Coffeeneuring #6 - Old Town - Killer ESP

Noitice the sleeve to the right of the stem... brand new set of Nitto Noodle bars and I scratched the crap out of them with this older Nitto Technomic stem. Anyone have a secret for installing?

I hate to rave about a place, but a year from now.... ESP is what I'll remember first from my Coffeeneuring adventures.  It's not just the coffee (the Americano was excellent), I love the ambiance, the decor... the whole package!  If you like chill, eclectic coffee houses with some comfy couches definitely check it out!

King St, Alexandria.... does it get better for a downtown area?

 I wish the hours at ESP were a bit earlier in the opening, but just as well the hours dictate it will be an occasional weekend indulgence rather than a regular occurance.  I can't wait to try their Sorbet and Pie, all I can vouch for at this point is a very well crafted espresso based americano.

Just to orient you to what we're dealing with in Killer ESP, look at all those tea options!

Happiness

Headed home, fall colors on Dewitt Ave in Del Ray

Today's coffeeneuring jaunt was pretty short, under 5 miles round trip to King St in Old Town Alexandria.  Killer ESP had been on my radar for a while as it is just up the street from Misha's, where I meet my buddy Wes very regularly on weekday mornings for a pre-work coffee.  Very understated storefront, easy to miss.  Their coffee is from 'stumptown' which I understand to be well known and thought of in the Portland area.

1.  Old Town Alexandria, VA
2. 11/9
3. Killer ESP, Americano (to stay)
4. Right on King St, new to me but a place with great soul and presence
5.  4.9 miles

Coffeeneuring #5 - Yards Park, SE DC - Coffeeshop without walls!

Brisk morning in DC and my second Coffeshop-without-walls attempt.  This time I opted for simplified logistics and brewed the coffee at home for service out of my thermos.  I'm pretty happy with this setup, the thermos which I picked up at a yard sale keeps coffee warm for at least an hour.

I had a half capfull before setting out which was a great shot in the arm, and helped with the initial moments as I warmed up.  Unlike most of my other coffeeneuring trips this was a respectable 16.8 mile round trip journey.  I'll let the photo's do the rest of the work...

More pour over coffee, the nalgene bottle was just an intermediate container till I got the coffee loaded into my thermos

I'm really enjoying the 'craft' of the pour over brewing

My return home took me down the National Mall and I got this fantastic view of the Monument

The ride is somewhat pedestrian given it is almost my exact commute
1. Yards Park, SE Washington DC
2. 11/3
3. Coffeeshop-without-walls, ME Swing 'MESCO' blend, hand ground, pour over, served from a thermos
4. One of my favorite parts of my old neighborhood, great view of the Anacostia River and interesting architecture/landscaping.
5.  16.8 miles

Coffeeneuring #3 - Camarillo Pour Over!

With my good friend Kamal safely escorted cross country we got to spend a couple days exploring around his new home town of Camarillo, CA which is about 45min north of LA... We got a great ride in that didn't involve coffee as well but more on that later.

Don Adolfo Camarillo... namesake

The morning that I flew out we started off with a rolling suburban jaunt to Old Town Camarillo and the element coffee shop where we had noticed online that they did a form of the pour over coffee brewing that I've come to be so fond of at my local Swing's in Alexandria.  Element Coffee hits a home run on decor and ambiance... and the coffee wasn't bad but it could have been better. I'll chalk it up to the barista in this case and give them another try the next time I'm in town.

The bicycle for Coffeeneuring #3 was the borrowed Schwinn Single Speed I mentioned in a previous post.  I LOVED the single speed.... going to have to rig something up here at home.  #winterproject

A couple better shots coming soon, the frame size was great. My friend Brian put this sweet machine together himself!

1. Camarillo, CA
2. 10/25, a day of personal leave from work
3. element coffee, pour over house blend, could have been better
4. Single speed suburban ride.
5. 6.25 miles

The nearly ubiquitous pour over stand... I liked the all thread DIY rack!

Not only was the Giraffe on wheels cool, the little open air courtyard with couches was a great place to enjoy the coffee within reach of our bikes.

A genorously sized bowl/cup of coffee and a super sweet donut

Coffeenuering #2 - Chicago Divvy Ride-Around

The first stop on my epic cross country road trip last week was Chicago, a mere 10ish hours covering DC, VA, MD, PA, OH and of course IL (we were awfully close to MI for a bit but didn't bite).  The late night arrival left time for only a stop off at Pequods Pizza followed up with check-in at the downtown Reneissance (points).  Pequod's was fantastic, amazing atmosphere, friendly people and the deep dish was exactly as we'd been envisioning over the 10 hour journey!  Once back downtown we met up with my best friend Ryan who happened to be in town for an Amtrack meet-up and wandered around enjoying the ridiculous architecture, bridges and a couple cold beverages.

But on to the Coffeeneuring!  The following morning my friend Kamal and I (the two of us were transporting his Honda Civic cross country) took to the Chicago Bike share - Divvy, to see as much of the city as possible given our short window.  We started downtown by the hotel and worked our way to the Millenium Park and from there followed the water down to the Adler Planetarium and then back up through the city to the hotel...  As you can see above, the total mileage was about 7.5.  Not bad with LOTS of stopping.  In fact we took it upon ourselves to ensure that we never exceeded the 30min grace period on the Divvy bikes and ended up hitting 6 docks by my count.  Funny that I've never actually used the DC Bikeshare bikes myself, so the experience was alot of fun in Chicago.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, gorgeous day, good company and a fun ride around.  The coffee was almost an afterthought.  I had wanted to stop at Intelligentsia which was close to our return route but we were getting short on time and wanted to squeeze in time for a Polish Sausage on the way out of town.  The coffee back at the hotel ended up doing the trick for me anyway, as it had a great view of the river.  I'd love to come back and explore the city much more properly next time!

1. Chicago, IL
2. 10/20
3. Reneissance Marriot, Chicago Downtown - Black Coffee, drip... not bad but not noteworthy
4. Most landmarks in a new-to-me city seen during Coffeeneuring
5. 7.5 miles

What can I say... this thing was AMAZING.

I've got some more shots to stitch a pano with that needs some attention. I'll get to it sooner or later!

Out on the breakwater at the Adler Planetarium... lots of cool buildings in Chicago!

I LOVED these twin towers, very close to our hotel, the floors from the ground up to about 1/3 of the way up are parking garage, and its condo's on up from there. Not pictured is the small marina on the river. So if you lived in Chicago, and had the dough... your boat, your car, and your condo are all extremely convenient to you!

After a fashion, we did find the polish sausage... and it was good.

Coffeeneuring #4 - Back to the Commonwealth!

#4 you say... what happened to #'s 3 and 4?!?

Let's just say I have a bunch of posts to catch up on this week.  Last night concluded an epic 8 day cross country ramble that was pretty ridiculous even for my unusual standards.  Of bicycling interest, I rode a single speed for the first time, used bike share in Chicago, met Rob (owner of Ocean Air Cycles), rode the ever so sweet Ocean Air Cycles 'Rambler', and observed the effects of 3,000+ road miles on a Univega Supra Sport mounted on the back of a Honda Civic.  More on all that later, on to the Coffeeneuring!

For my welcome home ride I chose a very conservative 2 mile trip to my local Swing's in Del Ray, and honestly after sampling coffee in many of the 16 states I visited in the last 8 days there is not a better cup to be found.  After a quick once over including tire inflation my Riv Atlantis seemed happy to have me back!  I hope to get another ride in this afternoon as I enjoy a last day off from work.

Pour Over technique.... I saw this in Ventura, CA and in New Orleans, LA this past week.  Spitfire Cafe in NO made a spectacular cup, and Element Coffee in CA will be the subject of Coffeeneuring #3!

Home again - home again - jigitty - jig !!!

1. Del Ray (Alexandria), VA
2. 10/28, a day of personal leave from work
3. Swings Coffee, Pour Over, Sumatra something.... dark and nutty, very smooth
4. Welcome back ride around the neighborhood - cool decorations abound for Haloween
5. 2 miles

Lake Waccamaw #Coffeeneuring

Atlantis on the Lake...

A full week into the challenge I'm posting my first 'qualifying' #coffeeneuring outing... and of course it was a comedy of errors!  My Mom just retired from teaching at the end of the last school year and she is moving from Northern VA to a great NC lake house.  My wife, sister, brother-in-law and neice and I were down to help with some moving in and enjoy the 3 day weekend.

I brought bikes for myself and Erika but between all the moving in, hauling out and other planned events we didn't get much time for riding. (there was also some lazy sleeping in).  On Sunday I did manage a quick one hour ride around the lake and back but as it was late afternoon I didn't attempt any coffee brewing.  So Monday morning allowed for my first 'Coffee Shop without Walls' coffeeneuring attempt.

First to discuss the coffee, and the apparatus...  I've been fascinated by 'pour over' coffee ever since visiting the Swings Coffee Bar in Del Ray during one of my first sequestration related furlough days over the summer.  I'm generally in somewhat of a rush with getting my coffee but I was impressed at the amount of attention the barista's put into a single cup of coffee. Fast forward several months and I just received my very own Hario Drip Coffee Kettle, a collapsable drip coffee cone, filters, and a really cool esbit alcohol stove with wind guard.  I brewed my first non-bike related cups using the kettle and drip cone in the house on Sunday morning and packed my trunk bag up with everything (or not) that night.  The coffee itself is a fairly pedestrian pre-ground duncan donuts brand... nothing special though pretty darn good in my opinion.

Second the bike... the Atlantis, fresh of it's off road adventures from the previous weekend and with a re-tuned bottom bracket made the trip. For anyone who needs to know, a 64cm Atlantis without the front wheel mounted will fit upside down inside a 2010 Rav4 with the seats down.  I put the bars and seat down and braced it up against the side of the car.  Worked pretty well.

Third (but not finally) the ride... I did about 10-12 miles the day before and my mind was set on the coffee so I picked a public pier right on the lake that was 2.1 miles from my Mom's new place.  The ride was nice, just a touch of misting rain but not bad at all.  I even rode the bike directly out onto the dock which was cool and I'm sure not a behavior which is encouraged.  It was about the time I had assembled my alcohol stove that I realized a fatal flaw... no manner to produce a flame.  No lighter, no matches, no flint and steel...

Fourth, and finally... the humbling 2.1 miles back home where I gathered matches, realized I had also set out without a coffee mug, grabbed one of those and then proceeded out to the dock at my Mom's place and made my first cup of #coffeeneuring coffee in my shop without walls.   Great morning that I ended up sharing with my Mom!

To make sure I didn't miss anything;

1. Lake Waccamaw, NC
2. 10/12-10/14, #coffeeneuring on 10/14
3. Dunkin Donuts ground coffee, pour-over style, alcohol stove
4. Forgetful morning ride on the Atlantis, and I rode on a dock... :)
5. 4.2 miles

Packed up... minus the matches and a mug... :( fail

First time the esbit was set up... nothing to light it

Matches and coffee mug included

Discovered that the little rest for the solid fuel tab must be removed to allow enough room for the alcohol stove to breathe... 10 min later I had a healthy boil going

success

Shutdown Solo Century

Government shutdown, gorgeous weather, a bike that was ready to ride, and I was open to a 'longer' ride....  that equals my first ever Century distance ride.  Significant not only due to the milestone of 100miles, but also becuase, as recorded on this blog, my previous distance best was less than 55miles.  As soon as the Government shutdown seeemed likely to hold up on Tues night I took about an hour to tweak some things on my Trek (the Atlantis is down with a BB issue).  New rear innertube, shifting cables tweaked, VO Front Wheel Stabilizer installed, and bar tape installed on the tops of my Noodle bars... she was looking good, poised and ready.

Wednesday morning came and to be honest I was not very motivated, I dallyed around the house, walking the dog and on the verge of throwing in the towel and focusing on house projects... then I got a note from my friend Wes wishing me a good ride and that was the last straw.  I set out without the commitment to do a Century, in fact my bar for success was to exceed my 50 mile previous best... but even as I rolled out of Alexandria I was arleady thinking that if my legs and mechanics were in good shape when I got out towards Herndon that I would reserve the right to go further...

I'm so happy to have successfully completed the ride yesterday, among the highlights was running into Mary of Chasing Mailboxes and #FridayCoffeeClub fame...  really awesome person who I got to share a couple miles with in and around Herndon on the way home.  I was in the neighbourhood of 70-75miles into my day and will say without an ounce of shame that I was not able to keep up with her despite the fact she was riding her gorgeous singlespeed, a Rivendell Moonbeam.  My day was about endurance and finishing, not time.

Another happy coincidence was stopping in at Best Buns in Shirlington on my way out and running into the Bike Arlington forums Wednesday Coffee Club... Cynthia, Dana, Mark? and others... awesome to have met you on the way and I'll have to check out that forum soon!

So many thoughts about the ride, spending 11 hours in an outing, with at least 9.5 of those directly in the saddle gave me plenty of time.  I really struggled badly with cramps in my hamstrings starting around mile 35.  After stopping mulitple times to stretch out and walk it out I ended up cycling through the cramps most of the way back, the pain was pretty intense at times but I gained confidence with each bout that I could muddle through.  Definitely need to work harder on staying hydrated.  I"m going to cut off the words here and go to the images, maybe a follow up post with lessons learned and gear notes will come to me later.

Pointed towards adventure...

The front basket with that elastic hook net is one of my all time favorite additions for any bike.  How do you like the tops only bartape?  That is the old tape off the Albatross cockpit on top of innertubes of course.

Wednesday Coffee Club at Best Buns

Golf course rest stop near Reston

A fantastic coffee shop bike shop in Herndon, I recomend the Espresso

A bike on the ground cannot fall...

Luck Quarry doesn't seem affected by Gov't shutdowns

At the Turn...  reaching Purceville was the biggest hurdel in my own head.  I was dissappointed to find Trail's End Bike Shop closed.

 

Carolina Bro's BBQ.... I ate a LOT of bbq on my way back... 

Can't say enough about how well the Trek did yesterday...

Victory Lap... home-Purcevill-home = 96 miles, so I added the Custis Trail/Mount Vernon Trail loop to tack on the extra 4 miles.  Just in time for sunset over the Monuments.

Centurion (note the dyno lights still hot! :))