For the past couple of years, I've participated in the Coffeeneuring Challenge put on by Chasing Mailboxes. It's one of the signals that fall and cooler weather is here to stay... at least until March or so.

Here are the basic rules, copied from CM's blog post:

between October 7 through November 20, 2022,
ride your bike to 7 different places,
at least 2 miles round trip each time,
drink 7 cups of coffee (or another fall-type beverage), and
document your coffeeneuring (either photos, Strava tracks, journal entries, control card, etc.).

1. Quarter Note @ The Loading Dock

Laptop, keyboard, mouse, coffee cup, and wallet.

Date: Thursday, October 13.
Drink: Oat milk latte, hot, 12 oz.
Distance: 2.8 miles, 2.87 miles

This was a surprise! I had expected to drink the Loading Dock's regular brewed coffee, but this little pop-up car happened to be there. Weather was relatively warm and very muggy, since it rained a good portion of the early morning.

2. Greenbrier River Trail MM20

Coffee thermos sitting on rocks with a pour-over filter full of coffee grounds and water on top.

Date: Friday/Saturday, October 14/15.
Drink: Pour-over, half-and-half, 12 oz.
Distance: 19.78 miles, 35.33 miles

3. Greenbrier River Trail MM28

Camping kettle and fuel canister sitting on top of a picnic table in the forest with a bicycle leaning against the table in the background.

Date: Saturday/Sunday, October 15/16.
Drink: Pour-over, half-and-half, 12 oz.
Distance: 27.75 miles, 22.62 miles

Both of these were part of the bike camping trip I took with a few other folks. Wasn't really sure how to count the mileage since they were spread out over two different days, but hopefully this is coffeeneuring kosher!

4. Lucky Tree

Coffee cup sitting on a wooden table inside a coffee shop. Guitars hang on the wall, and there are lots of trinkets on shelves in the background.

Date: Sunday, October 23.
Drink: Oat milk latte, hot, 12 oz.
Distance: 3.02 miles, 3.01 miles

I met up with a couple of folks from Triangle Bike Camping for this one. A guy heard us talking about bikes, so I got to spread the good word about the meetup. Weather is definitely starting to get chilly.

5. Benelux

A mural spanning the entire wall made of coffee beans depicts a person on a bicycle. Tables and chairs line the wall below.

Date: Saturday, October 29.
Drink: Oat milk latte, hot, 12 oz.
Distance: 5.04 miles, 5.04 miles

Another Triangle Bike Camping meetup! This one with a few new folks. This happens to be one of my favorite coffee shops in town, and they have a really cool bicycle mural made out of coffee beans (yoinked from their website).

6. Dix Park

The early morning sun peeks through the forest. A paved bicycle path leads deeper into the forest, toward the sun.

Date: Saturday, November 12.
Drink: Pour-over, half-and-half, 12 oz.
Distance: 4.19 miles, 4.08 miles

This was a "coffee outside" event put on by Oak City Cycling. Got to see some old friends and make some new ones. Learned that one of the guys at the shop has been building frames for awhile now, and I got to see one of the bikes he'd put together, which was neat! Apparently he wants to start selling them through the shop at some point, which would be really rad.

7. Sir Walter Coffee

Date: Saturday, November 19.
Drink: Oat milk latte, hot, 12 oz.
Distance: 5.86 miles, 5.24 miles

Yet another Triangle Bike Camping meetup, woo! Met up with some chill folks, plus a couple of friends. Watched a bit of the holiday parade, then got lunch at Weaver Street Market before meandering over to the queer art market put on by Ruby Deluxe. Been awhile since I've had such an extended downtown hangout, and it was really, really nice. Forgot to take a pic for this one!