BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Last year, Pittsburgh had more Coffeeneuring than any other city. (Portland was next). Looking forward to coffee-themed bike riding. May I ask, are there any new shops/places that have sprung up in the past year, or places that you've only learned about in the past year, that you hope to use in Coffeeneur2013? V.

The new Peet's coffee in Oakland should be open Mid October, would that count?

Absolutely it counts, and thank you- I didn't know there was any Peets in the area.

http://www.chateaucafeandcakery.com/sweet-geeks https://www.facebook.com/ChateauCC I actually haven't been there yet, but the menu interests me.

I've been in there. Opening week, the owner's children were out on the Chateau trail handing out hummus samples and brochures so I hopped over. Nice place, large seating area.

May I ask yinz digerati a Twitter question, because like I can't fit this into 140 characters? So for coffeeneuring, it's effective to follow @gypsybug and also to watch for the hashtag #coffeeneuring. Is there a way to introduce a hashtag into my twitter feed - in other words, to follow a hashtag just like you might follow an individual? Thanks, V.

FYI. Constellation coffee is a new shop opening near the corner of Penn Ave and Butler St, slated to open early october (probably by the 4th). This might be a new one to check out. It's in the former space occupied by cat & dog coffee. https://www.facebook.com/constellationpgh

Vannevar wrote:Last year, Pittsburgh had more Coffeeneuring than any other city. (Portland was next).

Holy crap, that's impressive.

I'd also like to check out coffee buddha on perry hwy at some point..

Coffee Buddha is a cool destination, one I used myself last year. 200 yards north of it is Perry Perk, a tiny shop that also sells breakfast and lunch, and has outdoor seating. About 3/4 mile beyond that is Kelly-O's Diner. And about 1/2 mile beyond that is Adzema Pharmacy's lunch counter (1/4 mile from my house). So, lots of places to explore if you want to head up my way. North of me, hmmm, precious little.

http://www.orbiscaffe.com/ Opened up semi-recently in Oakland, anyone been? Saw they have a Lebo location as well.

Vannevar wrote:Is there a way to introduce a hashtag into my twitter feed – in other words, to follow a hashtag just like you might follow an individual?

using the twitter website, i'm not sure--you may have to open a separate window or tab. Most of the various other sites and apps offer the ability to follow a search in a second tab/column/etc.; details vary by program.

Vannevar wrote:I didn’t know there was any Peets in the area.

There aren't. The same German private-equity firm owns both Peets and Caribou, however, so while most Caribous outside the upper midwest closed last month, some are being converted to new Peetses, including the Oakland location (not sure about the S.S.Works site).

Benzo wrote:I’d also like to check out coffee buddha on perry hwy at some point..

Pretty nice place. If you don't mind traffic, Babcock Boulevard from Millvale to Rochester isn't a bad ride; the only hill is on Rochester. For a less-trafficky solution, perhaps go out through Bellevue, then go out Balph (I think?) to Centre into West View (or take #13 bus to WV Plaza), then up 19 to Perrysville village. If you pick your day right, you can also get a truck taco (or 3) for lunch ...

Elmo wrote:[Orbis Caffe] Opened up semi-recently in Oakland, anyone been?

Had never heard of it before I saw it riding past the other day---for the curious, it's right next to Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room... There also seems to be some sort of cafe-type thing on Melwood just south of Centre, behind the corner bar. Don't know anything about it, though. Elsewhere in Oakland, I'm not aware of anything else new (though maybe you could count All-India, on Craig north of Centre, which has a watery chai); a few things have closed, however, including the Dozen Cupcakes on Craig just north of Forbes. (The Lawrenceville and McMurray Dozens will close at the end of this month, it was announced this week.) Quiet Storm is moving in, at least temporarily, with AVA Lounge in the old Luna Bar space on Craig & Centre; that should open mid-October. In Lawrenceville, Kickback I think is new since last year, in the Arsenal Lanes building; Gryphon's Tea has moved from the Public Market to a spot on Butler near 42nd (and a stall at the Farmer's Market). Has anyone ever been to Maura Mori Cafe, on Butler at I think 52nd?

Figured i'd mention since i'm a coffee lover of all sorts. I typically walked from my house 31st/Penn area to Espresso a Mano for my daily drink, but now Klavons serves coffee!! So much closer,always friendly staff. Stop in for a drink. I can't remember the coffee they serve, but every cup is fresh and lots of other drink options.

61B in Regent Square just opened. Why haven't I tried this yet? Maybe this year.

Today there's a post online about the city-vs-city distribution of 2012 coffeeneuring: Will your city Coffeeneur? And the last paragraph was so good I thought I'd repeat it: "Remember, you must follow the rules. Remember, rules were made to be broken. Most important, remember that the spirit of coffeeneuring must be ever-present on your journey and at the destination, even when the caffeine or lack thereof threatens to derail you."

Speaking of Constellation, I saw they will be serving Ceremony roasters. This is great news for coffee people!!!

And the procedures for 2013 are online: http://chasingmailboxes.com/2013/09/30/third-annual-chasing-mailboxes-coffeeneuring-challenge/ New this year: the embrace of Coffee Shops Without Walls, for those who brew at the campground. I would point out that if your days off are not Sat-Sun, there's an accomodation for that. Also, I'm pleased to be the instigator of the Veteran's Benefit.

Testing a Tweed embed:

#coffeeneuring at the Chateau Cafe in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/z8DLxr9gNk— Colleen Spiegler (@cspiegler) October 4, 2013

Oh dang, I saw the misspelling and for a second thought someone was organizing a Tweed Ride (sadface).

edmonds59 wrote:Oh dang, I saw the misspelling and for a second thought someone was organizing a Tweed Ride (sadface).

LOL! Whoops, I guess I have Tweed-Brain today. A Tweed ride *would* be awesome to the second power.

I still have tweed to wear! And the season is about right...... As to Stu's question, there is a great coffee shop on Perry Highway north of him. If my recollection is accurate, it is in a tiny plaza on the west side of Perry Highway just north of Patron's. I've been there a couple of times, and always enjoyed going back. Nice people, nice selection. I wish I could remember the name, but all I can remember is that it is sort of unusual...... Found it on Google Streetview.....Amarabica Coffee House, 11889 Perry Highway, Wexford. A tough place to get to on a bike though....The little road that passed BEHIND Patron's from 910 might be usable though.

Oh. Right. Way up that far. For me, the bike world ends at Pine Creek Plaza, where Target has a little café. I just do not go up into Wexford Flats, let alone north of it. Frankly, I don't go north of Cumberland Road if I can help it. But with four in a mile on my stretch of Perry, there isn't any need to go north of me. And hey, give me a heads up and I'll put the kettle on! ETA: +1 on another Tweed Ride!

2013 Coffeeneuring 1 of 7. Friday Oct 4th, 0930. (my days off are Thursday-Friday) Point State Park (iaw new Rule2, Coffee Shop Without Walls) With S & R. (two tea, one coffee) http://type2-clydesdale.blogspot.com/2013/10/coffee-shop-without-walls-coffeeneuring.html

Coffeeneuring #1 Marty's Market, Strip District, Pittsburgh 10/05/2013, 16.2 miles Fuji Tandem Mocha for me, cocoa for Coffeeneuring Cadet Owen, and some yummy lavender shortbread cookies to be shared. A quick late-morning ride to stretch our legs. Owen and I hopped on the tandem and headed down to the Point to gawk at the Duck, then over to the Strip to find a snack.

Originally a tweet, copied here for ease of future reference.

#coffeeneuring #1 Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh main branch, Oakland's @CrazyMocha: mocha+brownie! pic.twitter.com/uv5BnERvXJ— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) October 5, 2013

Reddan, so glad to hear that you and Owen are out and about on the tandem. The bianci CV continues to treat me well. I think ours was a deal that worked out for all parties! But, no coffee breaks for me this weekend! Used the last of the good weather to complete the scrubbing and waterproofing of my back deck. I think we should be able to define the days when we coffeeneur. My weekend was packed, made it unreasonable to be able to bike, although it was non-work related. On days when I work, I actually sometimes have MORE time and more incentive to seek out an interesting coffee place.

Swalfoort wrote:I think we should be able to define the days when we coffeeneur.

Actually, there are opportunities provided for that. The first year, I worked rotating days off and I contacted MG and obtained what my legalistic mother would call a "special dispensation" - MG said, just coffeeneur on whatever your days off are and document it that way, and I think that's reflected in the rules. You'll see there are accomodations for irregular schedules, retirees, people on vacations, and furloughed federal workers. I would think that if you want to ask, you could submit your request to Mary G. http://chasingmailboxes.com/contact/ OTOH, if you're the kind of person that prefers to act rather than ask, if you're the kind of person that avoids asking questions when you might not like the answer (in other words, if you're a rule-stretcher-bender like myself) then perhaps you'll simply find a more effective way to identify when you're working and what is actually your time off. I mean, maybe you work seven days a week in one guise/role or another. It doesn't sound like you are really and truly off on Saturday! Maybe this week your key time off is on Tuesday and Thursday. As even His Holiness recently suggested, who am I to judge? Lest I seem heretical, I would mention MG's own philosophy from this blog post: http://chasingmailboxes.com/2013/09/25/will-your-city-coffeeneur-a-look-back-a-glance-ahead/

Remember, you must follow the rules. Remember, rules were made to be broken.

In the end, it's about riding your bike, drinking coffee, and participating in the structure. There are variations in adherence, and we don't want any ugly schisms or riots. No Fundamentalist-Strict-Interpretationist Coffeeneurs with one set of ethics, and NIV-Reformed-Embracing Coffeeneurs on the other hand. Just use discretion n'at, and pursue the Good happily and in a spirit of loving-kindness. I mean, wouldn't it be a better world with more people riding their bikes for coffee/tea/cider? Be the change! Just a respectful suggestion from a scoundrel.

+1 Vann....

Coffeeneur 2013 2of7 61B Cafe, Regent Square. 26miles. Great ride nice coffee shop. Met Tom Murphy on his bike at PointStatePark, and later asked for directions and found myself talking with Rick Sebak. With R and S. Location needs a bike corral.

So the organizers of Zinebot (the Roboto project zine library) were talking about having an open house event at the end of the month and wanted to have a themed zine reading to go with it. I suggested they incorporate a Coffeeneuring theme having folks read some stuff related to to biking and coffee. Details are still being worked out but here's what is the likely plan: - saturday, oct 26th @ roboto, 5106 penn ave - open house = noon-4, readings probably sometime in the middle there (2ish?) - gonna work on putting together a little pre-reading bike ride for those interested - there will be coffee/tea to fulfill the coffeeneuring experience if you would be interested in reading something, get in touch at zines[at]therobotoproject.org. You can read your own stuff or something that someone else wrote, whatever.

I used my Amtrak adventure to do a Coffeeneuring run. I think the 60-mile ride back from Connellsville to Pittsburgh counts. Mark this as #2A, as I took a day off at work.

#Coffeeneuring #2A on an Amtrak train, will bike 60mi back f/Connellsville to Pgh later. Cinnamon roll & coffee. pic.twitter.com/Vs8rxZ1wAQ— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) October 15, 2013

The actual picture in the tweet:

Coffeeneuring 3of7. River City Java, 1919 Forbes Ave, Uptown, with RC and SR. Nice place, friendly staff. I had a three-shot espresso. https://www.facebook.com/rivercityjavapgh tweet sent.

wow. tried to go to that place once when it was Asylum, although I think they'd already shut down by the time i made it. glad to see them up and running again.

Talked with the manager at River City Java while we were coffeeneuring today and he said that any bike groups out that would like to meet there before, after or during a ride would be most welcome. They're not open on weekends, but he said to just give him a call a day ahead and he would open up for the group. They have a little courtyard in addition to the front room and that little deck. Steve Walsh 412 526 1779 1919 at icloud dot com Nice folks, good service, good raspberry tea. Give them a try.

Coffeeneuring 4 of 7, Friday 10/18. Delanie's Coffee, West Carson at 18th Southside with SR. http://type2-clydesdale.blogspot.com/2013/10/excuse-me-madam-coffeeneuer2013-4-of-7.html Nice place.

30 seconds later: Coffeeneuring #2 Crazy Mocha, South Side, Pittsburgh 10/20/2013, ~2.5 miles All-City Nature Boy(mine), KMX Storm trike (Owen), and Target-brand Hello Kittie bike w/ trainers (Elaine) Tanzanian Peabody drip for me, cocoa for the kiddos to share, and a Cookie As Big As My Face for all three of us. A lovely ride. Started at the Swinburne St trailhead, then over Hot Metal to the Crazy Mocha. A jaunt down the trail a bit, then back to see if the new riverside segment below Hofbrauhaus was yet open (it wasn't). Lunch at Qdoba, then back across the river to the car and home. Ride highlight: Elaine discovered that she could stand up to put some more oomph into the pedals on the tough climbs...few things cuter than a 4-year-old dancing up the hill out of the saddle on a pink be-streamered bike.

https://twitter.com/bus15237/status/391976294985891840 Coffeeneuring #3, Buena Vista Café in Mexican War Streets part of N Side. About 9 miles from the house. Still on the road as I type this after threading my way through Steeler fans near Heinz Field on my way to see the duck one last time.

@Reddan you need a picture of that little cutie - all in pink - on the pink bike - standing on those pedals going up the hill! Sounds like you had a great Coffeeneuring adventure. I love that you're coffeeneuring family style.

srpit wrote:

I love that you’re coffeeneuring family style.

Gotta get 'em thoroughly brainwashed as early as possible.

Cross-posting the tweet, with photo.

#coffeeneuring #3 Buena Vista Café, in Mexican War Streets. Mocha & an English muffin. pic.twitter.com/avnvbV8Y06— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) October 20, 2013

so yeh, Roboto folks are gonna do a little coffeeneuring-themed zine reading on saturday around 2pm. Unless it's real shitty, we're gonna do a little pre-reading ride. Meet at Roboto around 1pm and we'll come back, sip beverages and some folks will read from zines about coffee and bikes. FB event https://www.facebook.com/events/155421688000434

Coffeeneur 5 of 7, Thursday 10/24 (eight weeks till Christmas Eve!) with SR and RC. Tazzo D'Oro, Highland Park. http://type2-clydesdale.blogspot.com/2013/10/coffeeneuring-5-of-7-rule-9-sleet-thick.html

Found a great Coffeeneuring spot today on Mt Washington. Corner of Bigham and Virginia... Cafe Cravings. Real ham in the breakfast sandwich - not deli meat or Canadian bacon. Probably the best I've had in a long time. The hot chocolate was about perfect. Service was great. Nice and cozy inside on a cold morning. Highly recommend!

Weekly cross-post, Coffeeneuring trip #4, Dobra Tea, 1937 Murray Ave at Beacon, Squirrel Hill. I rode five miles from Forbes and Grant, downtown, to here, mainly using Forbes. Didn't get a nibbly, but did meet up with my wife (it's our anniversary) for a nice evening of storytelling. Spook-story storytelling!

This will have to serve as #coffeeneuring #4: Dobra Tea, 1937 Murray Ave, Squirrel Hill. Spook storytelling! pic.twitter.com/QhEnaqJt0R— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) October 25, 2013

Coffeeneuring #3 Delanie's Coffee, South Side, Pittsburgh 10/26/2013, ~3 miles Hot chocolate all around, plus homemade oatmeal cream pie and a peanut-butter-and-chocolate brownie aptly dubbed "the brick." Chilly day, but pleasant trail riding. A few folks out and about in costume, affording much amusement to the kids. "Look, a ghost!" "Look, a spider!" "Look, a Minion!" Also spent a few pleasant minutes riding and chatting with srpit and Marko, as they were providing volunteer services to an event at the time.

@RedDan, when you send your CoffeeNeur report in to MG, will you report with names for three participants? You, and your two junior partners? It would be a significant boost to the Pittsburgh count, plus I believe you could claim to usher in a whole new dimension: FamilyNeuring. Cheers, V.

Coffeeneuring #4 La Prima Espresso, Strip District, Pittsburgh 10/27/2013, ~4.2 miles Macchiato for me, another hot chocolate for the kids, plus white chocolate macadamia biscotti. In the expert opinion of my youngest spawn, "Best hot chocolate ever!" More brisk than yesterday's ride, but still pleasant. The kids and I initially headed for Klavon's, but found them closed for undisclosed reasons. Undaunted, we made our way to 21st St and La Prima Espresso to salvage our coffeeneuring plans, then to the river and followed the trail most of the way to the Point and back. @Vannevar: I fully intend that the kids earn their coffeeneuring badges, and be entered in the roll of honor thereof. Owen and I are at four outings, but Elaine is at only three, so she and I will have to find an extra opportunity in the near future.

Coffeeneur 7. North Park Boathouse - OTB Cafe w.SR SR had tea and chowder, I had a latte and black bean cake. Tremendous. Better than at the southside location. Seems like a few shakedown - growing pains - opening month issues, but on their way to excellence. Quite a crowd for Thursday lunch. Fewer piercings in North Park than Southside.

In a Twitterversation a couple days ago, we decided that my Amtrak trip counts, so today's trip to Espresso a Mano is #6.

#coffeeneuring #6, Espresso a Mano, Butler St, Lawrenceville/Pittsburgh. Macchiato pic.twitter.com/NlosBNQZRd— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) November 2, 2013

Coffeeneuring #5 Big Dog Coffee, 2717 Sarah St, Pittsburgh 11/3/2013, ~5.3 miles (Elaine's longest ride ever!) Another Oakland->Hot Metal->Southside trail ride, with various and sundry digressions and side trips. Hot chocolate for the kids, mocha for myself, and some form of lemony vanilla home-made stuffed cookies which, if there were any justice in the world, would put the Oreo brand out of business in one fell swoop. Totals now stand at 5 coffeeneuring/cocoaneurring trips for Owen and myself, 4 for Elaine. With five potential riding days left for the challenge, things are looking promising for all three of us. I've got an REI gift card to burn, so may well invest in a decent camping stove and make at least one Coffee Without Walls trip.

Go Elaine! That's awesome.

I wonder how many kids her age can say they rode more miles in a day than they are years old. Frankly, I wonder how many any of us can say that.

Coffeeneuring #6 Peet's Coffee, Southside Works, Pittsburgh 11/10/2013, 2.2 miles. Dark roast for me, cocoa for Elaine, and a slice of gingerbread loaf to share. Owen was a bit under the weather yesterday, so Elaine and I went coffeeneuring without him. We delayed our departure until late morning, as the skies were a bit ominous; then over to Elaine's favorite starting point at the Swinburne St trailhead. While no rain manifested, the headwinds were significant; steady 15-20 mph, with gusts up to 30s. This was Elaine's first experience with headwinds...she held up well, but was a little dismayed when she stopped pedaling and found herself rolling backwards. I encouraged her to get behind me, and had her "draft" me until we crossed the river and got out of the full force of the wind. We encountered @srpit and @Vannevar on the Hot Metal Bridge; they, while already done with their formal coffeeneuring, were on their way to Big Dog, site of our coffeeneuring trip last weekend. We made our way to the Peet's Coffee (formerly Caribou) on Carson in the SouthSide Works, enjoyed our warm beverages, then meandered back to the trail. After crossing the river again, Elaine discovered that tail winds are lots more fun than headwinds...she was spinning out at a blistering 7-8 mph the whole way back to the car. :-) All in all, an excellent, albeit short, trip together. Totals now stand at 6 coffeeneuring trips for myself, 5 for Owen and Elaine. 3 more potential days to get in two more trips for the kids, and one for me.

Trip #7 of 7! I went out of state for this one, a little jaunt to Athens OH to visit my daughter at college. We took a nine-mile trip around campus, town and nearby trails, ending up at a little place called the Athens Book Center. Lots of new and used books in the place, lots of stuffed animals on the couches (note the three-foot high giraffe at right edge of pic), and of course, coffee.

#Coffeeneuring trip #7: Athens OH, Athens Book Center, choc espresso for me, chai tea for daughter. 6 mi out & back pic.twitter.com/hqgvM9njEh— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) November 10, 2013

(It felt like six when we were just riding around, but when I reconstructed the trip on MapMyRide, it came up as nine.) Also bought a book! A nice way to end a visit.

Paging back through this thread, looks like I didn't cross-post Trip #2 from back on October 12, so here it is:

#coffeeneuring #2 Perry Perk, Perry Hwy, Ross Twp. Latté & biscotti. Early on the trip, only 1mi out but closes 3pm pic.twitter.com/ir0PVQHRbC— Stuart Strickland (@bus15237) October 12, 2013

Perry Perk is only a mile and change from my house, but this ended up being about a 25-mile day, after riding out to the Glenwood Bridge. So, here's the summary 1 - Carnegie Library, Oakland, after riding 11 miles from home 2 - Perry Perk, 25+ miles 2A - Amtrak to Connellsville, then 65 miles back on the GAP 3 - Buena Vista Café, 15 miles 4 - Dobra Tea, Squirrel Hill, 4-mile ride from Downtown 6 - Espresso a Mano + Reverse Keg Ride 7 - Athens Book Center, 9 miles

I only have one more trip to make! http://rustyredriding.blogspot.com/

it's never over until the paperwork is finished, right? Remember that when you've completed your Seven Stops, you need to send MG an email marygersema at-thingy gmail-dot-com For each stop, the email should list: date, distance, shopName (or withoutWalls), shopCity, typeDrink, link to a photo if one exists, link to an online report if one exists. and please tell her that you're a Pittsburgh coffeeneur! thanks, V.

Coffeeneuring #7 Lofts Cafe, Heinz Lofts, Pittsburgh 11/16/2013, 3.2 miles. Institutional coffee for me, cocoa for the kids. Per recommendation from @Vannevar and @srpit, we parked in Millvale and rode down the Three Rivers Heritage Trail to the Heinz Lofts, former manufactory site of world-renowned Heinz 57 Varieties Ketchup. Unfortunately, they were out of/didn't carry any hot chocolate; fortunately for the kids' coffeeneuring ambitions, I had an emergency package of Starbucks cocoa in my bike bag. We enjoyed our beverages, shared a pizza for lunch, then headed back up the trail. That's my seven; tomorrow, I think we'll do a Coffeeshop Without Walls ride to wrap things up for the kids.

@RedDan, I'm very sorry about the Heinz Loft Cafe not having hot chocolate for your sidekicks - we went in and specifically asked them about it, I'm sorry to have misled you. Those people at the Cafe at Heinz Lofts are now hashtag-DeadToMe. I am very impressed at your robust plan-B capability (which doesn't surprise me) This graphic is my small penance, and I really sincerely hope it doesn't end up in the google-image results when somebody searches for "Heinz Loft Cafe" or even for "Cafe Heinz Lofts", because that would be terrible and anyway they are now Dead To Me.

Vannevar wrote:

@RedDan, I’m very sorry about the Heinz Loft Cafe not having hot chocolate for your sidekicks – we went in and specifically asked them about it, I’m sorry to have misled you. Those people at the Cafe at Heinz Lofts are now hashtag-DeadToMe. I am very impressed at your robust plan-B capability (which doesn’t surprise me) This graphic is my small penance, and I really sincerely hope it doesn’t end up in the google-image results when somebody searches for “Heinz Loft Cafe” or even for “Cafe Heinz Lofts”, because that would be terrible and anyway they are now Dead To Me.

*giggle* Thank you for the lovely image.. Given the less-than-friendly demeanor of the counter staff (I suspect they were having a day where customers were regarded as more of an irritation than a source of revenue), it may well have been a case of someone who simply didn't care to look in the back room. No harm done.

Coffeeneuring #8 (Coffeeshop Without Walls) Gillot Field: 100 Davis Ave, Pittsburgh 11/17/2013, 1.5 miles. General Mills French Vanilla Cafe for me, Swiss Miss instant cocoa for Owen Given the rain, Elaine was not terribly interested in going for a bike ride (demonstrating once more that, even at the age of four, the female of the species possesses significantly more common sense than the male); so, Owen and I girded our collective loins and ventured off into the steady rain. No specific destination...we merely hopped on the tandem and started cruising some of the less-traveled roads in our area, looking for a sheltered spot to set up coffee camp. After a minimal amount of aimless wandering, we found a shelter at nearby Gillot Field in Bellevue, just across the valley from our house. This was our inaugural use of the Jetboil stove I just picked up at REI; I was quite pleased with how rapidly it boiled our water, less pleased with how poorly the spark igniter worked. All in all, though, it could have been far worse. This was Owen's seventh coffeeneuring trip, so I'm happy to say he's official. I'm even happier to say that, while riding back home in fairly heavy rain, he asked me "Can we do this again next year?"

RE: Heinz Loft Cafe is an odd place, I think it caters to the residents who need a snack and are too lazy to go anywhere or make it themselves. When I went (also on a rainy day, which may tell you something about my level of common sense) I was the only customer and I had to rustle about to catch the attention of a pre-occupied employee in the back. They didn't serve anything in the way of caffeine other than pre-made coffee out of a pump-operated thermos thing. I'm embarrassed to say I liked the coffee (for the price), but I'll be the first to tell you I'm not very high on the coffee connoisseur totem pole.

@Reddan, so did you explain rule 9 to Owen? Congratulations to him! Sorry to hear that Elaine wasn't able to finish, but yeah, even we canceled our ride for this morning so I get that. Very nice. Perhaps the kids would be interested in the upcoming Soupaneuring? Same idea - slightly different incentive.

srpit wrote:

@Reddan, so did you explain rule 9 to Owen? Congratulations to him! Sorry to hear that Elaine wasn’t able to finish, but yeah, even we canceled our ride for this morning so I get that. Very nice. Perhaps the kids would be interested in the upcoming Soupaneuring? Same idea – slightly different incentive.

THANK YOU for the rule 9 reminder! The tandem doesn't have a computer, so I was lazy and guesstimated. Due to your reminder, I actually mapped the route we took, and found that it was 2.1 miles...just over the wire for Owen's completion! Otherwise we would have had to run out this evening, and I would have felt very silly... As it happens, I had mentioned soupaneuring to him on today's ride...I think it may be on the agenda this winter.

Congrats to the 11 cyclists that MG has listed as completing the 2013 Coffeeneuring Challenge. If you completed the Challenge and aren't on the list, check this URL for contact info and let her know so she can add one to Pittsburgh's count and send you your super-duper schwag patch! http://chasingmailboxes.com/2013/12/14/coffeeneuring-challenge-results-part-2-finishers/ Colleen S. http://rustyredriding.blogspot.com/ Dan B Dan D Vannevar http://type2-clydesdale.blogspot.com/ Maija http://theairgonaut.blogspot.com/ Margaret Mike http://notdistancebutdepth.wordpress.com Owen B. R.F. Glenn @rflgenn Stuart @bus15237 Susie http://pghtrailtales.blogspot.com/

So, we got 11 this time out of 133? Good! 9% and 16 out of PA.

You mean, we all get one of those awesome embroidered patches? SWEET! Oh, heck... now I need to get a pannier to sew it onto.

I believe all of us who finished were emailed a request for a USPS street address. Please get in touch with her if you qualify and did not.