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 6

Pacific  Bay Coffee for Professionals

Saturday, way too early, and it's dark and cold. My coffee destination is over 20 miles away. This is like my daily commute. My wife seems confused as I shuffle around in the dark, getting ready to go at a time when I normally drift back to sleep. It's one of my many gifts: I can always go back to sleep. Therefore, I'm the one who normally feeds the cats at a quarter to dark in the morning - as I did today. And again, I suspect, tomorrow since the cats have no concept of daylight savings time. Nonetheless, it's time to ride!

### Coffeeneuring Control Stop #6 ###

DATE: 10/31/15
DRINKS: Italian dark roast (drip) and Cappuccino
MILEAGE: 46.8 miles
COFFEE SHOP: Pacific Bay Coffee

BACKGROUND: As a "micro-roastery", I was intrigued. They were founded in 2004 and roast their beans on-site. Pastries are out-sourced, but that's fine.

COFFEE REVIEW: I went with the darkest roast in the pots, which was the Italian. It was good, a little strong but not bitter. Nothing particularly distinguishable but maybe that the point of a blend.
I hung around long enough to have seconds. This time I went with a cappuccino just to see the barista's pattern. It was pretty good, nice fine features.

FOOD PAIRING: Expecting a bold coffee, I went with the big oat bar which seemed like a bowl of granola with raisins, yum. It was a nice match for the dark roast, but also in "the blend" category. Fine, but not fabulous (but also not awful).

BIKE AMBIANCE: I came upon the cafe from the east, recognizing the sixties architecture of the strip mall. It was right across the intersection from the hospital, a fairly busy intersection but a few blocks from the busier pedestrian area. I set my bike next to the water bowl set out for dogs, in an area extending into the diagonal parking. It felt exposed but at least it was visible from the seating. So generally positive marks for bike friendliness.

DUCK'S VIEW: The shop wasn't too busy, so it was easy to find a table with a view of the bike but it also faced another couple sitting against the window. Nice enough people, but Mendo was a bit shy. Nonetheless, he posed for a few photos and blended well with the decor. There was an air of work among the customers, not quite the slumbering weekend morning. A doctor, some guy seriously studying his notes, no kids. Overall, the warmth wasn't there.

THE BIKE: Volagi, see Day 1 post.

THE RIDE: As mentioned up top, I got up and out under the cover of darkness. The stars and the planets were out and it was definitely cold. There were a few brave cyclists out, their LED headlights giving them away. I cruised through town, watching the farmers set up for the market. I spent as little time as possible on public roads, veering over to the iron horse trail for most of the ride.

The first ten miles or so were in the open, but the sun had not yet risen. About halfway, the sun was rising but the trees had crept in closer to the trail. That left me to watch the shadows drop slowly until finally the sun was upon me and I could warm up. The short stretches between road crossings meant that I never really got warmed up by cycling. But hey, it's a coffee run. Besides the coffee to warm me up, I knew that the temps going back would rise fairly quickly.

PROFESSIONALISM: Aside from the professionals who were customers, the friendliness of the staff fell on the professional side, too. I can't say anything bad about the guy at the cash register or the barista, they did everything I expected. But nothing that I didn't. Could have been at an office supply store (and I LOVE office supply stores, but the employees don't seem to share my feeling). I was actually surprised that the barista said "thanks" when I complimented his artwork.

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.