Coffeeneuring 2016

November 20, 2016

Coffeeneuring 2016

After missing last years coffeeneuring due to my crash, so this year my theme was not going to be new and exotic places, as my daughter is now in kindergarten and going places for a week here and there is less viable due to the school's schedule, but instead something a bit more tame and mundane. This year my theme was "A week in the life..." All these coffeeneuring rides did take place over the 7 week period, and not all in the same week. Since I currently telecommute, aka "Work from home," pretty much every ride is a ride for coffee. As alluded to before, with my daughter now in school full time, I've lost my normal lunch date. Couple that with all my coworkers being located in another country, the coffee ride is also a sanity ride -- being able to talk with friends and see other people for an hour or so each day contributes to my sanity. A normal week of coffee starts on Monday at Monday Morning Pancake Club, located at Mike's Deli @ Lazy Sundae in Falls Church. It's not gourmet coffee, but for 50 cents a cup and free refills, it's well worth the trip. Also there are pancakes.

Tuesday finds me at Cafe Kindred, either exhausted from riding with the Bikenetic Hill Ride or after a short ride around town. Kindred serves Vigilante coffee, roasted on the other side of the beltway in Hyattsville, MD. Kindred has by far the best music of any coffee shop ever.

Wednesday is Hump Day Coffee Club, which meets at Best Buns in Shirlington. Best Buns serves Starbucks, and because of their logo, much shenanigans has occurred regarding the evil empire and its Rebel counterparts.

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Best Buns is home to the delicious Bacon Cheddar Scone, which they used to only serve on Fridays, but owing to the insistence of several of the Hump Day Coffee Club members, they started serving on Wednesdays, and then eventually every day. My wife has often asked me to bring home a dinner roll sometimes -- It's difficult to put one of those into a back jersey pocket and not crush them due to their freshness.

Thursday is home to two different coffee clubs now -- The first one being Vienna Thursday Coffee Club, which meets at Caffe Amouri in Vienna. Caffe Amouri roasts all their coffee on-site.

Because Vienna isn't a convenient location for commuters that aren't coming in from the western suburbs of Virginia, a second Thursday club organically grew based out of Whole Foods in Pentagon City. While the Whole Foods is known for its Iced Vanilla Lattes, I prefer the coffee from the Commonwealth Joe next door.

Friday is the home to the original coffee club day. When all this craziness about getting together for coffee started, it was originally hosted at M.E. Swings Cafe across 17th street from the White House, but due to a lengthy renovation of the space by the building owner, FMCC has relocated for the time being to A Baked Joint.

Again, due to the location of the original FMCC, a second Friday Coffee Club evolved, FMCCII located at the Java Shack in Arlington. There was a third that grew out at Green Lizard Cycling in Herndon, but was eventually disbanded due to lack of interest. There have been brave souls that have cycled the FMCC Trifecta -- Starting at Green Lizard for a doppio, then stopping at Java Shack for a second, and getting to M.E. Swings in time for a third. This event is indeed a feat as it requires one to get to Green Lizard at open: 7am and getting to M.E. Swings by 9am, which means riding 24 miles and downing coffee in 2 hours. People who have completed this feat have been known to be awarded an FCC hat.

And if that isn't all -- 7 Coffee Clubs throughout the work week, I ride with a race team that meets at a Starbucks before the ride, but the other real fixture is Bikenetic's Sunday Coffee Ride. A recovery pace ride thru historical parts of Washington DC that serve to educate you about the varied little-known niches and historical tidbits that you don't find in the tourist books, and also serve as a ride to acquire caffeine. This particular sunday's ride stopped at Sidamo Coffee and Tea in NOMA.

With all that being said, over the 7 weeks I rode for coffee 24 times. -- Such is the life of a work-from-home cyclist, where "Every Ride is a Commute" and "Every Commute is for Coffee". Thanks Mary and all the other Coffeeneurs!
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