Bikes! Coffee! Fall colors! After last year’s far-too-fun return to coffeeneuring, I eagerly awaited this year’s challenge from Chasing Mailboxes.

But wait. WTF is coffeeneuring?

A riff on the cycling sport randonneuring, coffeeneuring is, at its core, riding your bike to a place to drink coffee. This year’s challenge was as follows:

Between October 11 through November 24, 2025:

• ride your bike 7 times,
• to at least 6 different places
• at least 2 miles round trip every time
• drink 7 total cups of coffee (or another fall-type beverage),
• and document your coffeeneuring

I’ve done similar challenges in past years:

• 2014 Errandonnee challenge
• 2016 Errandonnee challenge
• 2024 Coffeeneuring challenge

The rides

1. October 23 - 4.6 miles - through the neighborhood and Woony bike path to my coworking space. Coffee from the shared kitchen.
2. October 24 - 9.1 miles - Providence Bike Jam, Halloween edition! I met up with friends and stayed very toasty (too toasty) in a unicorn onesie. It was a nice night and there were a lot of us out. An unnamed beverage was enjoyed.
3. November 5 - 4.6 miles - coworking again! Yes, the first couple weeks of the challenge were a little boring. Coffee and typing.
4. November 2 - 5.3 miles - off to Ogie’s Trailer Park for a new friend’s birthday party. Happy birthday, Travis! Enjoyed a fall ale and snuck in a trip to the co-op market too.
5. November 8 - 13.0 miles - absolutely stunning day on the East Bay Bike Path. My sweetie dropped me off in East Providence and I pedaled to Riverside to meet up for coffee at Borealis with a new friend. Enjoyed a nice long roll back home through Providence.
6. November 16 - 7.4 miles - took the ebike to the secret coffee shop by the river to join in celebration of Angela’s birthday, then ran errands in the West End.
7. November 24 - 5.2 miles - “OMG, it’s the last day of the challenge! Off to New Harvest - oh no, it’s closed, Seven Stars it is!” I took advantage of the 50-degree weather and took the ebike to enjoy an afternoon tea. Ran into a friend before I set off for home.

Observations

This challenge was, as always, a much-needed additional excuse to get out on the bike and go. Most of the year I am a functional rider - using the bike to go places and do things. Coffeeneuring requires that I have some fun with it, and with the changing seasons and shortening days it’s always a way to connect with the outside world before winter sets in.

This fall’s challenge was more of a stretch than last, mostly because the weather seems to’ve gotten cooler faster than last year, and rainier too. I had more going on this fall, too, which I don’t really mind.

One connecting thread of this year’s rides is how many were social. Heading into our fourth (!) fall in New England, my wife and I are really feeling connected in Providence. This fall has felt heavy as fascism continues to take hold in the U.S., but we continue to build connections locally, meet our neighbors and cultivate friendships and community here. I turned 41 right in the middle of this challenge and heard from so many folks near and far. It’s a serious time, but it’s not a hopeless time.

On a much lighter note, my wife and I are talking seriously about getting a second ebike. We bought our REI house-brand cargo ebike on sale shortly after we moved here in summer 2022 and are just shy of 1,000 miles on it as of today. The ebike is technically my wife’s, but I ride it often - it’s functionally our second car. A second one would mean we could go on rides together more easily and potentially reduce our car use even more. It’s fun to think about.

WTF is coffeeneuring?

A cortado at Borealis in Riverside.

A riff on randonneuring, coffeeneuring is, at its core, riding your bike to drink coffee. This year’s challenge was as follows:

Between October 6 through November 18, 2024:

• ride your bike 7 times,
• to at least 6 different places
• at least 2 miles round trip every time
• drink 7 total cups of coffee (or another fall-type beverage),
• and document your coffeeneuring

I’ve done similar challenges in past years:

• 2014 Errandonnee challenge
• 2016 Errandonnee challenge

The rides

Lil’ City Ripper.

1. October 5: over/under long way to a short way home. 12.8 miles on the City Ripper. Out to India point and back to New Harvest coffee for a maple pecan cold brew. Looooots of meandering, wandering, going over and under bridges.
2. October 6: west end winder. 8.5 miles on the Ripper and my first time at Long Live Beerworks. I enjoyed a lil’ taster of their Oktoberfest.
3. October 18: bike to (co)work day. 4 miles on the ebike. Another workday at my coworking space in Olneyville. Enjoyed a large mug of drip coffee during my morning meetings.
4. October 20: idyllic Riverside rambler. 12 miles on the City Ripper. Another stunning Saturday in Rhode Island. I drove to the East Providence parking lot to hopped on the East Bay bike path down to Riverside. Saw a yacht rock cover band playing near the water, stuffed some crab cakes in my face, and enjoyed a cortado on the patio at Borealis cofee.
5. October 26: secret coffee shop visit with Jeremy. 3.6 miles on the City Ripper down to Olneyville. Enjoyed an Americano while catching up with Jeremy and gazing out over the Woonasquatucket River.
6. November 10: Woonasquatucket bike path to Moniker Brewery. 10 miles on the ebike. Took the long way around on the Woony bike path in the waning daylight. Enjoyed a smoked helles and a book.
7. November 18: quick lunchtime jaunt to new coffee place Reprise in the West End. 4.4 miles and a cortado. My first ride as a 40-year old and I felt way too old for this cool new coffee shop crowd. #influencing?

Reflections

1. External pressure motivates me. The weather has been far too mild (thanks, climate change!) and far too dry, which means I would’ve been out on my bike a lot anyway in this unseasonably pleasant weather. But this challenge gave me the extra motivation to leave the house and go for a ride.
2. The Woony abides. Throughout this ride, I really got to see the quick progress being made on the newest part of the Woonasquatucket River Greenway, which is a key component of my route anywhere east of our neighborhood (i.e. most of the city). I am very excited to see this work nearing completion!
3. Riding bikes makes me happy. I did my first errandonnee the year I turned 30. I turned 40 this past week, and lots has changed in 10 years, but this one thing has remained the same. I am feeling grateful to be able to ride, and to have such good infrastructure to make it far more fun.

See you next year.

Progress on the Woony bike path.

Fun twist: I was in Philadelphia and bikeless from Sunday, March 6-Thursday, March 10.

And yet: 12 errands, 6 distinct days, 61.4 miles. My bike was my old reliable, a 2012 Surly Cross-Check to which I’ve pledged my undying love.

Anyhow, here’s how the 12 errands shook out.

March 4

1. Commute – 2.8 miles – learned that Strava is cool. My first time using the app.
2. Social call – Asado – 1.7 miles – observed crazy traffic and learned to keep breathing, no need to rush.
3. Social call – Erin’s house – 2.4 miles – learned that Grace Street’s cobbles last a lot longer than I thought.
4. Arts/Entertainment – Lucy Dacus at the Broadberry – 2.7 miles – heard a really great cover of “Dancin’ in the Dark”. Learned that Richmond needs more bike parking infrastructure.

March 5

1. Shopping – Ellwoods – 2.2 miles – learned that I can eat a coconut macaroon in a disgusting record time.
2. You carried WHAT??? – Woodland Heights and back – 7.6 miles – learned that I can probably hold 6 or 7 irons in my bag (only carried 1 this time). Also, the James is beautiful and I wouldn’t mind seeing it every day.

March 10

1. Personal care: group ride with Bike!Bike! Southeast – 12.1 miles – observed some beautiful city views and met the folks from a bike co-op in West Virginia. It was warm and the group was big (maybe 40 people). Great way to get back on the bike after a few days away.

March 11

1. Commute one way – 1.4 miles – observed some extra traffic on the highway. Smooth sailing on the side streets.
2. Personal care – 2.4 miles – dinner with a friend after a long week. Learned that it takes an equal amount of time to get to Sticky Rice from VCU in a car or on a bike.

March 12

1. Wild Card: Bike!Bike! Southeast Scavenger Hunt – 13.4 miles – learned a lot more about some of our city streets and how to win at Mario video games. Super fun.

March 13

1. Store: Carytown Bikes by way of Hardywood – 4.5 miles – learned about a new anti-concussion helmet liner technology called MIPS and got John a helmet.
2. Wild card: Sunday afternoon roundabout – 8.2 miles – another afternoon spent entirely on the bike. Learned that 30% chance of rain sometimes means 100% chance of rain. Whoops!

Reflections

A couple years ago I reflected on how much more this challenge got me out on my bike. This year, I was really just recording the stuff I was doing on my bike anyway. It is truly a luxury to be able to bike everywhere, and I am grateful every day for it.

• Started writing again (about bikes, natch).
• Met my internet hero.
• Ran a 10k, then a half-marathon.
• Did some work and wrote about it (just on this blog, but a start).
• Gave new grads some advice.
• Created a code of conduct for the conference I help organize.
• Rode my bike all over Richmond, greater Virginia, and five other states, through the Greenbrier River Trail in WV, and from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC.
• Got cited in a dang book!
• Made music (just once, but a start).
• Half-assedly started a Tumblr to document my obsession with beautiful bikes.
• Fell in love.
• Hiked overnight on the Appalachian Trail with an old friend.
• Threw myself a big birthday party and invited a bunch of people I love.
• Traveled all over, celebrated birthdays, cried at weddings, and saw many wonderful friends and family.

Here’s to keeping up the momentum in 2015.

Sometime around 2004 I gave up film cameras and went all-digital. Ten years later, it was with a forgotten familiarity that I moved back to film for a few days. Here are a few of my thoughts as well as some of the photos that resulted.

A disposable camera’s (lack of) affordances make it more difficult to use. I felt powerless to the camera. The viewfinder was small and didn’t accurately represent what I was photographing. I couldn’t instantly preview the photo I just took. I had to wind the film after each shot (or, as I learned after taking several accidental shots of the inside of my bike bag: wind it before the next shot). I couldn’t tell if the camera was focusing or not. I couldn’t take close-up photos. I couldn’t tell if I was actually in my one self-portrait or not. I couldn’t shoot in low light reliably without flash, as I was accustomed to with my iPhone. I was just shooting and hoping for the best.

Every photo counts. Literally. There was a counter on the camera. Each picture I took was one in a finite set, to be physically imprinted on film. I took longer to set up the shot, hold still, and press the shutter.

You have to go out of your way to buy and develop film nowadays. When I went in to buy the disposable cameras from CVS, most of the cameras and film in the store had expired in 2012 and 2013. My CVS location also didn’t develop film at all. It was almost impossible to find information on the CVS website about film developing services. When I walked in with the spent disposable cameras in my hand, the clerk just shook his head at me.

I didn’t care how long it took to develop the photos. The photos weren’t instantly available digitally, so it no longer mattered to me how long I actually waited to get the pictures developed. I dropped my photos off at Walgreen’s on Sunday and picked them up on Thursday. I could’ve gone to a one-hour photo place, but I wanted my photos digitized (more, in fact, than I wanted the prints). And, the one-hour place was across the river while Walgreen’s is only four blocks from my house.

It was expensive. I paid about $12/roll to develop one set of prints for each camera, with a “free” CD included. Compare that to what I’ve paid to print photos from my phone camera recently – 50 photos for $10, less than half the price of film developing.

The pictures are not great. I don’t think any of the roughly 50 photos were actually in focus, which should not be a big shock, given that the cameras I used were about $5.50 apiece. But I naively hoped that at least a few would turn out sharp.

I still feel more invested in these photos. They have a timeless quality about them, and there are a few memorable shots that I want to keep. And, this was a small art project for myself that went pretty well. I created something and learned from it.

Errandonnee: Complete 12 errands in 12′ish days and ride a total of 30 miles by bike between March 7-19, 2014.*

I’m joining the challenge a few days after the official start date but am confident I can make it happen. I don’t know if anyone else in Richmond is participating, but there are lots of inspiring updates so far from all over.

This challenge is exciting to me because even though I primarily travel on two wheels, it gives me an excuse to explore even more of my city and share it with others. I love the cycling community and this is a neat way to connect.

My updates

1. 3/11 – personal health ride: Mental health cruise through beautiful Richmond on a 70-degree night. Rode through VCU, around Oregon Hill, down to the Capitol and Back. Bright-ass headlight and blinky-ass taillight used to show the way. 9.5 miles.
2. 3/12 – work: commute to work (does this also count as a “library” errand since I’m a librarian?) 3.6 miles.
3. 3/12 – groceries: rolled down to Ellwood Thompson’s for some groceries. 1.4 miles.
4. 3/13 – wild card: biked through some of the strongest wind gusts I’ve yet seen to my 9 a. m. meeting on the medical campus. 5.9 miles.
5. 3/14 – coffee: started my morning early with a trip to lamplighter. 1.6 miles.
6. 3/15 – community meeting (kinda – more like a conference): biked to THATcamp New Souths. 3.2 miles.
7. 3/15 – dinner: Ellwood’s after THATcamp. 1.3 miles.
8. 3/15 – wild card: a trip to The National after dark with Andy to see the Drive By Truckers. Blinky-ass lights for both of us. 6.5 miles.
9. 3/16 – personal health: rode with Claire to and from the start of the course for our run this morning. 5.0 miles.
10. 3/16 – groceries: easy ride down to Kroger with the panniers for my weekly grocery run. 1.3 miles.
11. 3/19 – work: rode out to the office after 2 days of snow and ice. 3.2 miles.
12. 3/19 – reading: took a side trip to one of my favorite watering holes to dig in to Ed Peeples’ new book, Scalawag. 0.9 miles.
13. DONE!

3/20: Reflections

12 errands, 9 days, 43.4 miles.

This challenge was a little harder to complete than I thought it’d be. I ride my bike a lot, but usually for the same thing (schlep to work. Schlep to groceries. Schlep to dinner sometimes.) This challenge required me to just get out more and do more things in general, not just on two wheels. Last Friday, I took myself out to coffee before work, something I would not do without some sort of external motivator. That day was a really great, productive day at work. During my coffee stop, I was able to plan out a workshop I was leading that afternoon and felt like I was more prepared when I got into the office.

The challenge reminded me that variety is good, that I can always wheel an extra half a mile or so off my normal path and change the course of my day.