Coffeeneur No 7- Queen's Pantry

My final Coffeeneuring trip was Saturday. I used the special category of buying beans or tea. I road to downtown Leavenworth to the Queen's Pantry THE best tea shop in the Kansas City area. Seriously. They have a huge selection of teas and their staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and their shop is just so pleasant. A true asset to our community.

I bought our Christmas teas & found a few new flavors to try. In total I purchased 12 ounces of loose leaf tea! Queen's Birthday Cake (one of our favorites), Vanilla, Merlin's brew, & Irish Cream. While I was there I picked up some local, raw honey.

Wall of teas

blurry Churchill's Toddy Tea

I road my commuter bike- Pearl. I don't think I've ever expanded on how I came to own Pearl on the interwebs. Pearl is a Cyclepro bike. I don't even know her model name. When I started getting to know Lance it was winter and I mentioned that one year I had walked to work every day during the summer. It was a refreshing change. I had people suggest I get a bike and the thought was intriguing but I knew NOTHING about buying a bike and the price tags were staggering to me. Well, this was the very beginning of getting to know my now husband. I knew he liked bikes but I had no idea that they were a huge part of his identity. We lived in different states at the time (2.5 hrs apart) and when we saw each other about a month later he presented Pearl to me. He had picked up the bike at a Goodwill a few months before meeting me and it was just sitting in his apartment. Once we met he knew the bike was meant for me so he cleaned her up, put on new tires, shifters & the like and she was as good as new. I'm pretty sure that was the weekend I realized he really was the real deal. We were married the following year.

Total Miles: 3.25

Winter Commuting

 

Winter cycling is here. The snow hasn't fallen yet but on the day this was taken it was 21F, factor in the 5 degree windchill I create while riding and I'd say that this day qualifies as a winter commute, even if the calendar says it's still fall. Here in KS we will have 20 degree weather one day and 60 the next. It fluctuates so much before the snow flies.  Last year I tried to commute as long as I could but chickened out by November. It was hard to stay warm and riding home by myself in the dark wasn't much fun. I'm not sure what has changed this year? It could be a winter's worth of reading blogs written by people who were still bundling up and commuting to work while I was warm & cozy. It could be that I've been stocking up on wool or that I now have a 150 lumen light. Either way I feel prepared to ride my bike until the snow is too deep to pedal. I even got the fur out although my husband thinks it's a bit over the top.

My outfit in the picture above:

Bottom: Opaque Tights, black leggings, wool socks & boots.

Top: Tank top, Dress, Wool sweater, Coat (cashmere & wool blend), Wool scarf

Tippy Top: Ear Warmers, wool hat & wool gloves.

The only thing that got cold were my fingers. I needed to wear my double layered wool mittens, which I dug out and wore today! It seems like a lot of layers but for 15F & wind it felt perfect.

Coffeeneuring No 6- Sunday Morning Casey's

Sunday morning, 2 weeks ago we got up early to complete our 6th Coffeeneuring trip. Unfortunately, we don't have any coffee shops open on Sundays. We had already coffeeneured Daylight Donuts so we hit the next best thing...Casey's gas station. They actually have decent coffee and donuts.

Casey's Gas Station

It was a very sunny, but chilly morning. Once again we layered up (I'm getting really go at this by the way) and road on over to Casey's where we bought a cup of joe and a donut.  I have had some coffee shop envy looking at everyone else's fancy latte art but it is what it is. And the company on this ride was the best in the world!

No latte art here.

Sunshine & wool!

I road my Giant Innova, maybe on my final coffeeneur challenge I will ride Pearl my mixte commuter. She's my everyday bike.

Parking lot breakfasts!

Protector of the bikes.

My gluten for the day.

Total Miles 4 ish

Picture 752

Picture 752, a photo by accountantinoz on Flickr.

Coffeeneuring No 5- Harbor Lights Coffeehouse

Bundled up ready to head out.

Saturday afternoon I headed downtown to join my love for a hot drink. It was sunny & lovely & I will admit that I would not have road my bike that day without this challenge.

Squint, It's Bright!

Harbor Lights Coffeehouse is a cozy coffee/ sandwich shop. Over a year ago they started making all their baked goods in house. I've always been curious if this has helped their bottom line enough to make it worth the effort. They are a mom & pop business & I imagine they are tied that much more to the place. They do take Sunday off. 

It was nice to take a break from my Saturday chores. The leaves are colorful this year! I'm so glad because last year was a bit of a let down.

My handsome date- Chai Tea & Hot Chocolate

Total Mileage: 4 miles
Beverages: Chai Tea Latte (Lance) Hot Chocolate (Jennifer)
Bikes: My touring bike Giant Innova, Lance's Panasonic 3 speed he bought for $2!

Sights of Fall