The World as it is in 2018.....sort of.

From Ursula Le Guin's blog.....The Wall and Constructing the Golem.   Worth a read in light of her passing and the current regime in power in the USA.

And other observations regarding the State of the World 2018, from Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky.

2017 Bike Recap

2868 miles in 2017, 300 more than in 2016, and more than any other year for which I kept records.   100 rides,  15 more than 2016.  But, only 700 more feet in elevation.  So, more rides, over shorter distances with fewer hills.   Lots of rides to Locks, Sunset Hill, Golden Gardens — a staple and a favorite.   

Rides to remember—>

• New 520 bridge.   Game changer, route changer, easy access to Eastside, where there are better bike lines, longer segments and fewer stops.  
• STP - Faster times than in previous several years, rode train back to Seattle.   Staying at EconoLodge is old.  We’ll put a big 'we’ll see' on 2018.  But Cascade says I’ve done nine of these, including 3 in a row, so there’s some momentum there to continue
• GR2R - 1st one was wet and cold and we had a few rain outs along the way.  But we had a big turn out of new riders and Cascade RLs.  Successful series, and I'm organizing the 2018 editionl
• Chilly Hilly - Signed up but didn’t ride - too wet, cold, and windy for me.
• Snohomish County rides with Dorothe, Cheryl F, Larry, et al.   Thoroughly enjoyed when I rode, especially the ride through Tulalip and farmland.   
• Completed the coffeeneuring challenge.
• Bike share rides in Tampa, Austin, and even Seattle, plus excursions in Key West and the Bahamas.
• Scouted and began rides out of EdCC in SnoCo for exercise during the day.  Want to do more of those in 2018, including some more commuting.
• Mid week Less Hills rides during daylight savings time.  
• CTS - I got burned out on this.  Ride leader work, rules and roles, waiting for the slow riders, etc., all served to make me grumpy about this, which I've done for several years.  

Goals for 2018?  Keep pedaling and enjoy the ride!

2017 Coffeeneuring Challenge Report

The 2017 Coffeeneuring Challenge has been completed, is in the books, and I'm ready to report.  Some of the rides were solo.  A couple were with the Cascade Bicycle Club, but those events hardly qualify as 'organized,' in the sense of a race, century, fund-raiser or the TdF.  This year, I tried to avoid large intergalactic retail chains that have metastasized across the commercial landscape, and instead patronize the local shops, preferably those who also baked their own goodies.

Here's the rundown:

1.   Lundeen Coffee Company in Lake Stevens, Washington, after a 41 mile route with the CBC from Lake Stevens to Granite Falls and then returning via Marysville.   The coffee shack was right across the street from where we started and, coincidentally, we finished.  Drank my standard, a double short Americano, here balanced on my saddle.

2. The next day, a 30 miler solo stopping at Zeitgeist Coffee in Pioneer Square, Seattle.   A must for ambiance, flavor, history, java and their molasses cookies.  I've stopped at Zeitgeist every year during the Coffeeneuring Challenge.  It's worth it.

3.  And, the following Sunday, a similar route took me to the SODO neighborhood (South of the Dome, which no longer exists).   This time, 32 miles and a stop at Macrina Bakery, followed by a visit to The House that Griffey Built, and a return on the Ship Canal Trail.  Autumn is a great time for cycling in Seattle.

4.  Again, back with the Cascade Bike Club, and again with the "Steady" pace group, also known as the slow riders.   We started in fog, with the sun breaking through as the group approached Warm Beach.  Coffee this time #4 at First Class Coffee in Arlington, WA., at rest stop on 40 mile ride in Snohomish County. 2X Americano at coffee stand adjacent to a cannabis shop.  We were downwind from a chicken ranch, but the retail staff at the cannabis shop assured us that that the aroma was better inside their establishment.  We chose to ride on with just caffeine in our system.

5.  Once more, rode the next day, and this time a regular route used for training, city exploring, with a stop at the venerable Larsen's Bakery, a Ballard institution.  Kringle and a double-short Americano to boost my tired legs over the 2nd half of the 23 miler.

6.  Raining, windy, chilly and I needed to go to the library, so I put on the rain jacket, rode up to return a book and pick up the next read, and stopped at the Grateful Bread for a coffee and a cookie. 

3 and a half miles, but hey, it got me out of the house.

7.  It's now November, it rains in Seattle, but in between storms and showers, there's still good cycling, and today, 25 miles out to Sunset Hill, the Chittenden Locks, and back via the Ship Canal trail to Byen Bakeri, for a 2X Americano and some amazing goodie with a Scandinavian name that had sugar, butter, almond paste and puff pastry, and the clear winner of treats for this year's challenge.

So, that's it.  7 rides.  All on the Blue Riot.  7 coffees, all at independent stores, some with excellent bakeries.   All rides took place on Planet Earth, and in all instances, I kept to the Spirit of Coffeeneuring, even on those two excursions that were scheduled group rides.  Our gratitude, thanks and admiration for the Goddess of Coffeeneuring, and once again it is an honor participate with the international community of coffeeneurs in harmony, peace, goodwill, and friendship.   

No Chilly Hilly for Me!

Woke up, looked outside at the rain, the cold (35 degrees F!), saw the breeze, and decided, no.

I wasn't alone in not going.

Here We Go Again

How many times have I done this ride? I've got a record in Garmin Connect from 2010, a ride report from 2008, but am sure that was not the first time.   What I do know is, I don't need the map.

Chilly Hilly is always an adventure of some sort, and this year the weather is supposed to live up to it name.  I've pedaled about 125 miles this year so far, with 3,400 ft of elevation gain, and will add to that before next Sunday.    Here we go again.

2016 in the Rear View Mirror

52 miles on the last two days of 2016 were my attempts to get the New Year off to a better start than 2016, a difficult year for all on a global level, with too many losses to bear and the national prospects dim and foreboding.

I rode about 300 fewer miles in 2016 than the previous year,  the result of travel, both for work and family.  By far, the best reason to travel was to see our first grandchild, Miles in San Francisco.  And, while traveling, I got to bike in Brooklyn, Denver and Austin, the latter two using their Bike Share programs.   For the first year in the last four, I was not able to complete the Coffeeneuring challenge, but still had fun doing so.

The Blue Riot took me to Portland on the STP, and I rode over the Columbia River in Pasco, Washington.  One of the clear highlights of the year was the Emerald City ride, over the newly constructed 520 bridge on the first day the span was opened, a celebration with 7,000 others.  And, of course, there was the Chilly Hilly on a cold and wet day last February, a ride that normally lives up to the name.

For the year, my mileage totaled 2,568 miles, plus or minus, gained about 113,000 in elevation, and actually rode 85 times. Longest one day ride was Day One of the STP, 116 miles, exceeding the CTS Century and Kent-Enumclaw loop, both part of the Cascade Training Series where I volunteered as a Cascade Ride Leader.

I stayed healthy, stayed upright on the bike, and aside from the Coffeeneuring challenge, had no DNFs.   Those are victories.   The Rivendell Bleriot continues to be my go-to bike, for recreational and sight seeing rides, for the occasion commute, century, mosey or two-wheeled therapy session. Here's to more of the same, only more so, in 2017.

2016 Coffeeneuring - An Incomplete

The 2016 Coffeeneuring Challenge took me to a number of new cafes, bakeries, and outlets.  While I didn’t complete the requisite 7 trips, due to a number of factors, including travel, weather, other responsibilities and distractions, I had fun, rode with friends, enjoyed coffee and goodies.

Here’s the list:

Preseason Coffeeneuring on the Kitsap Color Classic at Viking Brew in Poulsbo, on September 25.  2X Americano at about halfway on a 57 mile jaunt.   Good pick me up when I could use one.

Coffeeneuring #1 - Zeitgeist Coffee in Pioneer Square in Seattle.  October 8.   2X Americano and a molasses cookie.  A rainy day and they let me bring my bike inside.  Always bike friendly, always great coffee

Coffeeneuring #2 - Iced latte at Mellow Johnny’s in Austin, Texas on October 15.  Yes, this is Lance’s bike shop, which I visited while on business in Austin.   Rented a bike using the Austin Bike Share program, toodled around Lady Bird Lake.   

Coffeeneuring #3 was completed on October 22, as part of the Seattle Pastry Rides series, one of Cascade Bike Club’s free group rides.   We rode from Gas Works Park, down along Lake Washington, and then up to Beacon Hill, before dropping into the SoDo neighborhood to Macrina Bakery.   Here’s a map.  2X Americano and an apple turnover.   Lots of bikes, lots of riders, and the bakery was even more crowded with the Sounders match nearby.   

The next weekend, on October 30, the Pastry Ride Series continued, and this time in the North End.  We stopped at Grand Pere Bakery in Mountlake Terrace.     Best goodie of the series, an almond croissant as big as a baseball glove, and another 2X Americano to keep me going as the rain started. Coffeeneuring #4.  

Coffeeneuring #5, November 6, I got separated from the group on a ride out to Alki Point in West Seattle, but stopped at Top Pot Doughnuts to regroup and refuel, coffee and bacon maple bar.  37 miles, and well worth it.  

Then, life happened.  I didn’t ride for a couple of weeks.   Rainy weekends, no time during the week due to this thing called a job, family obligations, and national events were distracting, to say the least. Finally, back on the bike in the rain on November 20, but the last coffeeneuring, past the deadline, was last weekend, November 27.  A North End loop, and a stop at Larsen’s in Crown Hill, for a pick-me-up before heading back in the drizzle.

Yes, that’s seven rides in total for coffee this fall, but not within the time frame allowed, so no completion of the challenge this year, after having done so in the past four years.  

A bit of a disappointment, but the spirit of coffeeneuring continues into Winter and the New Year. Always be coffeeneuring!