Coffeeneuring Challenge 2015

My coffeeneuring exploits for 2015 felt low key relative to previous years. Not too much social interaction, only one beverage with high end latte art, and a couple of coffee purchases made at cyclocross races. Plus, there was a trip to a local park to test out my camping-stovetop espresso setup!



No. 1 was in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday the 3rd of October. Rode about a mile from my friends' home to 16 Tons Cafe (where they now use roasts from Eugene's own Wandering Goat Coffee, rather than Portland's Water Avenue Coffee). After a cappuccino and pastry, I continued to the U of O's Schnitzer Museum of Art, where tango friend Olga Volchkova's beautiful iconography is currently being exhibited. I tacked on an additional 20-or-so miles out to Clearwater Park in Springfield and saw a songwriter/guitarist composing on a park bench overlooking the Middle Fork of the Willamette River.

After returning to my friends' home, I DJ'd a tango event that night. Total bike mileage for the day: 29.5



No. 2: Rode 3 miles from home on Saturday, October 10th to the Cross Crusade cyclocross race at the Alpenrose Dairy. Purchased a cup of joe from Nossa Familia Roasters, who had a tent set up with a huge French press. "Raced" (if you want to call it that) for about 9 miles (4 laps), then rode back home via West Coast Drinkery and New Seasons Market. Total mileage for the day: 16.6



No. 3 (Sunday, October 25): McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant and Bar is ridiculously close to my home (like 0.2 miles!), and that's where Bartender/friend Steve efficiently made me a tasty Spanish Coffee (that I took out to the patio in the rain to photograph with my Surly). I then extended this cofffeeneuring expedition by riding over to Kohl's afterwards (utilitaire style) to buy some bedding. Total mileage was the minimum 2.0!



No. 4 took place in Bend, OR on Saturday, October 31st. I rode a mile from my friend Joyce's home to the Deschutes Brewery facilities in Bend's Old Mill District, where Cross Crusade Series (Race #4) was happening. It was a very challenging and windy course! Local roasters Backporch Coffee Roasters had a tent sent up where they sold bags of beans. They included a free cup of coffee with my purchase.

Total mileage (including the race) was 13, about 4 of which I'll call 'coffeeneuring.'



No. 5 (Saturday, November 7): After 100+ kilometers of riding the Verboort Populaire, I headed back into Forest Grove to forage for a coffee shop. I needn't have ridden into the center of town center, as BJ's Coffee Company was fairly close to where most of us parked for the populaire (a couple miles from the finish). Ordered a mocha with whipped cream, as the barista thought that would look more photogenic than his attempt at latte art. Coffeeneuring portion of this drizzly day was about 6 miles.



No. 6 (Sunday, November 8): This is how I used to coffeeneur, all the time ... go to a high end coffee house near the center of Portland, enjoy an espresso beverage with great latte art, then head on to my weekly tango practica. The establishment I chose on this occasion was Coffeehouse Northwest where I consumed part of the novel "Birdsong" by Sebastian Faulks along with a beautiful latte. Put my bike on the Max (light rail) for portions of the day's journey, but still pedaled 7.4 miles.



No. 7 (Saturday, November 14): Something new in my coffee world ... stovetop espresso with a backpacking-sized camping stove. I've had the stovetop unit forever, but had to go out and purchase the burner and fuel earlier in the week. The ride out to Beaverton's Center Street Park was a little under 2 miles, and once set up, the espresso-making process worked okay. Because of the wind, heating the water to a boil took a lot longer than the trial run at home. But the mission (complete with a drinkable beverage) was accomplished! Mileage: 3.7.


And that's it for this year's coffeeneuring challenge. There were moments when I didn't think I'd get it done. But between incorporating a couple cyclocross races, (plus a trip to the bar down the street), I think this year's version is now complete!

This photoset is also here on Flickr!

extreme coffeeneuring documentation fianlly finished!

Six months after the I threw in the towel, meaning six months after I decided that visiting 110 distinct coffee shops by bike over the course of 94 weekends was enough, I finally consolidated all the photo documentation into one place. During the last half of that coffeeneuring project, I had grown increasingly fond of Instagram, and used the hashtag #pdxcoffeeneur to identify my exploits through that medium.

In the meantime, Flickr languished in inattention. That is generally where I most thoroughly account for things photographically. (Too thoroughly, some might say). But with all those miles on the bike, and all that tango, plus my full time day gig, (plus an unattended-to 2/3 acre at home), I fell about a year behind on Flickr uploads.

But then I got grounded! My hernia recurred. The meniscus in my knee got too painful to ride and dance. The upside, though, was that I got to re-familiarize myself with Flickr. So through most of November, December, and some of January, I finally consolidated all those pictures of latte art (with bike parts in the background) into one photo set.

By the way, there's a caption associated with each coffee shop that indicates miles ridden that day. Many captions have links to their respective coffeehouses. After all, this was real coffeeneuring! And if you're interested in the list of all 110 coffee stops, it's in a blog post from last July.

Also, I've created a new set on Flickr, called Brewed Beverages by Bike. It includes a few coffee-by-bike pictures that technically aren't coffeeneuring (meaning they happened on a weekday, or were a repeat coffee shop). Some of these pictures date back to early 2009, long before the term "coffeeneuring" existed!

So, I hope you enjoy all this coffeeneuring-related tomfoolery!

3rd Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge

My post is up ... at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tangobiker/sets/72157637996670893/.

You have to click on the "information" icon associated with each picture on Flickr to see the descriptive text associated with each image (date, mileage, beverage, etc.).

Documentation's the hardest part!  : )

Personal Coffeeneuring Challenge Finished after 110 Check-ins in 94 Weekends

It all started with Mary Gersemalina’s “Coffeeneuring Challenge” back in the Fall of 2011. Inspired by Joe Platzner’s concept of a leisurely bike ride to enjoy a fine brewed beverage, it proved to be an excellent antidote to Paris–Brest-Paris.


But I guess I needed a much larger antidote than most. In true randonneuring fashion, Mary came up with some rules and guidelines for her challenge. Her challenge lasted only six weeks, as did the second version a year later.

But I never stopped. That is, until this month. Twenty two months (94 weekends) or 110 check-ins later, I finally reached my limit. Of course, there’s an ever evolving list of places to continue the search in this coffee-and-latte-art epicenter known as Portland, Oregon. But the radius was expanding beyond what I could do at a leisurely pace. And more importantly, there are coffeehouses I want to return to rather than continue the exploration.

One aspect of this personal challenge was it’s evolvement from finding bike-friendly coffee establishments to search for exquisite latte art. The documentation isn’t finished yet, although the first 73 checks-ins are here on Flickr. Photos from the remaining check-ins can be found on Instagram with the hashtag #pdxcoffeeneur.

My Flickr updates are several months behind. But eventually, I’ll complete the documentation there. In the meantime, here’s the basic list:

1. Black Bear Coffee Co 831 Bridge St, Vernonia Sat 09/24/11 (wk 1)
2. Floyd's Coffee Shop 1412 SE Morrison St Sun 09/25/11 (wk 1)
3. Heart Coffee Roasters 2211 E Burnside St Sun 10/02/11 (wk 2)
4. Barista 1725 NE Alberta St Sun 10/09/11 (wk 3)
5. Pony Espresso Beaverton Farmers Mkt Sat 10/15/11 (wk 4)
6. Coffeehouse NW 1951 W Burnside St Sun 10/16/11 (wk 4)
7. Stumptown 128 SW 3rd Ave Sun 10/23/11 (wk 5)
8. Trailhead (Ptld Farmers Mkt) NE 7th & Wygant Sun 10/30/11 (wk 6)
9. Three Friends Coffeehouse 201 SE 12th Ave Sun 11/06/11 (wk 7)
10. Zoka Coffee Roasters 2200 N 56th St, Seattle WA Sun 11/13/11 (wk 8)
11. Albina Press 4637 N Albina Ave Sun 11/20/11 (wk 9)
12. Coava Coffee 1300 SE Grand Ave Sun 11/27/11 (wk 10)
13. Kettleman Bagel Company 4704 SW Scholls Ferry Rd Sat 12/03/11 (wk 11)
14. Coffee Cat 107 S College St, Newberg Sat 12/10/11 (wk 12)
15. River City Bicycles (Espresso Bar) 706 SE M L King Blvd Sun 12/11/11 (wk 12)
16. Ava Roasteria 4655 SW Hall Blvd, Bvtn Sat 12/17/11 (wk 13)
17. Water Avenue Coffee Company 1028 SE Water Avenue Sun 12/18/11 (wk 13)
18. Baker & Spice 6330 SW Capitol Highway Sat 12/24/11 (wk 14)
19. Woodlawn Coffee & Pastry 808 NE Dekum Street Sat 12/31/11 (wk 15)
20. Blend Coffee Lounge 2710 N Killingsworth St Sun 01/01/12 (wk 15)
21. Backspace Cafe 115 NW 5th Avenue Sat 01/07/12 (wk 16)
22. Cellar Door Coffee Roasters 2001 SE 11th Ave Sun 01/08/12 (wk 16)
23. Random Order 1800 NE Alberta St Sun 01/15/12 (wk 17)
24. World Cup Coffee NW 18th & Glisan Sat 01/21/12 (wk 18)
25. Crema Coffee + Bakery 2728 SE Ankeny St Sun 01/22/12 (wk 18)
26. Fresh Pot 3729 SE Hawthorne Sun 01/29/12 (wk 19)
27. Clinton Street Coffeehouse 2706 SE 26th Avenue Sun 02/05/12 (wk 20)
28. Albina Press 5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd Sun 02/12/12 (wk 21)
29. Sterling Coffee Roasters 2120 NW Glisan St Sun 02/19/12 (wk 22)
30. Village Coffee 7781 SW Capitol Hwy Sat 02/25/12 (wk 23)
31. Sisters Coffee Company 1235 NW Marshall Street Sun 02/26/12 (wk 23)
32. Moonstruck Chocolate Café Beaverton Town Square Sat 03/03/12 (wk 24)
33. Courier Coffee Roasters 923 SW Oak St Sat 03/10/12 (wk 25)
34. Public Domain 603 SW Broadway 603 Sun 03/11/12 (wk 25)
35. Chatterbox Coffee 530 SW 205th Ave, Bvtn Sat 03/17/12 (wk 26)
36. Green Beans 2300 E Burnside Sun 03/25/12 (wk 27)
37. Oui Presse 1740 SE Hawthorne Blvd Sun 04/01/12 (wk 28)
38. Ristretto Roasters 2181 NW Nicolai Street Sun 04/08/12 (wk 29)
39. Red E Café 1006 N Killingsworth Ave Sun 04/15/12 (wk 30)
40. Caffe Umbria 303 NW 12th Avenue Sun 04/22/12 (wk 31)
41. Stumptown Annex 3352 SE Belmont 3352 SE Belmont St Sat 04/28/12 (wk 32)
42. Grendel's Coffee House 729 E Burnside Sun 04/29/12 (wk 32)
43. New Seasons Market 7300 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy Sat 05/05/12 (wk 33)
44. Ristretto Roasters 3520 NE 42nd Ave Sun 05/13/12 (wk 34)
45. Pearl Bakery 102 NW 9th Ave Sun 05/20/12 (wk 35)
46. Fehrenbacher Hof 1225 SW 19th Ave Sun 05/27/12 (wk 36)
47. Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Co. 2909 NE Alberta Sat 06/09/12 (wk 38)
48. Woodstock Wine & Deli 4030 SE Woodstock Blvd Sat 06/16/12 (wk 39)
49. Java Nation 4130 SW 117th Ave, Bvtn Sun 06/24/12 (wk 40)
50. Cacao 414 SW 13th Ave Sat 06/30/12 (wk 41)
51. Emilie's Dessert Cafe 8680 SW Canyon Rd Sat 07/07/12 (wk 42)
52. Coffee Time 712 NW 21st Ave Sun 07/15/12 (wk 43)
53. Café Allora 504 NW 9th Ave Sat 07/21/12 (wk 44)
54. Coffeehouse Five 740 N Killingsworth Sat 07/28/12 (wk 45)
55. Vivace Coffee House & Creperie 1400 NW 23rd Ave Sun 08/05/12 (wk 46)
56. McCormick's Fish House & Bar 9945 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy Sat 08/11/12 (wk 47)
57. Caffe Artigiano 1100 Robson St, Vancouver, BC Sun 08/19/12 (wk 48)
58. Park Avenue Café 1535 SW Park Ave Sun 08/26/12 (wk 49)
59. Dragonfly 2387 NW Thurman Sat 09/01/12 (wk 50)
60. Maplewood Coffee & Tea 5206 SW Custer St Mon 09/03/12 (wk 50)
61. Full City Coffee Roasters 295 E 13th Ave, Eugene Sun 09/09/12 (wk 51)
62. Blue Kangaroo Coffee Roasters 7901 SE 13th Ave, Sellwood Sat 09/15/12 (wk 52)
63. Spunky Monkey 35 NE 20th Ave Sun 09/16/12 (wk 52)
64. Pepita's Mexican Restaurant 4190 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Bvtn Sat 09/22/12 (wk 53)
65. Marino Adriatic Café 4129 SE Division St Sun 09/23/12 (wk 53)
66. Taste Bistro Café 4440 SW 110th Ave, Bvtn Sun 09/30/12 (wk 54)
67. Insomnia Coffee Co. 2348 NW Amberbrook Drive, Bvtn Sun 10/07/12 (wk 55)
68. Edge Good Coffee 14647 SW Millikan Way Sat 10/13/12 (wk 56)
69. Urban Grind 911 NW 14th Ave Sun 10/14/12 (wk 56)
70. Sesame Donuts 6990 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy Sat 10/20/12 (wk 57)
71. Last Stand Coffee (Uptown Market) 6620 SW Scholls Ferry Rd. Sat 10/27/12 (wk 58)
72. Maggie's Buns 2007 21st Ave, Forest Grove Sat 11/03/12 (wk 59)
73. Golden Valley Brewery 1520 NW Bethany Blvd, Bvtn Sat 11/10/12 (wk 60)
74. Peet's Coffee (in FredMeyer) 11425 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Bvtn Sun 11/18/12 (wk 61)
75. Sterling Coffee Roasters 417 NW 21st Ave Sun 11/25/12 (wk 62)
76. Fresh Pot 724 SW Washington St Sat 12/01/12 (wk 63)
77. Beveland Street Coffee House 7357 SW Beveland Rd, Tigard Sat 12/08/12 (wk 64)
78. St Honore Boulangerie 2335 NW Thurman St Sun 12/16/12 (wk 65)
79. Poppa's Haven 800 NW Murray Blvd, Beaverton Sat 12/22/12 (wk 66)
80. Case Study Coffee 808 SW 10th Ave Sun 12/30/12 (wk 67)
81. Barista Downtown 529 SW 3rd Ave, Unit 110 Sun 01/06/13 (wk 68)
82. Palio Dessert & Espresso House 1996 SE Ladd Ave Sun 01/13/13 (wk 69)
83. Grand Central Bakery 3425 SW Multnomah Blvd Sat 01/19/13 (wk 70)
84. Coffee Renaissance 10206 SW Park Way, Cedar Hills Sat 01/26/13 (wk 71)
85. Corsa Café (in Western Bikeworks) 1015 NW 17th Ave Sun 02/03/13 (wk 72)
86. Insomnia Coffee Co. 5389 W Baseline Rd, Hillsboro Sat 02/09/13 (wk 73)
87. Coffee Rush 900 Main St, Oregon City Sat 02/16/13 (wk 74)
88. See See Motor Coffee Co 1642 NE Sandy Blvd Sun 02/17/13 (wk 74)
89. The Arbor Lodge 1507 N Rosa Parks Way Sat 02/26/13 (wk 75)
90. Anna Bananas 1214 NW 21st Ave Sat 03/02/13 (wk 76)
91. Portland Art Gallery (Trailhead Roasts) 640 SE Stark St Sat 03/09/13 (wk 77)
92. Maglia Rosa (inside West End Bikes) 1111 SW Stark St. Sun 03/17/13 (wk 78)
93. Oblique Coffee Roasters 3039 SE Stark St Sun 03/24/13 (wk 79)
94. Elephants Delicatessen 115 NW 22nd Ave Sun 03/31/13 (wk 80)
95. Uptown Market (Water Ave Roasts) 6620 SW Scholls Ferry Rd. Sat 04/06/13 (wk 81)
96. Anna Bananas 8716 N Lombard St Sat 04/13/13 (wk 82)
97. Clive Coffee 79 SE Taylor St Sat 04/27/13 (wk 84)
98. Common Grounds Coffeehouse 4321 SE Hawthorne Blvd Sun 04/28/13 (wk 84)
99. Fresh Pot 4001 N Mississippi Ave Sun 05/05/13 (wk 85)
100. Extracto 2921 NE Killingsworth St Sat 05/18/13 (wk 87)
101. JoLa Café 5915 SW Corbett Sun 05/19/13 (wk 87)
102. Goodness Coffee House 4925 SW Angel St, Bvtn Sat 05/25/13 (wk 88)
103. Sunny Day Coffee 2310 NW Everett St Sun 05/26/13 (wk 88)
104. Tabor Bread 5051 SE Hawthorne Blvd Sun 06/02/13 (wk 89)
105. Ristretto Roasters 3808 N Williams Sun 06/09/13 (wk 90)
106. Madrona Hill Café 5937 N Greeley Avenue Sat 06/15/13 (wk 91)
107. Ole Latte (Food Cart) 1003 SW Alder St. Sun 06/16/13  (wk 91)
108. 16 Tons Café 2684 Willamette, Eugene Sat 06/22/13 (wk 92)
109. McCloud General Store 105 E Minnesota Ave, McCloud, CA Sun 06/30/13 (wk 93)
110. Jim & Patty's Coffee 4130 SW 117th Ave, Bvtn Sat 07/06/13 (wk 94)

Jim & Patty's seems like a fitting last one, as they returned to Beaverton to a location they once occupied at the original Coffee People. Cool!

Tiny PBP (SW PDX-Boring-PDX) 100k Permanent #1883

From Uptown Market on Scholls Ferry Road (near Allen Blvd) in SW Portland, this 62-miler does a counter-clockwise loop through West Linn, Oregon City, Boring, the Springwater Corridor, the Riverview Cemetery and the Fanno Creek Trail. According to my Garmin Edge, elevation gain is 3228 feet.

 
The route sheet is here on Google Drive, as is the registation form. You may email billalsup_at_yahoo.com if you're interested in riding this for RUSA credit.

Tigard-Albany-Tigard 225k Permanent #1217

Starting at the Sesame Donuts at Hall Blvd & Hwy 99 in Tigard (not the one in Raleigh Hills), this 140-miler does a counter-clockwise loop from Wilsonville to Salem and Independence (southbound) before checking in at Calapooia Brewing in Albany (or a nearby convenience store if you prefer), then returns mostly East of I-5 to Wilsonville, then Tigard. Elevation gain: 3058 feet.

The route sheet is here on Google docs. Email billalsup@yahoo.com if you're interested in riding this for RUSA credit.

Eugene to Beaverton 200k Permanent #1177

Starting at Full City Coffee Roasters in Downtown Eugene (or nearby Starbucks for a slightly earlier start), this 126-mile route stays mostly East of I-5 through the towns of Brownsville, Lebanon, Scio, Stayton, Woodburn and Tigard (including the Fanno Creek Trail) before its terminus at the Beaverton Town Square. The Beaverton Transit Center is less than a mile from the end for easy access to much of Greater Portland. Total elevation gain is 2277 feet.

The route sheet is here on Google docs. Email billalsup@yahoo.com if you're interested in riding this for RUSA credit.