Something you don't see every day

It's kind of hard to see, but there's a ship out there!  It must be in the bay taking refuge from this wacky weather.  Pretty nifty to look out the window and see this.  Ya won't see this in Colorado, no sirree.

Coffeeneuring, Week Three

I gotta say, the idyll of vacation has not made this challenge easy!  The weather in Michigan this time of year is, shall we say, fickle.  And I don't have a bike at my disposal here, a situation I'm seriously re-thinking.  It would be well worth it to have a familiar bike here, even if it's only ridden for two weeks a year.  But I digress.

Given the weather variances here, I'm reluctant to spend the cash to rent a bike if it's going to rain all day, and the forecasts here are even less accurate than in Denver.  Case in point: it was supposed to rain all day Saturday and Sunday yet it did not and it was a delight and a surprise to see the sun most of the day.  And normally, foul weather would not be a deterrent in my quest for caffeine.  The outlier in this instance is having to pay to have access to a bike.

My original plan was to rent bikes and ride the TART Trail to Traverse City for coffee, but threatening skies, wind and dropping temps thwarted that effort.  Thus we opted for coffee without walls.  We made coffee at home, walked into town to get the bikes, then headed off to a picturesque locale for consumption.

Dorky rental bike.  Perfectly capable but definitely not optimal.  At Stony Point in Suttons Bay.

Javahhh

Can't get more scenic than this.  TART Trail

A rare non-solo ride

My best side

The weather held off and we had a lovely time.  Total mileage?  Hard to say; I'd guess around 10-12 miles.

This, people, is what fall looks like

Color Tour ... rural sunrise, originally uploaded by Ken Scott.

Coffeeneuring, Week Two

I'm discombobulated this week, what with vacation and all...And I don't want to miss a week (but according to the rules I can add a week at the end), not to mention that there are some great coffee joints in the vicinity.  So, I will do a write-up this week and also do one at the end to ensure my complete compliance.

Rule #17 states: 

1. Vacation Rule: You may substitute a weekend of coffeeneuring for ONE coffeeneuring outing on vacation for every week you are on vacation.

So, this week's visit is Frida Bakery and Cafe in Suttons Bay, Michigan.  It's a tiny shop with a sole proprietor that I'm pretty sure works her fingers to the bone.  For such a small shop, it has a wide assortment of breads, cookies, and other baked goods.  Every day.  And several different varieties of empanadas.  And she sources many of her ingredients locally.  The shop also serves Intelligentsia Coffee and the owner makes her own chai.

I very much enjoyed my coffee and pumpkin spice scone.

It hit the spot on a day that looks like this:

And more of this in the forecast:

Total mileage = 2 miles

Gastronomical enjoyment = high

Coffeeneuring, Week One

So I ran across the Coffeeneuring Challenge via this blog.  Since this is much of the type of riding I do anyway, I decided to participate.  No doubt someone is already doing a beerneuring adventure, but that will keep for another time.

Since my workweek is somewhat unconventional, according to the rules I can move my coffee trips to another day of the week.  So, just depending what's going on, my trips will be on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.  And, I'll be throwing vacation in the middle of it all, so that may require some creativity on my part.  Or, I do believe I have the option to push out a week should the need arise.

I had to take the car in for a pre-trip oil change and checkup this morning, so I thought that would be a perfect opportunity to slip in a coffee stop on the way home.  The shop where I take the car is across town, so it's my usual order of events to drop off the car and ride home.  There's a new-ish coffee shop en route that I've been wanting to check out, so it's all serendipitous today.

My first visit to Steam Espresso Bar was delightful.  I found myself slightly underdressed for the conditions this morning, so I was happy to stop for a warm-up drink only a few blocks from where I dropped off the car.

My Americano was tasty, just what I needed.  Really nice little shop, too.  They did a good job on the refurb of the building, and they have an inviting outdoor patio that I'll have to visit when it's warmer.  They sell pastries from Trompeau (best almond croissants ever and definitely NOT vegan), and I was happy to see at least one vegan baked goods option.  Anyway, this a coffeeneuring ride report, not a coffee shop review, so I'll dispense with the details but suffice to say I liked the shop and will be back!

The illusion of speed:

Morning autumnal light in City Park:

Now I am all hopped up on caffeine and ready to take on the rest of the day!  Total mileage, ~8.5 miles