Errandoneé Yay!

            We’ve all had it with this winter and the impact of the weather has snowballed – literally and figuratively – through my life. I can handle the cold fairly well on my bike, but am not willing to venture forth in snow and ice. And the Arctic vortices that hammered us this season – with temperatures in the teens and fierce wind chills – were more than I could face on two wheels. But when I can’t bike, my mental health tends to plummet. I feel sluggish and have a hard time remembering how I ever had the energy to get around by bike. I even withdrew from twitter – as most of what I follow there is bike-related. I had nothing to blog about. Often, I drove to work, which made things even worse, as I quickly became reacquainted with all the reasons that driving is the worst way to commute.

Each time we had an island of decent weather I took the opportunity to get back on the bike, and immediately felt the salutary effects. As the temperatures warmed over the past couple weeks, I was like a prisoner set free – hopping on my bike at every opportunity. So, when I got back on twitter the other night and saw that it was already the middle of the winter errandoneé, I didn’t panic – because I had just spent the past six days errandoneeing without knowing it. All right – I didn’t photo-document each trip, but I will recreate the evidence.

Trip 1 – March 8, 2014: This trip shows just how desperate I was to get on the bike. I had signed up for a workshop at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda (see details below – a fun break from the more serious things I’ve been writing of late). The most direct ride from Arlington entails taking Chain Bridge, backtracking about half a mile along the Tow Path, and then riding the Capital Crescent Trail to downtown Bethesda. I knew the Tow Path might be a bit iffy, but I totally underestimated how treacherous it turned out to be. I never like riding on gravel with my skinny tires, but gravel was the least of my worries. The mud was deep and the path was still icy in many places. It was very slow going and messy, messy, messy. I had to walk through several areas, and was delighted when I finally made it to the CC, which was mostly clear, but also still had a few icy patches. Distance: 10 miles; Category: community meeting.

Writing About S-E-X

What's the difference between romance and erotica? What's the best way to write a sexually arousing scene? Explore these issues and write your own scene in Mary McCarthy's Writing About S-E-X. (3/8 - 3/15)

Trip 2 – March 9, 2014: Rode to yoga, noticing how overcast the morning was. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t sunny, but with the balmy temperature, how could I complain? Since I’m photo-documenting after the fact, I will brag a bit about how great the Arlington Sun and Moon studio is by posting the “Best of Arlington” award we got for 2014. Distance: 5 miles, round trip; Category: personal care.

Trip 3 – March 10, 2014: Rode to work and was delighted to see not a drop of ice on the path, as there had been just the week before on the couple nice days that I was able to get back into bike commuting. I arrived a bit on the late side, and most of the parking in the bike cage was already claimed – a testament to the eagerness of my colleagues to also resume their two-wheeled commutes. Distance: 10 miles; Category: work.

Trip 4 – March 10, 2014: Rode to my evening writing class, but went early to spend an hour in the library, researching an article I’m preparing for class. For the return trip, I biked to the McPherson Square metro, which I took (with bike) to East Falls Church, and rode home from there. Thus, total distance: 3.5 miles; Category: library – and the latter half of the trip was in the dark. I use my rechargeable Light-Motion Urban 200 to light the front, and always keep a red blinkie on my backpack.

Trip 5 – March 11, 2014: Careful readers of this blog may recall that I had a seven-month car-free experiment last year. By the time my child returned my Prius, the interior had taken quite a beating. So I took the car to Sonic Car Wash to have the interior steam cleaned. I put the bike on my rack and drove to Sonic, which is conveniently located right off the W&OD Trail. The staff made many joking comments about not cleaning bicycles. Actually, I wish they could have, as the bike was still pretty caked with mud. I biked home and then back in the afternoon to pick up my sparkling almost-like-new car. Distance: 5 miles round trip; Category: store.

Trip 6 – March 12, 2014: I knew that rain was predicted for later in the day, so I took a mid-day ride to REI to return the bike rain pants I’d purchased for my child when they lived in the Pacific NW, as they had never been worn. While I was at it, I decided to return the rain jacket I’d bought for myself and had never been satisfied with because it was only effective in drizzle, and useless in a downpour. They advertise that you can return anything, any time. Well, it turns out they changed their policy in 2012, but they were nice enough to give me a full refund anyway. But the best part of the trip was running into two of my yoga students out for a walk. I was just at the point where I was trying to figure out where to cut from the W&OD Trail over to the 4 Mile Run Trail and, from there, where to find the path through the grounds of the Carlin Springs Nature Center. They showed me where to go, a double bonus. Distance: 10 miles, round trip; Category: I’m going to call it bike shop, as I was returning bike gear. When I got home, I gave my bike a decent cleaning, and lubed the chain, feeling virtuous.

Trip 7: March 14, 2014: It was only 28 degrees in the morning, but the day promised to warm up, so I left for work before it was fully light – determined to log another “dark” ride. Hitting my first downhill moment, about 4 blocks from home, I was dismayed to discover my rear brakes were not working at all. I pedaled back home, thinking I’d have to take my old bike to work. But in a moment of intrepid adventure, I decided to investigate. Looking carefully back and forth between the front and rear brakes, I discovered that the rear brake was completely disconnected…apparently an unintended casualty of my Wednesday cleaning job. I am not very good at anything mechanical, but I kept studying the brakes – front and back – and figured out how to reattach the section near the wheel. I tried them out, but could tell something was still wrong. Alas – they were also disconnected at the top near the handlebar. Again, studying the other brake, I managed to reattach the top end, as well, and gave myself a big, happy pat on the back for achieving a new biking milestone. Yay me!! Distance: 10 miles; Category: work. Looking at my time when I got to work, my repair job only took me 10 minutes, and I felt another surge of pride.

Selfie before taking off for work…was trying to get the crocuses in the shot

Trip 8: March 14, 2014: The evening was still balmy, so I biked to One More Page bookstore, which was having an author event. I needed to attend something of this ilk for my writing class and figured this was the perfect opportunity. The author, Stephen Grant, wrote a biography of Henry and Emily Folger, who founded D.C.’s Shakespeare Library. There were lots of healthy munchies (fruit, veggies, nuts) but he only spoke for five minutes, and didn’t read, which was a bit disappointing. Distance 1.5 miles; Category: Library.

I've been to great events here…this just wasn't one of them

Trip 9: March 14, 2014: Since the book “reading” was so short and uneventful, I decided to cross the street and check out Tri360, the new-ish bike shop in Falls Church, which stays open until 7:30 on Fridays. Yikes – their stuff is pricy! I doubt I will return, unless I happen to have a bike emergency near that section of the W&OD Trail. The best part of the evening was riding home in the twilight, the almost-full moon peeking through the dark, leafless branches of the trees that surely will be putting out leaves soon. Distance 1.5 miles; Category: Bike Shop.

You can see, it's starting to get dark

Trip 10: March 15, 2014: Headed off to Pilates, waiting for the later, “easy” class, as this was to be the beginning of a full day of errandonnering. The day was predicted to be beautiful, perfect biking weather, but when I awoke there was a full gray cloud cover. By 8:15, the clouds had begun to clear, but the morning was touch-and-go and I packed a rain poncho, just in case. Distance: 2.5 miles; Category: Personal Care.

Always glad to find another bike snuggled up next to mine

Trip 11: March 15, 2014: From the yoga studio, I took the “city” route through Arlington to Northside Social, deciding to fortify myself with carbs before heading to Bethesda. When I coffeeneured last year, I determined that Northside had the most tasty looking baked goods. I chose the banana walnut muffin and it was every bit as delicious as it looked; they do not skimp on the nuts. Distance: 1.8 miles; Category: Breakfast.

My yummy muffin

Trip 12: March 15, 2014: There was no way I was getting back on the Tow Path after last week’s misadventure, so I had already planned to take Key Bridge to the beginning of the Capital Crescent Trail for today’s trip to the Writer’s Center. It’s a longer route, but there wasn’t a bit of mud or ice. Of course, it’s still slightly uphill the entire distance and I admit I was dragging a bit, needing to stop a couple times for little breaks. Distance: 10.2 miles; Category: Wild Card.

OK - I FORGOT to tak a photo at the Writer's Center, so am substituting this amusing shot
I took a few weeks ago in Georgetown, where it's hard to find good bike parking

 Trip 13: March 15, 2014: Since I was in downtown Bethesda, I decided to spend a little time walking around, as I’m not often in that neck of the woods. By afternoon the sky had cleared and it was a lovely, sunny day. The highlight was hearing a young man play the electric cello outside Barnes and Noble, where a substantial crowd gathered. I then went inside and browsed the magazines, trying to get ideas for places to submit my writing so I can augment my small but growing pile of rejection letters (ha-ha-ha). Despite my earlier fatigue, I was looking forward to the downhill ride back along the CC Trail (the previous week I’d visited my friend Jane after class, and she kindly gave me a ride home in the dark). Saddle-sore, but with a sense of accomplishment, I rode to the Rosslyn Metro, and put the bike on the bus from there to home, content with finishing off my errandonnee with a 23-mile day. Given the forecast of more snow to begin this evening, I was glad to double-up on my riding on such a perfect day. Distance 8.5 miles: Category: Store.

I took a short video of the cello player, but couldn't get it to load. so instead,
here's why you don't want to DRIVE to Bethesda.

Biking the Big Apple

At the end of last year, I finally took the plunge and joined the DC-area bike share: Capital Bikeshare, or CaBi. My red key arrived in the mail, and the next day I used it for a multi-modal trip to work. I drove to the Arlington Trader Joe's and parked there, hopped on my first CaBi and rode to Roslyn, took the metro to Metro Center, and walked to my office. Then the Polar vortex descended, and I was not up for full bike commutes to work, but quickly discovered that I enjoy hopping on a CaBi for the few short blocks between Metro Center and my office. It beats walking or changing trains for one stop.

So with my newfound bikeshare savvy, I looked forward to a spontaneous MLK weekend trip to New York as an opportunity to check out the Citibike controversy first hand. Yes, controversy. Some contingent of grumpy New Yorkers objects to the bright blue bikes and the space they take up on the street. Well, they are bright. The blue does seem to catch the eye more than the red CaBis. And each docking station holds way more bikes than any I've seen in DC or Arlington. Ours seems to hold about 15-20 bikes. The ones in NY - more like 40.

Selfie - with my greasy hand after trying to adjust the seat

There was a time, not so long ago, when I would have thought anyone crazy to risk life and limb cycling in Manhattan. But I knew a lot had changed in recent years, and I wanted to check out NYC's protected bike lanes, which I've heard so much about, in addition to the Citibikes.

Classy looking bike parking

I figured a cold Sunday morning would be the least hazardous time for my maiden voyage. I walked the Cycling Yogi to his $2 Bolt bus to Philly, leaving from 33rd and 11th. I'd already downloaded the app and checked out the abundance of docking stations in the lower half of Manhattan.

Bikes as far as the eye can see!

I picked up my first bike at 34th and 11th, going west on 34 where I'd seen an entry to the bike path running along the river. It's easy to go a long way on a bike without noticing it. At 59th St I veered off the river path to ride through Riverside Park, up to 79th St. I could have gone much farther, but I had to redock the bike within half an hour, or incur additional fees, and there were no docking stations above 59th St.

View of the bike path below from Riverside Park

I rode west to Columbus Ave, where I could take the protected bike lane south. I felt completely safe with a physical barrier between the one-way bike lane and motor vehicle traffic. I also appreciated the traffic signals that clearly indicate when bikes can proceed, and when they can't when cars have a left turn arrow. I'm not sure whether I exceeded my half hour before I found a docking station just south of Columbus Circle, on Broadway.

I walked from there to where a large line was forming at the TKTS booth. I got in line, figuring I'd wait till 10:30, when they would post the discount shows for the day. Alas, there were to be no tickets for the shows on my list, so I hightailed it over to the theater where Once is showing, joining the (yay) short line of thrifty theater goers waiting for $40 rush tickets. It was a long cold wait, but the time went quickly talking about Citibike to the fellow behind me in line.

He showed me some helpful features of the app, and I gave him the ins and outs of buying rush tickets - so we had a fruitful information exchange. After about 45 minutes, my fingers were just about numb, so I was grateful when his wife showed up and went on a coffee run for us. The hot liquid was a lifesaver! We were happy when the box office opened at noon, and we got our cheap tickets for the 3:00 show.

DIY bikerack

Delivery bikes huddling together to stay warm

Then my mishaps with Citibike began. The station on 45th and 8th by the theater had plenty of bikes, but the credit card reader was broken. When you use a one-day pass, you need to swipe your card each time to get a new unlocking code. By the time I'd walked to the next station, I was halfway to my hotel and it wasn't worth it to bike. But I figured I'd bike back to meet my friend Sarah for lunch before the show, after warming up a bit.

Hey, WTF…was about to park anyway

Here's the thing about Bikeshare docking. The bikes are really heavy, and to get them into and out of the dock you have to lift the front of the bike to unlock or redock it. For me, it's not easy. So, in my anticipatory haste to wrangle the bike out of the dock near Grand Central Station I started lifting up before the green light came on. That's a no-no, and I couldn't remove the bike. So, I figured, ok, I'll just get another code and try again. Wrong! The machine told me I could not get a new code for a other two minutes. Boo! So I just walked.

On Monday morning I figured I still had a bit of time left on my 24-hour pass so I took a little ride on the east side, cycling south down 2nd Avenue's protected bike lane from 33rd to 14th, and then back up on 1st Ave. The streets were quiet and, again, I felt perfectly safe.

The other Citibike glitch was that, nearly every time I swiped my credit card, the machine told me I couldn't use my card. Each time, I swiped it again, and was fine. Is it possible that the problem was that I used a Chase credit card, and not a Citibank card??

But here are a few nice features about Citibike. The Citibikes have a bell! I like that. Some of the docking stations are arranged to return the bike at an angle, which is easier than maneuvering the heavy bike straight into the portal.

Helpful signage 

Yeah - don't stop your car in the bike path!!!

I had written a diatribe about how much better the Citibike app was, compared to the one for CaBi. Well, it turns out I just hadn't learned to use the CaBi app very well. Both apps show both the number of bikes and the number of empty docks at each station. Both will also show bike routes, although I'm not sure whether the CaBi app shows where there are bike lanes, as the Citibike app does. That's something for me to check out.

I've also found that some bike seats are simple to adjust (as they should be) and others are nearly impossible. Note the greasy hands on my first photo after (unsuccessfully) struggling with one Citibike, before giving up and selecting a different ride. I've also gotten a CaBi on which the seat adjuster poked me in the leg with each pedal stroke (ouch). There's probably a simple fix, but I haven't figured it out.

Few bikes left near Penn Station

All-in-all, I had a lovely time biking in New York, and when I wasn't biking, I was taking photos of the fabulous bicycle infrastructure and diversity of delivery bikes that are ubiquitous on the sidewalks of New York.

Opening the Year - Guest Blog from the Cycling Yogi

You can’t count on ski days in Philadelphia any more.  In a good year, we’ll get three or four of them, but two winters ago we had none at all.  So when I woke up this morning to 8 inches of snow on the ground, I knew it was a special day.

After a symbolic pass at yoga stretches, I decided to shovel the walk before meditation, and by the time I got to my friendly neighborhood sangha, the 6:15 sit was ending.  I sat briefly, but the woods were calling – lovely, dark and deep.

On with the skis and down the hill into the park.  My street had been plowed but not salted, and the packed snow was perfect for skating along.  The steep road into the Wissahickon hadn’t yet been plowed, and the deep snow helped brake me on the way down the hill.  (For those of you who are not cross-country skiers, they’re different from downhill skis.  The binding is much looser and the skis have no edge, so you can try to brake going downhill, but the ski won’t necessarily come along with your foot.)

I was the first one in the park, skiing on virgin snow except – except there was a single track all along Forbidden Drive, the mark of a one-legged skier, I thought, or perhaps it was the tail of a woozle.

 

I could follow in one ski, but the other ski had to make a track for itself.  I developed an asymmetric gait: kick-glide, kick-glide...

And I kept imagining who it was had preceded me, with this single-runner track through the woods.  There were footsteps on either side of it.  But the footsteps were too far apart, I noticed.  And with time I became aware that they didn’t reach to the bottom.  They were depressions in the snow, but no one had put the weight of a foot into them.

 

When I suddenly realized what had made the tracks, I thought, “This is a page for the Biking Yogini.” 

Decades ago, I was the Boston area’s only bicycling piano teacher. I would cycle from my home in Watertown to teach my students in their Wellesley homes after school. When it snowed, I had no other transportation and no other income. But bicycling in the snow was dangerous, slow and uncomfortable.  Mountain bikes hadn’t yet been thought of.

 

But now, I see, there’s specialized equipment.

 

Thanksgiving Pilgrimage to Bicycle Mecca

The bicycle Meccas of the upper Northwest - Portland and Seattle - were part of my extended Thanksgiving holiday. And lo, the weather gods smiled upon me with cold but rainless days.

But first, Thanksgiving started with coastal walks along Pebble Beach - daytime temperatures in the mid-60s, and clear, with the rare treat of a night sky filled with stars. 

Pebble Beach

The Cycling Yogi and I made a day trip for hiking at Pinnacles National Monument. Leaving the California coastline, the day was close to 80 degrees and the steep uphill climb rewarded us with spectacular views of the unique rock formations. But the highlight for me was clambering through the cool, dark caves at the end of the descent. There is a primal mystery to being in a dark stone cave, conjuring ancient memories of our primitive forebears.

Pinnacles

Pinnacles

On the way back up the coast to San Francisco, where we would return our rental car, we stopped for a short hike at Henry Cowell state park - a serene grove of redwoods. These enormous old trees never fail to inspire a reverence for the mysteries of nature. Among the strangest observations was the gigantic pine cones that dropped from rather spindly trees at Pinnacles compared to the pine cones of the enormous redwoods, which resembled a mulberry in size and shape.

After a quick dinner with cousins in San Francisco, we flew to Portland, where I had booked us at one of the downtown Kimpton hotels because of their policy of providing free bikes to guests. I had intended to explore some of the city by bike and it seemed like a good deal to pay a little more for a nice hotel and not have to search and pay for a rental bike. I rode a sturdy Public bike in a lovely shade of red. The 3 gears were plenty for Portland's mild hills. The Cycling Yogi and I rode to an Indian restaurant for lunch and then he headed off to his appointments at Portland State University and I went to NE Portland, riding across the Broadway bridge and returning by the Burnside bridge. I ducked under an awning to let a brief rain shower pass and made the requisite visit to Powell's book store, finding a belated Hanukkah gift for my child. Dinner at Thai Peacock provided a chance to catch up with my oldest friend, Amy, who took a selfie of us and posted it on Facebook.

My hotel bike parked at the Alberta Street Co-op

I had come prepared with a pocket map of Portland's bike routes, but ended up mostly winging it. Natives probably know which roads have lanes and sharrows: many do. But I frequently chose the wrong streets, quickly realizing that those with streetcar tracks are not ideal for bikes. My second day was devoted to exploring the Alberta Street area of NE, where I found a nice food co-op. In it I saw a couple that looked like they had stepped out of a Portlandia episode - covered from head to toe in what looked like hand knit garments: hats, sweaters, scarves, leggings, mittens...you name it. They looked like they might have raised and shorn the sheep, spun and vegetable-dyed the wool, and designed and knit the clothes. That aside, the local hazelnuts were a delicious treat - without a hint of the rancid taste that often taints those found on the East coast.

Despite temperatures in the 40s, there were plenty of folks on bikes, as I expected, given the city's reputation. My next stop was the Mississippi Avenue neighborhood, filled with hip boutiques and artsy shops. I found some fleece-lined leggings, which came in handy during the rest of my trip, when I went further north to Washington. After grabbing lunch from a food cart, we walked to Union Station to catch the train to Seattle.

Decorative railing on Mississippi

West coast Amtrak is slower but more elegant than the Eastern seaboard routes I ride so frequently. First, it's cheap. Our rides cost about $25 each - far less than a ride from DC to Philly, even at the cheapest fares. We were assigned seats and the cars were clean and nearly empty. A train ride from DC to Philly takes 2 hours, whereas driving takes 3-3.5 hours. Going from Portland to Seattle by car takes about 3 hours, but the trip is closer to 4 hours on the train. Nevertheless, the ride was pleasant, with beautiful scenery until the skies darkened around 5 p.m.

We stayed with friends in Seattle, going each morning for a different park walk and returning on our friends' bikes. It was cold - but we dressed for it and the joy of discovering the Interurban bike path, which took us to within blocks of home, surpassed any worries about the temperature. We were told Seattle has had an unusually dry and sunny winter - but much colder than usual. While the temperatures were fine on a dry day, they would have been miserable in the rain.

I was particularly impressed by the bicycle infrastructure in the areas we explored. Lots of protected bike lanes: a two-way bike lane adjacent to the curb, separated from vehicular traffic by a curb or lane markings on the street. They felt very safe, and every driveway that intersected the bike lane was painted green.

Great bicycle infrastructure

My only mishap came from my unfamiliarity with the road bike I'd borrowed. I'm not used to the forward position and the shifters on the brakes took getting used to. Our second morning out, no sooner had I mounted the bike than I got disoriented while moving my hands to a more comfortable position. I was moving slowly, but rode right into a telephone pole, toppling over, bruising my hip, and straining a muscle in - no, no, no - my right shoulder...the one on which I had surgery a year ago. It’s already feeling better, and I hope that in a few days the pain will be gone completely. My bruise is about the size and color of a lovely plum.

From Seattle we drove to Olympia for our last 3 days. It was even colder there, temperatures dipping into the teens at night, but the clear skies allowed magnificent views of Mt. Rainer, usually obscured by overcast sky. Leaving early this morning from Seattle, the plane climbed above the cloud cover. For a few minutes, the tip of Ranier was visible, poking above the clouds, which spread like a soft white sea in the sky, sun shining down upon it.

Coffeeneuring – Oh where, oh where, has my little blog gone?

I’m tempted to sing that pathetic Willie Nelson excuse-for-an-apology to my blog: “you were always on my mind.” I’ve been traveling a lot the past two months and, ideally – the more I travel, the more I blog. But while my blog may have been on my mind, my fingers failed to hit the keyboard and, like Willie and his neglected lover, “I just didn’t take the time.” So I’m using the coffeeneuring challenge to catch up on my travels…even though some of them don’t include a hot beverage and others don’t include a bike.

September 19-20: It all began in Boston. No, not the American Revolution…my autumn travels. A business trip took me to Brookline. On my cab ride from Logan airport I was delighted to see a sign warning riders to LOOK FOR BIKES before getting out of the taxi. But the highlight of the trip was my first – yes, unbelievably my first – bike share experience as I took a joyride using the Hubway. Also, I want to give a shout out to Rani Bistro – which served up one of the most delicious meals of my life at a very reasonable price. If you’re in the Boston area – head to Coolidge Corner with a hearty appetite for modern Mumbai food.

Great to see this warning sign in the taxi

Hubway bike share

 October 3-4: Next stop Charleston, West Virginia. Again mixing business with pleasure, I tacked some time onto my trip to see cousin-in-law Ethan Murrow’s art exhibit at the Clay Center for the Arts. Seeing his work in photos or on the web is impressive, but nothing compared to experiencing it in person! My disappointment about Charleston was being unable to find a rental bike. The small downtown was walkable everywhere and I visited the farmer’s market in an old train station, used the public library (which had all the books I needed for a school project), and found a really nice independent book store – Taylor Books. 

Beautiful produce at the farmers market

 October 5: Back home, I biked to Saturday morning Pilates and treated myself to a post-workout soy chai latte and stress reduction foot soak at Arlington’s House of Steep. Delicious chai, aromatic but pricey foot soak, 5 miles round trip. (Coffeeneur #1)

House of Steep - delicious soy chai latte

 October 10-14: Birthday weekend took me to Philly – first with book group for an outing to the Barnes museum (yes, worth a visit), then with Ruth to the Magic Gardens (also worth a visit) in hip south Philly which had a cool vintage clothing shop, anarchist bookstore, and her friend’s son’s brand new (we were there on day 10) OX Coffee, already bustling with patrons and soon to add a performance space for music. I had coffee, but didn’t get there by bike.

Magic Gardens - lots of bike wheels

As members of the book group left for their respective homes, I met up with the Cycling Yogi to celebrate my birthday. On Saturday, we rode from his Mount Airy home to InFusion, a funky, indie shop on Germantown Avenue, where the atmosphere was great, but they totally messed up my request for a soy chai latte (about 2.5 miles round trip – coffeeneur #2). I got a truly wretched concoction of weak tea and had to go back to ask for the soy part, with disappointing results. But they get points for being a vegan/vegetarian café and art space. More important, the Cycling Yogi didn’t disappoint, fulfilling all my birthday wishes on Sunday.

October 19-23: Off to Santa Fe – again mixing in a hearty dose of pleasure with another business trip. I had no problem finding a rental bike; it was finding my breath at the 9,000 foot elevation that was the problem. I arrived on a Saturday, dropped my bags at my hotel and walked to Mellow Velo (do you love it?) for a sturdy and comfortable mountain bike hybrid. Riding back to the hotel on level ground I was panting a bit. After a good night’s sleep, I got up to a freezing morning. I layered up and biked to Downtown Subscription for an hour with the New York Times and an unremarkable cup of coffee. By then I was ready to hit the Canyon Road trail where I was glad to have those big tires for my white knuckled descent on a dirt road. Total miles – about 8 (coffeeneur #3); felt more like 12 with my labored breathing. The next day I was more acclimated and took a longer ride on the Rail Trail toward the desert, then turning off on the Arroyo de los Chamisos trail so that I could stay on a paved route.

The mellow fellow at Mellow Velo

mediocre coffee at Dwontown Subscription

The Santa Fe desert

October 25-26: Back to Philly for a short-but-sweet visit to the Cycling Yogi and my next coffeeneur (#4) – this time biking to The Chestnut Hill Coffee Co. (round trip 6 miles) and an overly sweet hot chocolate. The highlight of the trip was learning from another patron that the tiny hole in my tights had split wide open (nope, no underwear) necessitating a quick wrap of my jacket around my waist. Fortunately the day had warmed up sufficiently that I didn’t need to wear the jacket in the traditional manner and thus the world was spared the embarrassing (yes – in this case it’s the perfect word) look at my bare ass.

Smiling - before I realized I had a big hole in my tights

November 2: This is when I realized that I had misread the coffeeneuring rules. I had thought I couldn’t record more than one trip in a weekend and was baffled by people crowing about having finished the challenge. It was a perfect bike day so again, after Pilates, I rode for a treat – this time to Java Shack in Clarendon (8 miles round trip – coffeeneur #5) – which not only has its own bike corral, but knows how to make a delicious soy chai latte (obviously my drink of choice). Sitting at an outdoor table, even with the previous week’s City Paper for reading material, was mighty fine for November.

Outstanding soy chai latte

Convenient bike corral at Java Shack

November 9-10: I knew it would be a challenge to finish up my last two coffeeneuring stops this weekend, as I had a full schedule. The Cycling Yogi was here and we lingered overlong in bed on Saturday, solving the world’s problems. Too late for early Pilates, we cycled to Northside Social where I had a redeye and he had hot chocolate (coffeeneur #6 – 7 miles round trip). We had to drink fast, so we could cycle back to late Pilates. I was able to resist the amazing looking baked goods only because I was headed to 75 minutes of strenuous stomach crunching – not a good combination with a giant muffin, I decided.

so-so redeye

The Cycling Yoga

Sunday, however, was the challenge. I teach yoga from 9-12 Sunday mornings and had theater plans immediately afterwards. I knew I would get home too late to want to bike anywhere in the dark. I had placed the requirement on myself that I visit only independent coffee shops – no Starbucks, Caribou, Cosi, etc. – so the nearby options were either out of bounds or didn’t open until 9 a.m. As luck would have it, Rappahannock in south Arlington – an 11 mile round trip ride – opens at 7 a.m. – even on Sunday. I got there by 7:30, had a chai, burned my lip, and biked back home by 8:30 – in time for a quick shower and off to yoga.

Thank you to Rappahannock for opening early on Sunday

So, I’ve neglected my blog, but succeeded at the coffeeneuring challenge – enjoying the perfect crisp autumn biking weather, comparing the hot beverages (top marks for chai latte go to House of Steep and Java Shack), and – when I decide I need a treat – Northside Social will definitely be the place…so long as it’s after Pilates.