Coffeeneuring Ride No. 3: Brickyard Coffee & Tea (San Diego, CA)

Where: Brickyard Coffee & Tea

• Address: 675 W G St., San Diego, CA
• Website: https://www.facebook.com/Brickyard.Coffee.Tea
• Bike friendliness: Didn't find any nearby bike racks, though the outdoor seating allowed people to keep their bikes with them (as I saw one patron do), and one of the staff kept a bike in the back. I was able to lock up to a lone parking meter.
• Other notable information: Open daily from 6am to 2pm. The 2pm closing time is weird to me, though I remember seeing this in one neighborhood when I was visiting Baltimore. The vast majority of the coffee shops in my life have been open at least until the evening.

Date: Sunday, October 19, 2014

Drink: Latte

Total Mileage: ~5.5 miles overvall (~3.9 meandering miles from The Bike Revolution to Little Italy to Brickyard Coffee & Tea)

Photo Verification:

Also easily accessible by the Green Line. In fact, I found the place
because I saw it while I was passing by on the way to my conference

Coffeeneuring Ride No. 2: Baked & Wired (Washington, DC)

Where: Baked & Wired

• Address: 1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, Washington DC
• Website: http://bakedandwired.com
• Bike friendliness: Don't appear to be any racks nearby, but there are some parking meters as well as a fence that people use to lock up their bikes.
• Other notable information: There appears to be a book exchange on one of the shelves toward the rear of the shop. At least I hope it's a book exchange, because I left a paperback there for any takers.

Date: Sunday, October 5, 2014

Drink: Mocha

Total Mileage: 8.78 miles overall (6.54 miles Home to Baked & Wired)

Photo Verification:

I came for the cupcakes, but I stayed for the quiche

Coffeeneuring Ride No. 1: Tryst Coffee (Washington, DC)

Where: Tryst Coffee

• Address: 2459 18th St. NW, Washington DC
• Website: http://www.trystdc.com/
• Bike friendliness: Lots of bike racks in front and near vicinity, indoors crowded but plenty of room on patio for me and my folder
• Other notable information: Across the street from Donburi and its amazing Japanese rice bowls.

Date: Saturday, October 4, 2014

Drink: Mexican Hot Chocolate 

Total Mileage: 6.98 miles overall (4.58 miles Home to Tryst)

Photo Verification:

It came with animal crackers!

Ride Notes: 

• At Yuma St. NW and 36th St. NW, there appears to be some sunken park or garden that isn't marked as a green space in Google Maps. But I noted the intersection today as I rode past so I could look it later, and Google Maps street view has some user-uploaded photos of the area. I plan on going back in the near future to take a closer look.
• I noticed a Neighborhood Slow Zone sign for the first time today! I wonder if they've been up for a while, or if they are recent like the Neighborhood Bikeway signs they just put up near me.
• Today was the first time I've ridden with tights on; I guess it really is October. It was cold enough to also merit some merino clothing (I've recently drunk the merino kool-aid), so I got to wear this great dress for the first time (currently on sale at Nau). It layers really well so it's perfect for fall/spring, but I can see it working even on the cooler days of summer. It's versatile, cute, comfortable, ride-able, and has pockets--basically everything I want in a dress!
• Speaking of cold-weather apparel, after this evening's ride I'm thinking of knitting myself some hand warmers. The trick will be to finish them in time to actually use them.
• All this time I've been riding across the bridge on Calvert St., I never realized it was called the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge: 

Nice way to close my first coffeeneuring ride

Coffeeneuring Prep

So I think this year I'll actually be able to do the Fourth Annual Chasing Mailboxes Coffeeneuring Challenge for the first time! This is exciting because bikes + caffeine, but also because I have a few goals for myself in the process:

• Finding Good Coffee Shops - I'll actually be doing my riding in two (possibly three) different cities, and I'm always on the lookout for more coffee shops.
• Replacing My Mugs - I've cracked a couple of mugs in the past few months, and I'm not very happy about it.
• Playing with My Camera - While I have no eye for composition, I finally figured out what aperture, shutter speed, and ISO are. Now I have to use this knowledge.

Picture from last year's furloughneuring