Coffeeneuring 2015 Wrap-Up

This is a post with the sole purpose of recycling and recounting. Shameless self-promotion. "Hey, read my blog posts again!"

Recylcing (links to original posts):

It's over.

Shop 1: Devout Coffee (previously visited ...recycled)
Shop 2: The Cool Bean Cafe
Shop 3: Panama Red
Shop 4: Sunol Railway Cafe
Shop 5: Sugarie Bake Shop (previously visited ...recycled)
Shop 6: Pacific Bay Coffee
Shop 7: The Bubble Tree Cafe
Control Card: Here

Recounting:

Except for the Cool Bean, all the coffee shops were relatively close to home.

My Top Three Overall (coffee and "the experience")

1. Devout Coffee - cool place, cool people, good coffee, happy to talk about coffee, nice town
2. Sugarie - cool people, good pastries, good coffee, close to home
3. Cool Bean - cool place, good coffee, cool people, halo effect from Yosemite trip

Total mileage: 130 miles

And the answers to the questions you all want to ask:

What's with the duck?

Mendo, and the stunt-doubles

Well, really it's a failed attempt at doing something clever. I have a stuffed monkey that I take on cycling trips and have created a whole story around him. I cloned the Coffeeneuring interactive map and use it to track his travels. Next I plan to find his original owner and return the monkey along with this amazing story of where it's been. Cool, eh? Mendo the coffeeneuring rubber ducky was a spontaneous idea along the same lines. The monkey was scheduled to be elsewhere for much of the coffeeneuring challenge, so I couldn't use him. So the duck substituted for the monkey. 

Sorry you asked?

Why Coffeeneuring?

CycloMonkey loves coffee!

This is Mary's question to all of us. Two years ago, I was not a coffee drinker. But my cycling hobby had evolved to be my primary mode of transportation. So I was waking up at 5am for a two-hour commute a few times a week. That left me rather sleepy at work, so I started with a half-cup of coffee for the caffeine and grew from there. I figured if I was going to drink coffee, I'd rather drink good coffee and had better learn about it. That's one part of the answer: I wanted to learn more about coffee. A forced taste-testing event served that purpose.

A second part is that I'm a little nerdy (perhaps geeky) and have an abnormal affinity for checklists, accumulating logs of things, record-keeping, or most any form of organizing things. Much like my involvement in Randonneuring, I like to look at the list of things I've accomplished. So here was a chance to display my list to others who also might appreciate a list.

Part and parcel with my nerdiness is general introversion, introspection and creativity in need of an outlet. Facebook and blogging allow me to pretend to be extroverted at a nice, safe distance. So I suspected that I might get a captive audience in this Coffeeneuring group and I might get some pre-made topics on which to write. More practice at writing. More practice at cell-phone photography. And low and behold, I may have gained some friends ...well, acquaintances. Can I get a "like" or a "+1" for that?

Why Food Pairing?

Coffee, like wine or beer, can be very complex and varied. I've had good food with good coffee and the combination made both taste a little off. Look it up, it's a thing. I'm a believer. When is the cycling and donut challenge?

Was There a Theme Within a Theme?

Yes, did you miss it? Actually, I had hoped that one would evolve. So I sub-titled my rides with something and the name of the coffee shop. Nothing clever evolved. So no, there was ultimately no theme within a theme - except for the rubber ducky. If you can find some creative theme, leave a comment.

Thanks for indulging me.

Mendo's Coffeeneuring Challenge 2015 - Day 5

Sugarie and Their Favorite Bike

Most of my coffeeneuring stops have been places I've never visited before. But Sugarie is a favorite. The owner really seems to like my Soma single-speed bike (belt drive, disk brakes). Once, when I rode my Volagi, I don't think he recognized me. Otherwise, it's a very welcoming, friendly, hometown place. And yummy!

### Coffeeneuring Control Stop #5 ###

DATE: 10/24/15
DRINKS: Cappuccino and Espresso
MILEAGE: 4.7 miles
COFFEE SHOP: Sugarie Bake Shop

BACKGROUND: Russ and Natalie started baking French Macarons (which are different than Macaroons) and selling door-to-door. That led to catering and eventually the shop two miles from my house. It's very French, and it's very much about pasteries, first, but the coffee is quite good, too.

COFFEE REVIEW: The plan was to have something with milk so they could show their latte artistry. The cappuccino was soothing and yummy, big cup. Artistry was just so-so, too frothy to qualify for a better score. I'm not a cappuccino or latte kind of guy, usually, so I don't have much of a frame of reference for a useful review. Yummy enough, that I wanted to stay around and have something more.

Round two was an espresso. I'm not an espresso guy, either - generally too bitter. But this was quite good. Not too bitter, but smoky and edgy yet still enjoyable. The chrome espresso cup was cool, too.

I've been here many times before and usually just have coffee. The Peter James they get from Fremont already ground and it's a single-origin from Costa Rica. Thumbs up for that. Their espresso bean is a secret.

FOOD PAIRING: Two rounds of coffee meant two rounds of pastries! The aroma was wonderful as soon as I walked in, just minutes after they opened. Most of the freshly baked pasteries were still cooling on the racks instead of steaming up the case. The scones came out just after I arrived. Very tempting but I thought the berry flavors might not work well with my coffee choices. So, for the cappuccino, I chose the kouign amann, which is buttery like a croissant but also sugary and crunchier. Both were light and airy, very easy on the palate. Big gulps, big bites and gone too quickly! For the espresso, I chose the mini éclair. About the size of Mendo, it seemed harmless. I thought the chocolate would match the strength of the espresso and I was right, but the abundance of the cream filling was the real kicker - fabulous pairing. I could stay there all day.

BIKE AMBIANCE: The shop is in a strip mall and they've done their best to make an outdoor seating area like you'd find in Paris, but that doesn't leave much room for more than perhaps two bikes. Otherwise, it's fine. The decorations were decidedly Francophile, but not TdF-ophile.

DUCK'S VIEW: It never ceases to amaze me how easily people accept a grown man carrying around a rubber duck and taking too many photos. Mendo was allowed to "swim" in a display jar of green coffee beans. The decor suited him well: much distressed white, chrome and black. You may noticed the orange "Field Notes" memo book in the background. I've started carrying it and using the "bullet journal" method for organizing and journaling - highly recommend both. The orange version is called the "Expedition Edition" and it's waterproof. Both the color and the water resistance go well with Mendo.

THE BIKE: Soma, see Day 1 post.

THE RIDE: In keeping with the Coffeeneuring spirit, the ride was all about the coffee. Just a quick spin down Main Street past the farmer's market and straight to Sugarie. No frills, no detours. The weather was cloudy and cool but promised to be a rather nice, 50-60-degree fall day. Perfect for coffee. Straight home by a hillier route. Yes, it's more of a struggle on a single-speed but two rounds of coffee didn't hurt.

INSERT THEME HERE: Perhaps today's theme is brightness. My new Field Notes book, Mendo, my "Traffic Master" jersey, the sunny disposition of the Sugarie owners and the atmosphere of the shop. I titled the post with "Their Favorite Bike" because the owner usually mentions my bike.

Coffeeneuring Control Card

Verified and Validated Exclusively by Coffeeneurs USA

Checkpoint 1:_ Devout Coffee	Arrival Time:
Address:______ 37323 Niles Blvd, Fremont, CA	(24 Hr. format)
Open/Close:___ 07:00 / 09:00	08:30
Distance:_____ 29.8 miles	Oct. 3, 2015
Checkpoint 2:_ The Cool Bean Cafe	Arrival Time:
Address:______ 40120 Hwy 42, Oakhurst, CA	(24 Hr. format)
Open/Close:___ 07:00 / 09:00	07:01
Distance:_____ 3.2 miles	Oct. 10, 2015
Checkpoint 3:_ Panama Red	Arrival Time:
Address:______ 2115 1st Street, Livermore, CA	(24 Hr. format)
Open/Close:___ 07:00 / 09:00	08:07
Distance:_____ 20.7 miles	Oct. 17, 2015
Checkpoint 4:_ Sunol Railway Cafe	Arrival Time:
Address:______ 11882 Main St, Sunol, CA	(24 Hr. format)
Open/Close:___ 07:00 / 09:00	08:10
Distance:_____ 15.6 miles	Oct. 18, 2015
Checkpoint 5:_ Sugarie Bake Shop	Arrival Time:
Address:______ 3500 Bernal Ave. #155, Pleasanton, CA	(24 Hr. format)
Open/Close:___ 09:00 / 11:00	09:01
Distance:_____ 4.7 miles	Oct. 24, 2015
Checkpoint 6:_ Pacific Bay Coffee	Arrival Time:
Address:______ 1495 Newell Ave, Walnut Creek, CA	(24 Hr. format)
Open/Close:___ 08:00 / 10:00	08:23
Distance:_____ 46.8 miles	Oct. 31, 2015
Checkpoint 7:_ The Bubble Tree Cafe	Arrival Time:
Address:______ 3120-B Santa Rita Rd., Pleasanton, CA	(24 Hr. format)
Open/Close:___ 09:00 / 11:00	09:23
Distance:_____ 9.3 miles	Nov. 1, 2015

CUSA Member #: 0654

Last Name:          Nelson

First Name:          Todd

RIDER's signature at FINISH: _____________________________________ 

This ride was done in: __5_ weeks, __7_ rides, __130.1_ miles.