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.

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. 

Coffeeneur #3

DESTINATION: Daylight Donuts Leavenworth, KS

MILEAGE: Over 4 miles 

BEVERAGE: Coffee cream & sugar 

BIKES: Lance- 29er Stumpjumper  Jennifer- Surly LHT

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE:

We road on a Sunday morning to Daylight Donuts. A nice treat before church. The weather was beautiful and we had planned ot sit on the back porch. We sat for all of 4 minutes when the bees started to swarm. We aren't sure if they were there for the sweat or the sugar. We would have waited them out but they were relentless and there were more of them than us!

Coffeeneur #2.1

DESTINATION: Casey's General Store

MILEAGE: Over 4 miles 

BEVERAGE: Cofffee cream & sugar 

BIKES: Lance- 29er Stumpjumper

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE: 

A quick shakedown of the 'Dark Knight' on a dark night. Lance coffeeneured on a Monday night. We have different days off so Lance can coffeeneur on Sunday and Monday's while I coffeeneur on Saturday and Sundays. The Stumpjumper came to us as a frame. Lance had everything else ready to make this bike operational in the basement. If he was typing up this post he'd probably go into how he built the wheels and gear ratios but instead you get basic info from me!

Coffeeneuring #2

DESTINATION: Harbor Lights Coffeehouse Leavenworth, KS

MILEAGE: Over 4 miles 

BEVERAGE: Mocha  

BIKES: Jennifer-Surly LHT Disc  

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE:

For this Coffeeneuring Ride I did before meeting up with our bike club to do the Leavenworth Loft Tour. I've been out of town for this tour the last 4 years and I was super excited to go. We have some amazing lofts in our downtown! It was fun to wander through peoples homes and see how they decorate and live a few stories about the street.

Coffeeneuring #1

DESTINATION: Swings Coffee but settled for Starbucks

MILEAGE: Over 3 miles 

BEVERAGE: Mocha & a Chai Tea Latte

BIKES: Jennifer-Surly LHT Disc / Lance- Trek 4500- Our Touring Bikes

RANDOM NOTES ON THE RIDE:

We began 2015 Coffeeneuring Season in the home of the Coffeeneur, DC! We were on vacation having just finished spending the week on the GAP/ C & O Canal. I've been reading Mary's blog for years and follow her on twitter so I knew Swings must be a stop for us! It was very close to where we were staying in Alexandria but it's closed on Sundays!! Such luck! We were coffeeneuring before going on a private tour of the Pentagon so we didn't have much time. I used handy google maps and looked up "coffee shops" and wound up at a Starbucks about mile away from Swings. 

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

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

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