Coffeeneuring Challenge 2024

My ride, snug in the bike shed at Geonetric

Week One

1. Wednesday, October 9 (sunny 80F)

Coffee at: Converge Cafe in the Geonetric Building, 415 12th Ave SE [round trip 4.6 miles]

One Million Cups day at Geonetric!

I was Two-Days-Ago Years Old when I found out about the Coffeeneuring Challenge, an annual celebration of autumn, bicycles and coffee, on a Mastodon post. Coffeeneuring was begun by twelve individuals in the Washington, D.C. area in 2011; in 2021, the last year for which there are data, there were 329 riders from 41 states and the District of Columbia, as well as thirteen other countries. Decorah, Des Moines and Waverly, Iowa were represented, but... not Cedar Rapids! I'm fixing to change that this year.

Coffeeneuring season begins this week. My first ride was to 1 Million Cups, the Cedar Rapids locus of the Kaufmann Foundation's national gatherings of entrepreneurs. I rode over about 8 a.m., which is when Cedar Rapids traffic is as busy as it gets, but managed to elude most of it. I take my coffee black, today opting for the Colombian blend. Today's featured speaker was Shafira Rizki, whose organization Lead With Her promotes leadership by women in southeast Asia.

Shafira Rizki (right) presents at 1 MC Cedar Rapids

2. Friday, October 11 (sunny, 87F)

Spiced cider at: Roaster's in the New Bo City Market, 1100 3rd Street SE [round trip 4.4 miles]

Bike parking at the Market

New Bo Open Coffee on the second and fourth Fridays of each month was an institution by the time I started frequenting the district eight years ago. In its heyday it drew 15-25 people from nearby businesses. Alas, time, relocations, and the infamous pandemic have reduced the crowd to three very persistent men, of whom I am one. Today it was just Sam and me, with Bill checking in by video call from Wisconsin. Celebrities spotted included Anna Dombkowski, the Market's new development director; former Cedar Rapids mayor Brad Hart; and Corridor MPO transportation planner Roman Kiefer.

Today was close to the ideal bike commute. Another 8 a.m. call meant riding through traffic, but I was lucky in finding gaps in it so I could make the necessary left turns on my route. Too many cars means I'm fighting a losing battle for space, but I like having someone around to protect me from turning traffic, and to trigger the traffic lights. The weather's been ideal for biking, but of course our unseasonable warmth is inextricably connected to the horrible hurricanes that have been ravaging the southeast, and here it hasn't rained in six weeks.

Roaster's New Bo

Week Two

3. Tuesday, October 15 (Sunny, windy 55F)

Coffee at: Craft'd Coffee Shop, 333 1st St SE [round trip 3.6 miles]

We had a frost last night, and it was still in the 30s when I set out this morning. This is more seasonable weather than we had last week, but not my favorite for biking. It was not too windy riding in; with a light coat and leather gloves, though, I was fine, except for my ears.

Today I was meeting a friend at Craft'd, barely a block from City Hall, in the space formerly occupied by Early Bird. It was hopping when I arrived just before 9; I counted 16 customers, including some gathered to celebrate a co-worker's 40th birthday. (I took a picture... not sure what happened to it.) I did not have a reusable cup recommended in the Coffeeneuring Challenge rules, but I brought my crocheted sleeve, which I'd bought at New Bo City Market in the days BP (before-the-pandemic). 

I like my dessert bars like I like my cities: dense and diverse

The ride home was windier, but by mid-morning traffic was sparse, so no complications except for these garbage cans on 3rd Avenue which are apparently stored in the bike line. (Garbage pickup was four days ago!)

1600 block of 3rd Avenue SE

Week Three

4. Tuesday, October 22 (morning shower, 76F)

Coffee at: Veritas Cafe, 509 3rd St SE [round trip 4.1 miles + 0.5 miles swimming]

The sky was surprisingly dark with clouds when I set out this morning just before 8, and I saw one flash of lightning to the west, but I made it safely and drily to the YMCA. I would have been okay with getting wet, though, as it's been weeks since we had any rain at all. It rained a little while I was in the pool, and I saw more streaks of lightning, but it was over by the time I left. (Back in the day, they used to close the pool when there was lightning. I'm not sure when that practice changed. Maybe there's better indoor pool protection technology.)

With puddles on the ground and on my bicycle seat, I portaged two blocks to Veritas Cafe, a third place of sorts inside the Baptist-affiliated Veritas Church. They're remodeling the interior of the church, so the seating areas are less spread out and more defined. I had black coffee and this voluptuous cranberry muffin:

I read City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village by David Sucher (City Comforts Inc., revised edition, 2016) while I drank my coffee. The cafe was well-attended but not crowded, mostly with younger people. There were slips of paper to write prayer requests, but the cafe is not doctrinal in spite of the setting, and the canned music was mostly by Fleetwood Mac. In 1953 this was a grocery store, according to the Polk's Directory. I could see that; anyhow this is a great example of successfully adaptive reuse.

The sun was out, the air was cooler, and my bicycle seat was dry, by the time I emerged for the ride home. I keep reading on Facebook and Mastodon about people riding 60 or 75 km for their coffee. I feel like a bit of a piker by comparison, going barely 7 km today. I'm certainly fortunate to live so close to so much coffee.

5. Thursday, October 24 (sunny, windy, 66F)

Coffee at: Uptown Coffee, 760 11th St Suite A, Marion, IA [round trip 16 miles]

I took my car in for an oil change this morning, which put me close enough to the Cedar River Trail for a mostly-trail ride to Uptown Marion. The trails are slated to be connected at 51st Street NE, and that was supposed to have happened this year, but now has been delayed until spring or early summer. 51st Street is adequate in the meantime, wide and not heavily trafficked. 

Near the movie theater: Washing something off the trail

I didn't have any difficulty this morning until I was almost to the coffeehouse in Marion: The traffic light at 7th Avenue and 10th Street never gave me a green, so after waiting through one cycle and for traffic to clear, I ran the red. I don't feel good doing this, but if only cars can trigger the light I have no choice.

Uptown Artway: Looking towards Uptown from
this whimsical bike rack 

Coffee in the bar, with doughnuts and Da Brim

I wore my shirt from Open Streets DC. 

11th Street, on which Uptown is located, is sort of an open street itself, in that auto traffic is blocked from crossing 7th Avenue.

I would have taken more pictures of the trail, but it was so chilly I was loath to stop!

Week Four

6. Sunday, October 27 (sunny, 63F)

Coffee at: Craft'd Coffee Shop, 333 1st St SE [round trip 3.6 miles]

The view outside my front door today

This picture was taken later in the day, but it is included to show the profusion of color we are living right now. It made for quite the picturesque ride!

I get credit for my hi-viz Bike to Work Week t-shirt
today, though on the streets no one could see it under my jacket

Coffee was supposed to happen somewhere else this morning, but while that somewhere had been open Sundays back in March, they no longer are. Thankfully, the coffeeneuring rules allow for one repeat place, which I am claiming today, and Craft'd was just a couple blocks farther on. I caught up with my friends there.

I finally got a picture of the interior, which was not full when I arrived a little ahead of 9:30, but by 10 was fully hopping.

One more ride to go...

7. Tuesday, October 29 (sunny, windy, possible-record 84F)

Coffee at: Dash Coffee Roasters, 120 3rd Avenue SW [round trip 6 miles]

3rd Avenue SW: mural featuring Lucille Ball and the planet Saturn

Weird summerlike weather continues for another day or two--great for biking, not so great for the long-term prospects for life on Earth. I rode from the tire store, which gave me an extra ride through the near northeast side, past the house we rented our first year in Cedar Rapids. 

bike parking at Dash

I met my friend John at Dash in Kingston, across the river from Downtown Cedar Rapids, and near the Linn County Elections Depot where John is helping people vote early. He reports steady high numbers of early voters every day, though what that augurs no one can tell. Iowa is not one of the seven states that will decide this election anyhow.

my coffee and incredible strawberries and cream scone

The building was a dry cleaners in 1953, with a dentist's and doctor's offices above.

I happened to see on Instagram that Dash is celebrating Deviled Eggs Tuesday, so I scored some for us. The chef added "the warming comfort spices of Pho" to create a fascinating flavor.

Happy Deviled Eggs Tuesday!

Now I have completed Coffeeneuring Challenge 2024! All that remains is to fill out the form when it appears on the Chasing Mailboxes site. I'm looking forward to next year, when I anticipate some more trail options for out-of-town coffeeneuring--although it's hard to imagine more ideal biking weather than we've had this October. In the meantime, I can revel in the number of coffee options within a couple miles of my house that are not multinational corporations!

SOURCE: Mary G., "Coffeeneuring Challenge 2024: The Year of Small Wins," Chasing Mailboxes, 30 September 2024 [includes description and ground rules]

Psyche-up/informational video from Minnesota-Based Beth Bikes (16:51):