Mendo's Coffeeneuring Challenge 2015 - Day 3

Cloudy with a Shot of Panama Red

Sometimes, coffee can't fix the grumpies. I woke up a 6am, having set my alarm to feed the cats. I was profoundly tired: 200 miles of bike commuting, too little sleep (teenager home from college... oh, the stories). The skies were dark, as was my mood but I was optimistic that CC#3 would help.

### Coffeeneuring Control Stop #3 ###

DATE: 10/17/2015
DRINKS: "Panama Red" - coffee with a shot of espresso
MILEAGE: 20.7 miles
COFFEE SHOP: Panama Red Coffee Co., 2115 1st Street, Livermore, CA

BACKGROUND: They started in 1993 as Panama Bay Coffee Company and now have six locations in the Bay Area. I don't know much more other than they claim to have "rock star baristas!"

COFFEE REVIEW: They offer the usual coffee shop range, but their signature cup is "Panama Red" which is regular coffee with a shot of espresso. Apparently, you can get it as a "red eye" or a "black eye" depending on one shot or two - I went with one. I'd give it a thumbs-up. The coffee itself was pretty good and I could taste the little shot of espresso hiding in there. I forgot to ask about the base coffee (the website says it is a pour-over, but they served me from a pot), but it was medium and well balanced.

Since I sat outside, I didn't get any follow-on conversation with the rock star. I mean barista.

FOOD PAIRING: The iced cranberry scone was light enough to not bother the medium coffee flavor. The hit of sweetness from the icing was just enough to counter the espresso aftertaste.

BIKE AMBIANCE: I'm sure my review is more negative than others would give for two reasons: my foul mood and the dog whose owner said "he doesn't like bikes." Really? So I didn't park my bike by the *other bike* but rather on the 1st street side. This felt rather exposed, so I can't give high marks for bike friendliness. But I could see it from inside while I ordered and there was a table close by, outside. But that put me away from the other people sitting outside, without the social opportunities.

DUCK'S VIEW: Mendo was in a much better mood than me and really liked sitting outside. He also was quite enamored with the barista with her pink hair and nose-ring. She loves it there, thinks their coffee is fantastic and most of the barista's are working on their latte art - she does an awesome heart (I saw the previous customer's). Mendo also loves sitting outside and doesn't mind the lack of conversation - rubber duckies can't talk.

I had forgotten that Mendo can't stay upright when he floats. Hence, there will be no photos of Mendo floating in coffee (unless I get a stunt duck ...I have several to choose from). Regardless, high marks on this place from Mendo.

THE BIKE: Volagi, see Day 1 post.

THE RIDE: The skies were dramatic, but not threatening so I kept catching glimpses of photo-worthy sunrises. That lured me up side streets and hills for better vistas - only to think "not so great." I don't live in Livermore, so there and back was twenty miles with some reasonable hills. Not too many cyclists out, but the soccer field was packed - I'm sure plenty of Starbuck's were there, too.


Note: Inspired by Ms. Coffeeneur herself, I attempted a timer-selfie-action-shot-photo. Clearly, I need more practice - oh, a pun clearly!

Controversy. On the very last turn before getting home, I'm waiting in the left turn lane. The light is red and I know it will never give me a left turn arrow. A nice lady is crossing in front of me from the left. I can see the walk light counting down from 20-something. So I turn after she passes and use the crosswalk to the sidewalk rather than wait. Is that okay? I hear her say "it's a red light" in a calm but condescending way. Why did she feel compelled to say that. Before "the tone" hit me, I said politely, "I know, I'm using the crosswalk." But for the next two blocks home, I got more and more annoyed. Why do people get so bothered by cyclists? True, I don't follow all the rules - but the ones I bend are only because I feel safer with my choice than what the rules dictate. Didn't help my mood.

CycloMonkey's Weekend in the Valley

As a certain monkey makes friends and becomes more popular, it's nice to have a quiet weekend at home. But not this weekend. No. If you look at a map of California, there's a big emptiness between the ocean and the mountains. That's the Central Valley.

Almost Yosemite

With what seems like millions of other people, CycloMonkey, my wife and I hopped in the car and started driving towards that barren wasteland of nothingness that straddles Highway 99. Stop. Go. Stop again. 20mph. Stop. Big trucks. Less and less civilization. Less and less trees or even signs of life. Then uphill. Yes, this would make a nice bike route if there was a shoulder, fewer cars and cooler temperatures. Finally, we arrive at Oakhurst, California, at the intersection of Highway 49 and Highway 41.

Oakhurst is a gold-rush-era town on the southern edge of Yosemite National Park. We are here for two reasons:
1. The Yosemite Half Marathon, which my wife will run.
2. Ride #2 of my Coffeeneuring Challenge

Coffeeneuring features another anthropomorphized friend of mine: Mendo, the rubber ducky. As you might expect, CycloMonkey should avoid caffeine. So he is less than ideal for a partner in this. And with his recent surge in popularity, cannot be counted on to clear his calendar for these sedate little rides to coffee shops.

But he's rather unselfish and was happy to endure the long hours in the car. The first order of business, of course, is the half marathon. And that meant waking up before 4am so that my wife could catch the bus taking the runners up into the mountains for the start.

The upside of waking up well before dawn in a town with clear, mountain air and no smog, is the view of the planets aligned outside our hotel window!

The moon, Jupiter, Mars (faintly), Venus (bright) and Regulus (very faint) - taken with my cell phone!

Many of the establishments here are named Southgate Something due to the proximity of the south gate into Yosemite. And there are bears everywhere! Fortunately, the live bears hide up in the hills, so mostly there are just these carved, wooden bears that seem harmless.

I won't bore you with details of the race, the coffee or the hot, dry ride home. With Saturday in the books, we turned out attention to Sunday. Rest up, because we are heading back to the Central Valley again!

Bike Ride

At 6:30am on Sunday morning, CycloMonkey and I headed out in the cool, crisp air to meet our riding partners for the twelfth of my twelve consecutive monthy 200km randonneur rides. This ride would qualify me for the R-12 award. This would also be CycloMonkey's very first 200km ride - mostly due to my preference to carry food rather than monkeys in my limited number of pockets. But now I have a small bag for my top tube which freed up my middle jersey pocket. It's the perfect size for a limber and compressible monkey.

Since my jersey fabric wicks moisture away from my body, I worried about CycloMonkey absorbing said same moisture. So his "jersey" was a old plastic newspaper bag. One shot of espresso and we were off!

The streets were relatively quiet at 7am. CycloMonkey's view out the back consisted mostly of our familiar riding buddies. Will was there on the day CycloMonkey found us in Santa Cruz. Steven took CycloMonkey to Europe, so they're old friends. Bumha and Kenny would become old friends by the end of this long day.

The 200km "permanent" rides follow a predetermined route with specific control stops. The controls are usually spaced out about 30 miles apart or whenever it is convenient. The trip over the hills and into the Central Valley leave long gaps without much civilization, so the first control stop was about mile 45. By the second, at mile 61, we were almost halfway - time for a soothing creme soda.

Not frozen today.

Halfway would generally be a good time for lunch. But the control at roughly two-thirds is an oasis in the wilderness called The Junction. It is located where three roads meet: Del Puerto Canyon (our route from the Central Valley), San Antonio Valley (south to Mount Hamilton), and Mines Road (back to where we started). The little grill there serves beer and basic lunch food but it tastes awesome after many hours in the saddle. And you just can't there without spending many hours in the saddle. So we opted to skip lunch and head up the canyon.

From our control stop at the Patterson exit off Interstate 5, we headed west into the hottest, driest part of our ride. On my Garmin, I recorded 107 degrees (F). We went for miles and miles with very little shade or vegetation, slowly climbing. The road has huge numbers painted every mile, to aid airplanes in rescuing dehydrated cyclists. My memory has already faded in three days, but I believe around mile 18 or 19 is a natural spring. There is a small spigot of cold water (free!). Apparently, you'll get your daily requirement of magnesium from this water - but it tastes great.

A mile later, the climb got steeper, unrelenting for several more miles. But no bother, The Junction is right over the top! With the proverbial monkey on my back, I crested the summit before my compatriots. And I wanted the first beer. Somehow, I managed to hold off the chasers and arrived at the locked gate first! Wait, locked? Oh no! They are closed! I knew the owner had recently had surgery and was not keeping consistent hours - but how could this be!

Cheers on your accomplishment

Undeterred (because we had no other option), we carried on back to civilization. That meant about 30 more miles, however. Along the way, we hatched a plan to visit Altamont Beer Works in Livermore (thank you, Will).

Some may think that drinking beer during a long bike ride is crazy. I'd say "crazy refreshing!" CycloMonkey is of the opinion that it isn't wise. And he resisted. But as you can tell, there was plenty of cheering for CycloMonkey's first 200k. Well, it was rather hot. And he wasn't driving. And the "brown" was served with nitrogen instead of carbonization if that matters (looked cool, anyway). So he thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps the second was ill-advised.

Back in his newspaper bag and back out into the heat we went. Fortunately, the remaining few miles were flat and the headwind was minimal. Except for Bumha's flat tire, the day was a complete success.

Finally, we arrived back at the Starbuck's where we had started. This was also the finish control. One cookie for me, one cookie for CycloMonkey.

Personally, I'm rather tired. The day would end for me with slightly over 142 miles. But one of those last miles was a detour to drop off CycloMonkey at our friend John's house. Seems that John has a little surprise for which he wouldn't provide any details. Is it some exotic trip? Is it to meet a man in a yellow hat?

Curious?

CycloMonkey in Livermore, CA

Things went so well on our trip to Sunol, that we decided to venture a little ways in the other direction. That would be Livermore, to the east. Still, not too far. The one thing about Livermore, compared to Sunol, is that it's rather exposed and can get quite hot. I was a bit slow getting going, but it was still early enough to be at a comfortable temperature. Whether my jersey pocket stayed comfortable or not, CycloMonkey didn't say. But nothing around here compares to an actual jungle, so my furry little friend was fine.

I opted for a "mostly bike paths" route and avoided whatever busy streets I could. I also took my single-speed bike and consequently avoided any big hills. CycloMonkey was a bit disappointed in that last decision, but whatever. After a brief tour of old town Pleasanton and then the vineyards near Ruby Hills, we detoured onto a path that lead to Wente Vineyards. It was a surprisingly bumpy bike path. No nausea, no worries. After that, we headed to the Holdener Park trail. At certain times of the year, there are llamas grazing. Again, the disappointment on CycloMonkey's face was apparent - if you know what to look for. No llamas today. No wildlife at all, really.

with Mt. Diablo in the background

Holdener Park crests a little knoll that provides some nice views of the Tri-Valley area - particularly of Mt. Diablo. That particular ascent was not in the cards today, certainly not with my single-speed. But it filled CycloMonkey's cottony brain with new aspirations for adventure.

From that trail to another, through Livermore and back to Pleasanton, we stopped as we did yesterday, at Tully's for coffee. This time we were surprised to meet some of my Cycleholic friends. CycloMonkey loves to meet new people, and Mike and Andrea were friendly, and curious about CycloMonkey. Thanks to the transparency of social media, they recognized him and already knew a bit about him. But there's nothing like meeting someone face to face to really get to know them. It's great to make new friends!

Sitting nearby was a man with a dog. CycloMonkey has seen way too many dogs in his time, but most were fine and this one was on a leash. Then the man came over and asked if one of us would mind holding the leash while he went in for coffee. So I did. CycloMonkey attempted to introduce himself but Sparky (the dog) was having an anxiety attack because the man was inside. Sparky was some sort of little Spaniel with white fur and light brown patches, long curly ears and a little stub of a tail going crazy. Perhaps "anxiety attack" paints the wrong picture, he was okay, he was happy, but clearly he wants nothing other than to be with that particular man. CycloMonkey, of course, is not so desperately attached to any human. After a hard summer fending for himself, he's comfortable and confident - appreciative of human company - but not defined by it.

Once the man return, my friends headed off to lunch while CycloMonkey and I headed home. Another uneventful ride to build confidence, venture slightly farther away and whet the appetite for broader vistas.