always like exploring cities I visit by bike, and there’s something extra special about doing so in our nation’s capitol. I had been hoping to be able to get a coffeeneuring ride in on Saturday, but knew it was dicey, given that I did not want to miss the program scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, and it would be hard to get up super early after an evening of receptions the night before. Wednesday I did not have to be anywhere until 10:00, so I had already begun planning a coffeeneuring trip when I saw on Facebook that the Women & Bicycles group was planning a coffee meetup that very same Wednesday morning! (That’s Ashley, who organized the meetup, in the photo above.) Last year, I had joined one of the group’s Wednesday morning meetups, even braving some heavy rain to get there. This time the weather was looking quite good, and the destination very doable from where I was staying.

I walked from my Woodley Park B&B to the Capital Bikeshare station at the Duke Ellington Bridge on Calvert. This pic was taken looking back at the bridge as I headed in to Adams Morgan.

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I very much enjoyed this opportunity to see the Fall colors – a treat for this L.A. gal.

It was easy enough to stop and park the bike at a docking station near my destination:

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But when I came back to this station, and another a couple blocks away, and another a several more blocks away, I kept finding this:

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Note to self: it can be hard to find a bike at 9 a.m. on a weekday! I also learned to ditch the bikeshare app I had been using, as it had seriously misled me about the availability of bikes at these stations, and so I got a new app called spotcycle. I like that this one can be used in a variety of cities, and it gave me good info as I continued my quest for a bike. For example, spotcycle said no bikes were available at this station, and I thought maybe it was wrong, but alas, both bikes at this one were out of order (note one had its saddle turned around – a signal that the bike needs service):

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Eventually, I found a bike on Massachusetts Ave, which wouldn’t have been so bad, had I walked straight there instead of meandering all over. I did make it back to Woodley Park, but ended up being late for my 10:00 meeting.

Of course, I could have made it on time, had I simply given up and taken Metro back, but I can be stubborn that way. Besides, being late for that particular meeting wasn’t a serious problem, and I enjoyed my little quest.