Coffeeneuring Stop #8: Dwarf Cypress Boardwalk in Tate's Hell Swamp

OK, so last year's last last documented coffeeneuring ride was through a hurricane disaster area.  The only way to top that this year was to take a trip into Hell – specifically, Tate's Hell Swamp – all for a cup of coffee.  Onward to the details and pictures.

1. where: Dwarf Cypress boardwalk in Tate's Hell Swamp, just east of Eastpoint FL

2. date: 11/29/21

3. what: Honduran dark roast, brewed in a French press and brought in a thermos

4. notes: Mid-50's clear late fall weather.  The gravel roads were dry without being dusty.  After months of around-town riding, it felt great to get out on open roads and spin.

5. distance: 15 total miles: 6 out, 9 back on a slightly different route

Let's have the pictures, with a few short notes at the bottom.  Click to embiggen, if so inclined.

This way to coffee.

Even here, a divine light still shines on the gravel bike.  Note the boardwalk in the background.

Out on the boardwalk, up in the treetops.  The trees are about 15' high.

Note how much higher the pine trees in the background are.

Even the ditches are pretty out here.

If the locale seems familiar, it's been blogged several times before: July 2019 (look at all that green!), January 2021, and March 2021.  It's always a good place to visit, whether via bike or car.

And that concludes The 2021 Coffeeneuring Challenge, themed c+1.  What will 2022 bring?  Stay tuned, we'll find out.

Coffeeneuring Stop #7: Cafe con Leche

Hey #7 already, and somehow this year has gone really easily and well.  The biggest problem has been that I'm too darned close to the coffee shops here in downtown, so I have to swing by to pick up my sister to get the required ≥ 2.0 miles in!  Anyway, here it goes:

1. where: Cafe con Leche, Water Street, Apalachicola FL

2. date: 11/24/21

3. what: black eye, with an arepa for lunch; the Big Sis had the house special latte

4. cool, after-the-cold-front weather; as with most of these rides, the gear of choice is the gravel bike

5. 2.0 (whew!) miles round-trip

OK, this picture of the bikes, me, and coffee is really bad, so I'll just keep it small and tuck it in above.  The new pedals did very well with street shoes.

Well, we're not done yet.  The theme for this year is "c+1" so c+1 (or c++?) is what we're gonna do.  Stay tuned for more caffeinated action.

Grind On

Addendum to Saturday's Coffeeneuring Stop #6 – the new pedals are now on the gravel bike.  I'd had an ancient set of Gen 1 Mallets on this bike, but they gave up the ghost last spring.  In the interim I'd been running a spare set of Eggbeaters, but they kind of crimped the bike's style.  Here the pedals need to (1) be no-compromise clip-ins, (2) ride OK with normal shoes for those casual spins to friends' houses – or a to a nearby coffee shop, and (3) take an off-kilter stomp without complaint when I fumble a clip-in and Mr. F-250 is bearing down.  The naked Eggbeaters were light and had #1 down pat, but they failed badly on Items #2 & #3.  Much better now, and on this afternoon's test ride they checked out 100%.

In other upgrades from the earlier version, the pins are much better than the old stamped-steel front and back screw-on plates, and the spindle end caps are now compatible with Crank Bros' grease injection fitting.  Small, incremental changes to be sure, but the new pedals are noticeably better.

It's a good coffeeneuring trip when you stumble upon the pedals you'd been looking at for six months.  Grind on.  More specifically, dark grind on, because I'm sipping a cup of smooth Honduran right now.

Coffeeneuring Stop #6: Blue Mountain Bakery

A simple cruiser ride from my brother's beach cottage for mid-morning coffee, snacks, and bike parts.  More on the bike parts below.

1. where: Blue Mountain Bakery, Santa Rosa Beach FL

2. date: 11/13/21

3. what: their basic brew-of-the-day, tasted sort of Columbian.  Black.  Oatmeal cookie on the side.

4. details: A sky-blue sky with a tailwind going, all along the bike path paralleling C-30, looking at back-of-the-dunes beach views, a bunch of packed-in but very nice cottages, interspersed with the occasional cluster of restaurants, bait shops, and -of course- coffee shops.

5. 8.2 miles round-trip.

Well this is something that's never happened, I rode a crank off a bike!  In fact, so did my brother.  We each wallowed out a pedal spindle screw-in point on a crank.  I think it had more to do with the cheapo cruiser bikes – no, wait, bicycle shaped objects (BSOs) – that the rental company staged at my brother's beach cottage rather than actual feats of strength, but nonetheless it did happen.  Weirdest thing, it's like the aluminum threads on the crank turned into cheddar cheese or some such.  Fortunately, next door to the coffee shop there was a bike store, so repairs were made while we got coffee.  (convenient)  Also, I found some new pedals for the gravel bike that I'd been looking for (that's what's in my left hand in the pic), so double bingo.  I'll throw in a gratuitous mention of Big Daddy's Bike Shop here, the people there are genuinely nice folks who got us back on the road in short order.

All in all, a successful if somewhat unusual coffeeneuring trip.  Also, we conclusively demonstrated that BSOs are no match at all for the likes of over-caffeinated gravel/tri/mountain bikers.

Coffeeneuring Stop #5: Seafood Landing Park

A nice stop at the last park/boat launch at the western edge of town.

1. where: Seafood Landing Park, Hwy 98 Apalachicola FL

2. date: 11/9/21

3. what: home-brewed dark roast; nothing special, just dark

4. details: Beautiful, clear 65F weather.  Interesting views from the well-maintained park dock.  Watched a porpoise hunting fish in the nearby shallows.

5. 7.9 miles round-trip.  Instead of the direct route down Hwy 98 (2.5 miles), I took the back way through Ave D to 17th Street, up 25th Street, up Gibson Road, then to Pal Rivers Road.  Back was much the same, with a shortcut down Ave M back into downtown.

Above: Bike, dock, coffee.

Side: Porpoise!

As always, click to embiggen.  (Why oh why did blogger have to "improve" their editing interface?)

Coffeeneuring Stop #4: Chestnut Street End/Bayfront

Every coastal town has these awkward little streets that run through neighborhoods and... just dead end into the local major body of water.  It's public land, the street in theory runs all the way to the high tide line, and there's frequently some kind of overlook (even if it's overlooking marsh, or rip-rap, or *STOP* barrier...).  At the same time, they're generally in neighborhoods and there are neighbors nearby.  Such is the case here, where a thin screen of brush separates a bayfront yard from the end of Chestnut Street, out on the west edge of town.  Looks like a place for a quiet up of coffee to me.

1. where: tail end of Chestnut Street, Apalachicola FL

2. date: 11/8/21

3. what: home-brewed Costa Rica, from beans bought from the coffee guy, the same guy in the farmers' market in Stop #1.  Brewed dark, strong, & black.  Thermos, cup, & bike shown in detail at right.

4. details: wonderfully clear early November day, about 65F.  CX bike.

5. 3.0 miles round-trip.  Dropped off the thermos at home, then went for another 12 miles of gravel.

This week features bayside stops, but next week we'll (hopefully) make it to the two actual coffee shops in town.  In the meantime, here's a panoramic pic covering about 180 degrees and showing the Bay.

That's the panoramic view and sun flare messing with your perspective, and not too much caffeine doing it to your optic nerve.  Note thermos bungied horizontally to the rear rack.  It's a chainsaw hauler!  It's a VHF antenna mount!  And now, it's a caffeine containment unit attachment point.

Coffeeneuring Stop #3: Lafayette Park

 Today's Sunday outing was to a Coffee Shop Without Walls, namely Lafayette Park overlooking Apalachicola Bay.

1. where: Lafayette Park, Apalachicola FL

2. date: 10/31/21

3. what: Lucky Goat "Goat Tracks", home brewed by The Big Sis, brought along in a thermos

4. details: a perfect October day in the low 70's.  CX bike for me, Big Sis rode her stylin' Schwinn (which badly needs a new rear hub, but that that's a topic for another time)

5. distance: 2.2 miles round-trip.  (It's a very small town!)

Coffee and conversation overlooking the Bay on a beautiful afternoon.  Can it get better?  Maybe, we'll see on the rest of the 2021 Coffeeneuring rides.

Coffeeneuring Stop #2: Early Birds Mobile Coffee

 Onward and upward with this years Coffeeneuring Challenge!  Details:

1. where: Early Birds, across 10th Street from The Pig, Apalachicola FL

2. date: 10/27/21

3. what: basic big honkin' latte

4. details: another nice October day, in the low 70's.  CX bike

5. 1.0 miles there, continued with another 12 miles of gravel, shells, & mud in the alleyways

It's a new place, all my neighbors are recommending it, so I had to try it.  Everything I'd hoped it would be.  Then I was off on a jet-fueled tour of the mean alleyways of Apalachicola, followed by tacos and a nap.

Coffeeneuring Stop #1: Scipio Creek Farmer's Market

 Let's get this year's coffeeneuring adventures started in style with a trip to the local farmer's market.  Details:

1. where: coffee guy at Farmer's Market at Scipio Creek commercial marina, Apalachicola FL

2. date: 10/23/21

3. what: Ethiopian "Bold and Bright, Notes of Blueberry, Strawberry, and Peach"

4. details: nice clear late October day, about 75F.  CX bike

5. 2.0 miles round-trip (and I had to take a slightly indirect route)

Bought tomatoes and a few other odds and ends while there.  We're kind of between seasons here, with the summer produce mostly done but the winter harvest still ahead.  Just the usual Saturday ride to the market, but now with Official Coffeeneuring Documentation.

As a side note, Apalachicola is so small that sometimes a circuitous route is required to get the minimum 2 total miles in.  It's an excuse to dawdle, talk with neighbors, and check out the riverfront.

Coffee guy is facing away in the chair on the left side.  Coffee cup is just left of the water shut-off valve.  Coffee is inside the cyclist/photographer.  Note the snazzy Coffeeneuring 2018 patch on the daypack.

Coffeeneuring 2021 Announcement Posted

 Link here.  If you're new to the concept of coffeeneuring, I'll leave it to you read up at that link.  There's a minor rule change for 2021 to simplify documentation.  You'll no longer need a blog, Strava account, etc., though blogging etc. is still encouraged (and will be done here as in past years).

The fun begins – huh! – week after next on Monday the 18th.  Got to get that new rear derailleur installed.

Just when you thought it was safe to get back on the bike...

 ... Coffeeneuring returns for 2021!  Begins October 18th.  Initial announcement here.  More details to come as things develop.

Past years: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked.