Everything has been crazy busy lately. I haven’t been riding much outside my commute but I did get out for a little stuff here and there.
Early October we rode the Bike Doctor Frederick Grand Fondue. This year’s route was just as great as last year. I wasn’t really awake or into it and even spent 1/3 of it thinking about cutting the 50 short. Ken kept me in the loop long enough to wake up and by the end of the first and worst climb I was ready for even more (well almost). The Warbird ripped. Wish I could have done it justice by not walking a stretch of that first hill. 50 miles, a chicken/spinach crepe from the food truck and a glass of mead. Pretty good day. Here’s some pics: Grand Fondue Flickr.
Last weekend I got out for one of my best trips in recent memory. I’d wanted to do one more bike trip before the parks closed down for the season around here but it didn’t happen. I picked up a Hennessy Hammock this month on sale and decided to take advantage of the unseasonably nice weather to give it a shot. I took an extra day off of work and headed out Sunday afternoon once I finished my work around the house for 2 nights and 1 day at the beach. BEST IDEA EVER. I was glad I didn’t go on Saturday night because the park was about 90% full with walk-ins and it would have been nowhere near as peaceful. Here, look at some pics: Cape Henlopen Flickr. I had loaded up tents and extra sleeping bags in the truck in case the hammock didn’t work out but it was all unnecessary. Sunday and Monday night were the best nights of uninterrupted sleep I’ve had this year. Add to that bumming around on the surf, riding around the trails, plus ‘exploring’ down to Bethany and I’ll be dreaming about this trip till March or whenever the parks are open and nightly lows are over 35 again…
While at the beach I did my first 2 coffeeneurs – one on a Monday and the other on Tuesday morning so of course they don’t count but I wasn’t too concerned. Quality over quantity these days for me.
Number 1 – I took Pugsley out onto the surf along with the old whisperlite stove and my coffee gear. I rode around on the beach until I found the best spot. I poured the water while it was a little hot and forgot to temper the grounds so the drink was bitter. When the view is this nice I couldn’t really bring myself to care.
Number 2 – The view was so nice and it was so peaceful that I went to the same breaker Tuesday. Technically it was a different location because I sat on a different rock–the ‘coffeeneur without walls’ equivalent of ‘stopping in the starbucks across the street from the other starbucks’. I was going to ride into Rehoboth and pick up a muffin for breakfast but got 3/4 of the way there and realized I left my wallet back in the truck. Doop. I didn’t need the pastry anyway.
These coffeeneurs brought to you by Snow Peak. I brought a French Press for camping years back and was severely disappointed with it. No matter how coarse of a grind I used every cup was super muddy and undrinkable. It had a 2 layer screen (wire mesh and nylon layer). If I took the nylon layer off the grounds would squirt past the seal at the rim because there wasn’t enough pressure. If I left it on it would squirt through because it took too much pressure to plunge it. It was worthless as a coffee press and even worthless as a paperweight because it’s made out of titanium so in the basement it sat because I couldn’t in good conscience sell it to someone else knowing full well it sucked. Last month I had an idea to fix it…
I cut out the area of the nylon mesh in the center and left the ring around the outside.
There’s still a little bit of cruft at the bottom but none less than my home french press and definitely manageable. I’d still take instant or buy coffee in shops for a long trip because I’m too obsessed about cleanliness to drink out of a half-dirty pot for a 5 day trip. Now I’ve got a good system for the occasional trip into the woods so +1.
bikesncoffee 