Coffeeneur #7.1- THE FINAL

DESTINATION:  The Opera House- Rivermarket Kansas City MO

MILEAGE: Over 8 miles 

BEVERAGE: Jennifer- Cafe Au Lait Lance- Double white Latte

BIKES: Lance- The Irish Bike- Trek Mtb Jennifer- Citizens Folder

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE: 

Oh man! There is NO WAY you could be in the KC area and not go to the Royal Celebration! I was almost 10 the last time they won a World Series and the electric excitement of the city was magnetic. Offices closed, schools closed, it was a day to celebrate in the city. I imagine this is what it is like in other countries when they crown Kings and Queens and such. 

Navigating the 800,000 people was a dream by bike! KC is not a big city. It's population is around 440,000. Knowing it would be difficult to navigate we drove over to Kaw Valley point in KCK where the Rivertrail begins & started our Coffeeneur there. The trail was deserted and we rode smoothly across the bridge into KCMO and the Rivermarket area. There were people everywhere hanging out waiting to move towards the parade route. We stopped in at the Opera House which is a very cool coffee/brunch place. The staff did their best to not be frazzled by the shear volume of people!

We drank leisurely and then road on toward the parade route. It was so easy that we felt like the smartest people on the planet. Traffic was bumper to bumper and we just flew on by. It was such a beautiful day and to see so many people happy (even maneuvering a large crowd) was immune boost! The players and their families were overwhelmed with gratitude. It was an amazing day. 

 Days like this make me glad I have a folder. So easy!

This parade was the best!

A sea of people and all that we encountered were kind and considerate. Amazing!

Coffeeneuring #5.1

DESTINATION: Starbucks

MILEAGE: Over 8 miles 

BEVERAGE: Pumpkin Spiced Latte-My first of the season & on Halloween!

BIKES: Jennifer- Surly Long Haul Trucker

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE: 

For this Coffeeneur, I used the loop hole that you can combine the ride with errands. I am still grocery shopping by bike. One reason (out of 100) that I love my Long Haul Trucker is because I can carry lots of weight and my bike still rides great and I might climb hills a bit slower it doesn't feel like a slog. I loaded up with squash, 64 oz of laundry soap, 2 dozen eggs, 1 lb of butter, & 4 lbs of sugar. 

The weather was beautiful and on my way home I ran into 2 sets of cyclists that I know just returning to town from their jaunts in the country. They were impressed with my haul!

Coffeeneur #7

DESTINATION:  Casey's #3 Leavenworth, KS

MILEAGE: Over 8 miles 

BEVERAGE: Coffee dressed up with cream & sugar

BIKES: Lance- Trek 4500 

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE: 

This was Lance's final Coffeeneuring ride. Since our days off are different he is 2 ahead of me! He was headed out to the grocery store on the other end of town and stopped in for a Pumpkin spice donut and coffee. He also got to watch a building demolition. 

Coffeeneur #6

DESTINATION: Scooter's Coffeehouse, Leavenworth, KS

MILEAGE: Over 4 miles 

BEVERAGE: Snicker's & Vanilla Lattes 

BIKES: Lance- Trek 4500 Jennifer- Surly LHT 

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE: 

We headed out on a Sunday afternoon. We road to our local Scooter's which is a converted Barista's. Barista's are known for their gingerbread house look and nice landscaping. Instead of drinking on their patio we decided to ride down to the river and layout on a blanket and soak up the sunshine. We didn't quite make it to the river as a train was blocking the road and it didn't look like it was moving anytime soon. Instead we laid our blanket on a hill at the park. We hung out in the sunshine for over an hour before heading home. Very low key but very nice.

Car-Free

The first week of May our van died. We were trying to get it to the 300,000 mark and it died just shy of it. We drive very little compared to our neighbors. Most people thought we didn't even own a car, so going car-free was just the next step in this life on bikes.

Over the past 5 years we've slowly weaned ourselves off of the need for a vehicle so it really didn't seem like a big deal not to have a car. And I love a challenge. Initially, we thought we'd give ourselves until the end of July to replace the van. It would give us some time to save some more money towards the purchase and we could just ride our bikes everywhere. Here we are the end of September and we have no plan to buy anything before November. Everyday I talk about pushing that date even farther. No doubt it's the Indian Summer that has me thinking we can go without a car even longer!

Coffeeneur #5

DESTINATION: Casey's General Store 2, Leavenworth, KS

MILEAGE: Over 6 miles 

BEVERAGE: Coffee cream & sugar 

BIKES: Lance- Trek 4500  

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE: 

Because not every coffeeneur ride can be sexy. Lance road to another Casey's in Leavenworth after escorting me to work on Monday. He took 2nd street and got a nice picture of the water treatment plant. It probably smelled nice too. After completing the coffeeneur he rambled home and went mountain bike riding at Swope Park in KC MO. Not a bad day off!

Casey's off 4th Street

Leavenworth Water Treatment Plant

Coffeeneur #4

DESTINATION: Bassa Prua, Leavenworth, KS

MILEAGE: Over 4 miles 

BEVERAGE: Coffee cream & sugar 

BIKES: Lance- Trek 4500  Jennifer- Surly LHT

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE: 

This Coffeeneur turned into brunch! We headed to Bassa Prua on a Sunday afternoon after church. They make the best donuts and we originally were just going to get coffee and donuts. Then we saw that all you can eat brunch, to include donuts was $13.99. We changed our plans pretty quickly. It was a lovely brunch and we definitely need to make this a weekly deal.