Coffee ride #7

Tuesday Nov 11th Veterans Day. First off happy Veterans Day to all that have and are serving this great nation. 26 miles today to finish off the 2015 Challenge. I started off stopping by the Veterans Memorial in Milton Wa and then it was off to Tacoma in search of coffee.

Today was sunny and windy, a great respite from the past few days of rain. I was bundled up against the chilly morning air, by the time I hit the steep hills of Tacoma the layers were coming off. I cruised around the hilltop area searching for a good coffee or donut shop. and lo and behold I happened on Original House of Donuts.

The Donut selected was a delight for the eyes and they had coffee to wash down all the sugar and doughy goodness.

Why have one when two is better, combined with the Pumpkin spiced latte I was jacked up like Tony Montana in Scarface after his infamous nose candy scene. Luckily I had some decent climbs to negotiate on the way home to help burn all that instant energy ripping through my system.

Crossing over the Puyallup River as it dumps into Commencement Bay in Tacoma Wa, I really enjoyed this unexpected sunny day making this Veterans Day a special one. My Dads birthday is also this day and he would have turned 80, he also was a Veteran serving in the US Army in the early fifties protecting the German border from the now defunct USSR. He's been gone 27 years and is missed dearly, Happy Birthday Dad.

 

A special thanks to MG at Chasing Mailboxes for organizing the Coffeeneuring Challenge.

Coffee ride #6

Sunday Nov 8th 2.5 miles. 6 down 1 more to go. Being an Air Force Vet I am saving Veterans Day to finish the Challenge in style, rain or shine I will put in a good effort to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Daves of Milton a restaurant in Milton Wa was the stop today. I rode from home and met my wife for sunday breakfast, the weather called for rain most of the day so I wasn't to keen on a long one.

Lead skies ruled the morning but it was a short mostly downhill run to Daves. Good ole diner black coffee was the beverage of choice along with eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. Daves is a local joint that has comedy night on selected weekends. Locals made up the client list and I even ran into an old neighbor from days gone by.

I spaced out a bike pic and tossed the bike in the back of the SUV and wimped out the ride home. This time of the year my motivation is low, lots of early nights to bed and lollygagging on the couch watching football. I like to think I'm reloading for big adventures to come and don't sweat being lazy as 2015 was a big year with lots of riding and backpacking trips to round out a great year.

Coffee ride #5

Sunday Oct 24th, 9.5 miles. I decided to ride the Sumner Link trail and grab a coffee and food along the way. The Link trail is supposed to connect the Interurban trail which runs from Pacific Wa up  north  up to Seattle with the Foothills trail which runs from Puyallup out towards Mt Rainier.

 

 

Castle Perk was the coffee stop for today, its a drive up located in downtown Sumner Wa. I ordered an Americano and Italian bagel sandwich. Not much to report for this ride just short and sweet, long gone are the warm indian summer days of early fall, the gloom and doom of fall and winter have arrived, low light and short days are the norm for awhile. It will be mostly riding to work and the dreaded indoor torture sessions to keep fitness sharp for the upcoming cycling season.

 

 

 



Coffee Ride #4

Saturday Oct 17, I loaded up my bike in the back of my truck and headed out to Tacoma. I have been fighting off a cold lately so I really didn't feel much like a long ride or doing many hills.

This view is crossing over the Thea Foss waterway on the 11th St bridge. It is a great access to downtown Tacoma from the Industrial tide flats. I brought along my cook kit and some Italian Espresso to brew up, but I needed something to finish it off.



 



 The Corina Bakery at 602 Fawcett Ave in Tacoma did the trick. I ordered up a Pumpkin Cheesecake cupcake to go and headed back down to a little hide away I know.

The tide was out so lots of mud, garbage and smelly odors were my companions today. I haven't had much luck with brewing coffee grounds through my filter setup, so its instant Espresso for me.

Just like a good handshake, Brooks and coffee. It was warm and overcast with rain threatening so I needed to get the show on the road.

The Pumpkin cupcake was perfect and the coffee nice and strong, I really like coming down to this part of Tacoma on Sundays, the traffic is almost zero and it just feels right. My family has a long history of Longshore work here in the tide flats so it feels like home.

Saw this Hawk dining on a rabbit, not something one sees everyday. My mileage for the day was 7 miles, just a few more days till 7!

Trip 3 Oct 16th

 My work schedule allows me every other Friday off, so I will use today for one of my coffee trips.
I drove down to Sumner Wa and parked at the trailhead of the Sumner Link Trail

The Bike trail follows the White River which starts from a glacier high up on Mt Rainier so it runs milky most of the time. My total mileage was a little over 8 miles, the weather was warm for October and I feel this could be it for the warm Indian Summer days we have enjoyed.

 

I decided to ride my singlespeed bike as the trail was flat and I didn't feel like getting all kitted up.

I brewed up some Medaglia d'oro instant espresso and had a sandwich and some yogurt to round out the menu.

Italian coffee and British leather a match made in heaven, lots of waterfowl were visible from the trail it sure is fall up in Washington with the leaves turning color and all the birds moving through.

I used my Trangia alcohol stove to heat my water, this little stove boils water pretty fast using Heet as fuel which I get from any auto parts store. I have quite a few different backpacking stoves and each one has its pluses and minuses, its good to have choices.

 

 

October 11 Day 2

After yesterdays torrential rain and 40 mph winds, I figured today was my chance to add # 2 to my list. I loaded up the Surly and headed down to the Tacoma Tideflats to a little spot I like to do a brew up.

 

I brought a pumpkin muffin and some egg nog to compliment my brew up, I used my wood burning Solo stove to heat my water, the weather was great once again, this time of year in Washington we get bonus days with almost summer like conditions without the heat. With the gloomy weather soon to come I will always take advantage of these gifts.

My total mileage for the day was 14 miles I enjoyed the ride and the scenery, I had to high tail it home as the Seahawks game was on at 10. They lost in overtime to the Bengals oh well can't win em all.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

Day one of the coffee challenge

I missed the official first day of the challenge as I was camping by Mt Adams with friends. So Sunday Oct 4th was my kick off. I returned home on Sunday tired but had to get out for a cup of coffee and get this going.

 I rode 2 miles up the road to the Java Junkie in Edgewood Wa, its a small drive thru coffee shack just off Meridian ave. There are lots of little drive up coffee shacks like this all over the state of Washington and also tons of Starbucks which isn't surprising as this is the home of the big S.

 Anyway I ordered up a Pumpkin Latte and proceeded to find a comfy place to enjoy this fine early fall afternoon, the coffee was good and hot, just what I needed to kick start my tired body. After my break I went for a short cruise around my neighborhood and called it quits after about 6 miles, not a typical ride for me but hey I was tired.