Coffeeneuring Stop #7: Cat Island Coffeehouse

Just one of those perfect weather days, perfect for a casual road ride and a cup of coffee.

1. where: Cat Island Coffeehouse, Pass Christian MS
2. when: 11/16/19
3. what: a "Mississippi Mud," essentially hot chocolate with a shot of espresso; a chocolate brownie
4. ride details: beautiful low-60's afternoon; just an easy spin over the bridge (pics below); CX bike
5. mileage: 16.6 miles round-trip

  

  

Top Left: view from the end of my street.  The point of land across the Bay toward the left is the destination.  Top Right: The Goodies.  Bottom Left: Pass Christian harbor.  Bottom Right: the road home.  Click any to embiggen.

And got to give credit to the bike that got me there:

The CX bike in all its glory.  I swear, that thing is more handy than duct tape and vice-grips put together.

Oh it was just too pretty a day, so here's one more picture from the bridge:

Dig that sun flare!  There's some UV in the air.

And with that, the official portion of The 2019 Coffeeneuring Challenge is in the bag.  But there's no stopping this train, who know where it might go: #8, #9, ... or more?  Tomorrow and next weekend will tell.

Coffeeneuring Stop #6: Cafe Con Leche

More-or-less repeating last year's set of stops (hey, small towns, not that many shops), it was back to Cafe Con Leche just after Seafood Festival weekend.  Had lunch and of course coffee with Sis and a friend.  I biked, they drove.  Nice day out on the porch overlooking Water Street.  On to the details:
1. where: Cafe Con Leche, Apalachicola FL
2. when: 11/4/19
3. what: coffee, black; no frills
4. ride details: pleasantly cool day that warmed up to low 70's; had to dodge some Festival clean-up traffic along the way.  Rode the '89 Karakoram
5. mileage: 2.2 miles round-trip

The picture is overlooking Water Street and Ward's Seafood.  Cup is balanced on the saddle.  The pic from last year's visit had a view from the same spot, but angled more down-river.  Look at those clouds!  The weather was rapidly clearing.

Coffeneuring Stop #5: Bethel Bike Trails

A simple coffee break in the middle of a mountain bike ride.  The details:
1. where: Bethel Bike Trails in Desoto N.F., north of Biloxi MS.  Specifically, on the Couch Trail where it turns to follow Tuxachanie Creek.
2. date: 10/27/19
3. what: black Community Columbian, fresh brewed & hauled in a thermos
4. ride details: a beautiful, cool, slightly cloudy late-October morning for a MTB ride
5. mileage: 2.1 (trailhead-creek-&-back); 24 total for the day.

Met up at the trailhead with a friend from work at 8, rode S. Bethel, N. Pine Lizard, Couch, Bailout, and S. Pine Lizard.  Swapped out pack at the truck – hydration to caffeination – for a quick side-track back on Couch Trail again, but just to where it meets Tuxachanie Creek.  We polished off two mugs each by the creek, then pedaled back to the trailhead to re-swap out pack, then were off for caffeine-fueled runs through Briar Patch, Badlands, Bailout, then back to the trailhead again via S. Pine Lizard.  A full morning's ride!

  

Quasi-panoramic view.  Brown water in the creek, brown water in the mug.  The downed log on the right made a good coffee bench.  Dig that Coffeneuring 2018 patch on the pack.

Coffeeneuring Stop #4: Buttercup Cafe

An easy stop for lunch and coffee.  The particulars:
1. where: The Buttercup on Second Street, Bay St. Louis MS
2. date: 10/26/19
3. what: plain ol' black coffee, 3x refills over the course of lunch
4. details: cooling weather just after a cold front cleared through; 69F and cloudy; CX bike (head tube and handlebars can be seen through the porch railing)
5. distance: 4.6 miles round-trip

It's a nice, damp fall day here on the Coast with the weather cooling quickly in the wake of a cold front merged with the remnants of just-barely-rates tropical storm Olga.  A good day for coffee(!), a reuben, sliced grilled tomatoes, and cinnamon roll bread pudding.  That last is about to put me down for a nap, worth every carbo-gram of the thing.

With #4 in the bag, we're over the half-way mark.  The next three coffee stops are charted out, subject to the whims of weather and social visits of course.  Should be an easy spin from here to completion of the 2019 Coffeeneuring Challenge.

Coffeeneuring Stop #3: PJ's in The Bay

Continuing along at a good pace, made a Sunday afternoon stop at the local PJ's on Main Street.  The particulars:
1. where: PJ's Coffee, downtown Bay St. Louis MS
2. date: 10/20/19
3. what: "Grind 35" dark roast, large
4. ride details: "crisp October weather," only 82 degrees.  Rode the CX bike.
5. distance: 4.6 miles round-trip.

After putting in 30 miles at the Bethel Bike Trails this morning, I needed a caffeine jolt.  A short road ride to flush out the legs after getting cleaned up really helped things feel better.

Here, have some pics:
  
  

Didn't want to sit inside (look at that sky!), but the sunshine was a little intense.  Gathered things up and moved across the street and down the block to a bench in the shade of... I can't remember what the business is now, used to be Jerome's Department Store.  Top two pics: outside of PJ's.  Bottom two pics: The Social Chair on the corner of Main and 2nd, and PJ's, a little up the street.

With #3 in the bag, we're back on track to easily make all seven stops by the mid-November event finish.  What next?  Depends entirely upon the weather next weekend.

Speaking of which...

Nice!

Coffeeneuring Stop #2: Mockingbird Cafe

The 'Bird is a must-do in Bay St. Louis, coffeeneuring or not.  The particulars:
1. where: Mockingbird Cafe, Bay St. Louis MS
2. date: 10/19/19
3. what: tripple machiato (the real kind, and yes the barista asked; they have to in these degenerate times)
4. ride details: warming up and turning sunny day, into the mid-70s
5. distance: 4.4 miles round-trip

Rode the CX bike, which is about perfect for this kind of get-around stuff.  Narrowly missed the halloween Witch Walk; probably for the best, might've gotten turned into a newt otherwise.  The costumes were... imaginative, and the participants seemed to be having a good time.  There were a bunch of them in line at the 'Bird.

  
l: a delicate balancing act     r: over-the-cup view, bike in mid-background

Coffeeneuring Stop #1: Apalachicola Chocolate Company

Starting at the other end of the coast this year, with a trip to Apalachicola.  No storm clean-up this year, that is a relief.  Anyway, sort of a clone of last year's stop-off.  Here are the particulars:

1. where: Apalachicola Chocolate Company, Apalach FL
2. date: 10/11/19
3. what: large black coffee; nothing fancy this time, but the chocolates (green box) were tasty
4. ride details: '89 GT Karakoram, my around-Apalach bike
5. 2.1 miles round-trip; it's a small town

A warm October day, after a long drive over from Bay St. Louis.  Needed a coffee to revive, so I wheedled The Big Sister into coming along.  That's her stylin' Schwinn in the background.  Just a basic coffeeneuring ride; it's good to be at it again.

Coffeeneuring Challenge 2019: The Scoop

Following up on last week's announcement, the full dates, rules (not many, largely unchanged), and general encouragement are up at Chasing Mailboxes.  This is serious fun, so have a look and think about jumping in yourself.

The event starts next Friday, so be ready.  No, really, this thing is Serous Fun!  Trust me, if you ride a bike, you want to get in on this.

Coffeeneuring 2019 Kick-Off

I could just feel this was coming around again this year.  The shorter days, the slightly dryer air, the sense of nature awaking from summer's estivation (we see that sort of thing here on the southernmost fringe of the deep south).  Once again, it's time for Coffeeneuring.

While this year's rules are not up yet, here's the announcement post.  Dates run from October 11th thru November 25th.  In past years the event has consisted of seven bike rides to seven different coffee shops, no more than one per day and two per week, scattered over seven or so weeks.  Minor trophy swag (TBD, but usually a patch) is awarded to the finishers, but the real point is to just go ride and drink coffee.  Already the calendar's shaping up, and plans are coming together.

Last year's coffeeneuring was a rousing success with all seven stages completed, and even 2017's all-too-brief attempt was a lot of fun too.  Things are looking good for this year's challenge as well.

Side note: What am I doing up at 3 a.m.?  Didn't get a bike ride in yesterday and didn't have my after-supper coffee, was crashed out by 9:30 p.m.  That'll do it.  Ugh, it's going to be a long day.