Coffeeneuring #3 - Northside Social on 18 October

Today we went about 8 miles out to Northside Social in Clarendon.  We have gone past this place over and over and never really knew it was there. Funny how you don't really see things that you see every day. We usually go to the nearby Liberty Tavern which, apparently, is owned by the same people.

It was a windy day on Saturday, but the weather was sunny and nice so we sat outside and didn't care that our hair looked like this:

One vanilla latte, one cappuccino 1% milk 140 degrees. And a bran muffin. All were tasty and aesthetically pleasing.

The downstairs has the coffee bar and a few indoor seating areas and an outdoor seating area. Upstairs, there is a wine bar that starts serving at 5pm.

Sherry was sporting her new white fenders with the red reflective heart on them. 

Coffeeneuring #2 - 12 October

12 October saw Sherry and I riding out the W&OD trail to Caffe Amouri in Vienna. We had never been there before, even though it is only about 5 miles away. Their "Dutchess Blend" espresso was really nice - we ended up buying a pound of it. Not as dark as a traditional espresso blend but still dark enough to make a tasty cappuccino. The cafe was busy but not packed at 11 am on a Sunday. The line was reasonable and we got two seats at the bar since all of the table were occupied.

Friendly staff, very local, and the owner was there for at least part of the time we visited.

The Rock Lobster and the Betty Foy propped up against the wall. This is the burbs on a Sunday morning, so locks are optional.

The menu at the coffee bar. They have an extensive collection of tea and some nice muffins and pastries. 

One bran muffin, one cinnamon twist and a vanilla latte. Sherry's cappuccino was to the left of the photo. 

Coffeeneuring Challenge 2014 - Week #1

I decided to take part in the 2014 Coffeeneuring Challenge. You can read about it here. Essentially, it involves biking to seven different coffee shops in seven weekends.

5 October 2014

Dolcezza Coffee and Gelato shop in the Mosaic District. They have two locations, right next to one another. The first permanent location is the Gelato shop tucked in under the Target. They also temporarily took over the stand-alone building between Target and Anjelika for coffee and pastries.

The Mosaic farmer's market is on Sundays, so this was a two-fer trip. Actually, it was my Sunday morning workout, followed by coffee, followed by farmers market, followed by Mom's Organic Market but I don't think that four-fer is a word. Angelika, our favorite film center is in the background.

I had the (pictured) latte. Generally, I like vanilla lattes but they don't do flavors here. The person behind me ordered a Dulce de Leche latte - wish I had seen it on the menu. The sun was shining, and kids and dogs were playing in the fountain.

Great Allegheny Passage 13-16 September 2014

The GAP trail runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland. It is an old railroad track that has been turned into a hiker/biker trail. The C&O Canal then runs from Cumberland to Washington DC and it was a mule path running alongside a canal. So, you can ride for 5 days from Pittsburgh to DC and not be on a road. Sherry and I were in a group of 6 friends and we did the GAP portion while our friends continued on to DC on the C&O Canal.



Since this is a point-to-point ride, the first challenge was getting 6 bikes to Pittsburgh. The other challenge was having a car ready for Sherry and I when we bailed out near Cumberland. We drove up to Pittsburgh on a Saturday morning, with our Rav4 packed with 6 bikes. Two on the outside, four in the inside. The plan was to drive up to Pittsburgh, spend a day fooling around, and then unload the bikes and drive to Frostburg where we would get picked up by the other four on their way to Pittsburgh. James had a one-way rental minivan from DC to Pittsburgh.

It all worked out and, by Sunday night, all 6 people and all 6 bikes were safely in Pittsburgh waiting to start the ride on Monday.

During our fun day in Pittsburgh, Sherry went to the National Aviary where she participated in the "Flamingo Encounter". Sherry being a Flamingo fan, couldn't wait. She got to spend about 30 minutes in a room with two flamingos and the trainer. They groomed her hair and her socks and did a little dance. Sherry was smiling for the next 24 hours.

 We then went to "Randyland" in the Mexican War Streets neighborhood. Mike is feeding Barbie to the rats and Sherry is with Randy himself.

Finally, it was time to ride. This is Mike's bike - the beast of burden. Sherry's bike is really small and it is hard to put any kind of luggage on it, so we packed really light. All of Mike's stuff is in the handlebar bag, All of Sherry's stuff is in the rear bag, and the group gear and repair kit is in the black bag in the middle. Extra tire is threaded through the rear spokes. 

Waiting in the lobby of the Sheraton for James to drop off the rental car. 

Here is the starting point - the confluence of the three rivers at Three Rivers Park in Pittsburgh. 

Haleh, Keith and Sherry at the start.

Near the end of Day 1 in the town of  Connellsville. 

Jan and James, the primary instigators of this trip.

The large and the small, heading down the trail.

Frontier Days Rodeo in Cheyenne

Mike was in Cheyenne for work today, and the Frontier Days Rodeo was going on so we both went to the rodeo after lunch. Neither of us had been to a rodeo before, so this was a lot of fun.

Sitting in the stands watching bull riding, bronco riding, calf roping, and calf wrestling.

Walking along one of the strips. 

Hiking in Boulder

A quick hike near the Flatirons after my Google meeting.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Hiked up from Bear Lake to Emerald Lake today.