2015 Coffeeneuring Challenge 6/7

This one was all about the ride! A 37 mile mixed terrain route, over the hills and through the woods. It was an absolute blast, and had a tail wind blowing down San Timoteo Canyon at 15 mph just coasting! Glad it was a tailwind today!

Here's the route: https://www.strava.com/activities/428389985 My favorite portion that made the ride all worthwhile was the mile 20.5-22.7 Woodhouse Rd. portion of it. Just fantastic back roads through the canyons!

And oh yeah, ended up with another macchiato (theme within a theme!) at Bricks and Birch near downtown Redlands. Very good cup, as always!



The details:

1. Bricks and Birch coffee
2. 11/7/15
3. Macchiato
4. A GREAT ride ending up ending up at an unexpectedly busy shop. Good for them, love seeing these businesses thriving!
5. https://www.strava.com/activities/428389985

2015 Coffeeneuring Challenge 5/7

Getting it done! Had my first decaf in this series today as things got out of hand a bit. The plan was to ride to my kid's school carnival this afternoon, then swing by coffee on the way back. Well, life happens and we ended up driving there. So switched plans around and did some errandeuring on the way to coffee to make it a full loop. Stopped by the library, dropped off/picked up, then rambled over to the Olive Ave Market which was hosting a Dia de los Muertos festival this afternoon. We didn't get there till 4:30, hence the decaf. But it as a really good macchiato (sends to be a theme!) and the blocked street gave it a real carnival atmosphere. They were beginning to clean up and roll up the welcome mat, so got there just in time! All in all, a success!!!









The details:
1. Olive Avenue Market
2. 11/1/15
3. Decaf macchiato
4. Pleasant meander about town, stopping at the library on the way in.
5. Worked to make it two miles!

2015 Coffeeneuring Challenge 4/7

This was a fun one! Got out for a couple hours to bang around on my mountain bike. Riding on actual trails even!

A fun 20 mile ride, out my back door, and onto some great dirt. After that, dropped by Stell's coffee on the way home (mile 18) and picked up a Macchiato. And in the process learned that a Gibraltar is a Macchiato with a little more milk. Between that and a Cappuccino. Must get next time!

Starting here:



And ending up here:



No room to complain there!

Details:
1. Stell Coffee & Tea
2. 10/25/15
3. Macchiato
4. 20 mile round trip, with caffeine factory at mile 18.
5. Better look at the specifics of it: https://www.strava.com/activities/420322983

2015 Coffeeneuring Challenge 3/7

Combining CicLAvia with Coffeeneuring, what could be better?

Pics from the day, showing a good time had by all: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclotourist/albums/72157659629669808

By three in the afternoon, starting to get a bit tired after all those miles. And what should we find at Grand Central Market? G&B coffee purveyors! Small, unassuming stand, but some great coffee. Located at the west end of the market, right off the Hill St. entrance.



The barista at G&B was really kind and accommodating, filling up five ice waters for us when I asked for the direction of a fountain. Have to recommend!

Ended up covering about 13 miles over four and a half hours, ate sliders, Thrifty ice cream, great coffee, finishing the day at In N Out. Success!!!

Details:
1. G&B Coffee
2. 10/18/15
3. Macchiato
4. 12 whole miles over 4.5 hours!
5. Better look at the specifics of it: https://www.strava.com/activities/415865553

Thanks L.A., it was a great day!!!

2015 Coffeeneuring Challenge 2/7

Twenty three miles for some coffee!

Dirty mountain bike ride over the hills and through the woods.

Ended up back in Redlands and went to Augie's Coffee. One of the most delicious macchiatos I have ever had!

Drank it down the alley at the Bike BBQ, where fun is always to be found!

Living the life

A photo posted by @bikebbq on Oct 10, 2015 at 12:33pm PDT

So, to get the details in one place...

1. Went to Augie's Coffee, 
2. Oct 10, 2015 
3. Best macchiato ever! 
4. Augie's is about a mile from my house, and a lot of local rides start there. I instead ended there after riding the back way through Mentone and up the backside of Crafton Hills. 
5. 23 mile total there and back again.

2015 Coffeeneuring Challenge 1/7

THIS!
Something always got in the way previous years, but I have high expectations for this year! Week number one involved a 20 mile RT ride up to Yucaipa to the White Rabbit for some Kona blend. Yummy stuff!
Ended up being too much to drink in the middle of a ride, and had to toss half of it though :-( Better stick to espressos from now on!

The details:

1. White Rabbit Coffee, Yucaipa http://www.yelp.com/biz/white-rabbit-coffee-co-yucaipa
2. 10/3/15
3. Kona blend coffee
4. About 12 miles to get here. Steady climb up. Decently bike friendly. No actual racks, but plenty of railing to lean against.
5. Stats: https://www.strava.com/activities/405603736

WD-40 to the rescue!

My new to me bike is very well used, more than I thought at initial inspection. In addition to a good-sized dent on the downtube, the Shimano 6600 Ultegra brifters on it were working poorly if at all. I could sweep the main lever to raise to a larger-sized cog or ring, but the release lever barely worked. If I held it in just the right spot, it would drop down some of the time, and then only one (front) or four to six (back) gears. Really frustrated as my great purchase was starting to look like it was going to cost me some $$$

So I researched the repair options for sticking Shimano brifters, and the advice I came across in various forums said to douse them in kerosene or spray with WD-40. I chose the latter, and after spraying about 1/4 of the large bottle in them, am happy to report back it's shifting great, all except the 10th and final speed. I oriented the derailer so that it pulls up to the largest cog, but doesn't reach all the way to the smallest 12T cog.

Thanks interwebs!!!



Here's a good video showing the process, although I didn't take them off the bike: