2024 Coffeeneuring Challenge #4: Crema

I decided to try another coffee loop today, this time over in southeast Portland.

I enjoyed a slow ride along tree-lined residential streets, and eventually made my way to Crema, at the corner of SE Ankeny and 28th. They’re known for excellent baked goods made in-house, and their coffee isn’t bad either.

I ordered a fat slice of some of the nicest pumpkin bread I’d had in a long time. Moist and flavorful, and without nuts — a walnut allergy compels me to ask every time so I don’t end up eating something that will make my mouth and throat itch! — and a generous portion. It went well with a fresh cup of coffee and the latest issue of the Willamette Week, which fetures their editorial endorsements for the November election.

The ride home was more tiring than I thought it would be.

The truth is that I’ve had to come to terms with just how much Long Covid and the pandemic have aged me. I simply haven’t been able to enjoy long rides anymore, because of creaky knees, occasional dizzy moments, fatigue or a combination of all of the above.

This time, I tossed my bike on the bus to shorten the ride home. Even with that, I still managed about five miles of riding, and got home in time for a lovely afternoon nap.

2024 Coffeeneuring Challenge #3: So very French

I had to postpone my Coffeeneuring rides from this past weekend (when I was out of town leading Yom Kippur services) til today and maybe tomorrow.

On my way to pick up a drum part from a guy, I decided to get some coffee and a bite. Today would have been my mother’s 89th birthday, and although she’s been gone for decades it felt appropriate to mark the date with a warm beverage. My mother loved the first rains of fall and today was a perfect day to remember that, and to remember her.

I stopped at La Petit Provence, a French cafe in the Alberta Arts District.

Normally a stalwart among my preferred coffee stops, today everything was a little jerky and slow.

My waiter had to check with someone to make sure who’d been assigned to serve my outside table. That took ten minutes after I was seated.

Then, after I made my order — a decaf mocha and a cheese croissant — I waited for nearly twenty-five minutes. Only after I was able to make eye contact with my waiter through the window did she finally bring me my coffee and croissant. The croissant was warm, but rubbery: someone had warmed it in a microwave oven. My waiter apologized and told me the croissant would be on her. I ate it, but it was sad. And I still had to pay for my coffee, which was weird. I felt bad for the waiter, who was very young and possibly new, so I left her a very small tip along with the charge for the coffee drink, got up and left.

It was probably the most surprisingly sad visit I’d had at this place. I’m willing to give it another chance.

While I sipped my coffee, rain came and went and came again. It wasn’t cold and I enjoyed the sound of the raindrops on the heavy canvas canopy above my head. French popular songs played over a loudspeaker. There was a mild breeze with each passing shower. Fall had definitely, finally arrived.

After leaving the cafe, I rode down the hill to collect the drum part, and took a scenic route home for a total of six miles. That’s a lot longer than I usually ride anymore, and by the time I got home my knees were hurting and I felt a little wiped out.

Still, I’m glad I rode.

2024 Coffeeneuring Challenge #2: Sunflower days

Today was Sweetie’s birthday.Her oldest friend in Portland took her out for breakfast while I had an online counseling appointment. After that, I enjoyed a little bike ride through the Alberta Arts District.

I treated myself to a cheap quesadilla at La Sirenita. Strangely, it’s next door to another Mexican restaurant called La Bonita, and both places have remained successfully in business for over a decade. I prefer La Sirenita because it’s a little funkier, more down-at-heel, and the food is hot, fast and fresh. And cheaper than La Bonita.

Afterwards, I rode a little farther down Alberta Street, and ducked into Golden Pliers to use their restroom. I sat outside for a few minutes to read the free weekly and enjoy the people-watching along Alberta.

Finally, I unlocked my bike and prepared to ride home along residential streets. But as I walked my bike to the end of the block, I looked down at the next bench and found this:

I looked around, saw that there was no one near it or looking for it, so I pocketed it. It still works and has a pleasant sound. I might make a gift of it later, to someone in need of a nice bell.

The weather was cool and cloudy, enough for me to keep wearing my hoodie. Along the way, I admired the decay that has become more prevalent since the pandemic and anti-police protests of the past few years. There’s a fence up around this building, which may mean some forward progress. Maybe.

On the way home, I enjoyed autumn leaves in a rainbow of greens, golds, reds and oranges.

Gardens everywhere we’re in the process of turning into the next season, with tomato cages coming down and mulch being laid in.

We still have some sunny days ahead, but with gradually lowering temperatures and fewer hours of sunlight. I love this time of year, though I wish the transition wasn’t quite so gradual. In past years, the rainy season would have hinted at arriving by now, but global warming has made a difference. 

I passed by this enormous sunflower and had to stop for a closer look. When the buds turn to seeds, the birds will go crazy.

I’m not adhering to a strict schedule this year. The Challenge began during the intermediate period of the High Holy Days, and allowances simply needed to be made. But I’m hoping to keep up with a couple of rides a week throughout the Challenge. 

Riding is a little harder these days, because it depends on how my balance is, and from day to day it’s not as predictable as it was before Long Covid. So if I have a good day that’s too close to the previous week’s rides, I’m not going to worry about it, I’ll just ride.

Happy autumn.

2024 Coffeeneuring Challenge #1: Neighborhood jaunt

I began my Challenge with a neighborhood jaunt.

I took coffee with me in a thermos so I could sip along the way, and had no destination in mind. 

Did I ride at least two miles? Probably. I haven’t used a cyclometer in years so it’s all guesswork now.

Here are some photos.

Most of my ride was taken n an errand, but ended with a stop at Metropolis Cycles to use the restroom. I was pleasantly surprised to find an old former Citybikes co-worker turning wrenches there. She was glad to see me, and told me that she still enjoyed working on bikes, so she’ll keep doing it awhile longer. (She’s ten years younger than me, and probably in slightly better health, so more power to her.)

I enjoyed taking a look around at some lovely bikes, then rode home.

The end of Swrve

Because of my ADHD-type brain, I often don't follow the latest news from every source.
So when I checked in on Swrve, the California-based cycling-oriented clothing makers, I was surprised to see an announcement that was actually dated February of this year.

Swrve is closing down.

They are slowly selling off what stock they have left, at somewhat discounted prices, until they get down to the dregs. Then they will blow out what's left (by then it will be pants for 28-inch waists and some leftover pandemic masks), turn out the lights and go home.

In their announcement, they explain why they're closing down. Basically they had a good run for fifteen years. Then, though they don't allude to this in their memo, the pandemic came along and made all of us wonder why we were spending $125 on a pair of jeans, especially since our jobs were lost and the government checks hadn't started rolling in yet.

They say that the landscape has changed, and indeed it has. But not only because of Covid. The landscape changed for a million little reasons -- a thousand tiny cuts, as they say -- that signaled the end of the last bicycle boom, the last great gasp of Big Oil, the rise of electric vehicles and the revitalization of the car industry, and the beginning of late middle age for an entire generation.

The fast is, if you don't live in a bikeable place, you're not riding bikes so much right now. I can't speak for the rest of the country, but Portland is losing the momentum of previous decades and losing the ground gained on bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. We're losing safe place to walk and ride for so many reasons, and have been since we began to "bounce back" from Covid. Bouncing back is looking different.

Hell, my body looks different after Covid, Long Covid and so much change.

Instead of keeping up with newly emerging realities, Swrve tried to stay in its old lane for too long. Their largest pants do not extend beyond a 38 inch waistline. (I have had to regularly go through my old Swrve pants and add gussets in the back to accommodate in increased girth. I stopped caring about what that looked like long ago, because I no longer tuck in my shirts.)

They insisted on limiting their sizing range to the young and skinny, long after I and others had grown beyond it. And they insisted on selling clothing that fewer and fewer people could afford in a post-Covid world.

Adapt or die.

Or, more accurately, you can adapt and it's probably a good idea.
But you will still die.

Save your resources for things you can use for a long time and then pass on.

Happy riding.

When nobody local carries what I need, don’t complain if I buy it online.

A nice ride, mostly to get away from the noise of roof replacement.

My pump strap, which is over 30 years old, is biting the dust. I sewed it a few times to hold it together, and then the strap material began to disintegrate, making the stitches pointless. I made some kludgy repairs with layers of duct and metal tape, which looked ugly and was barely functional.

Then I set out to buy a new one at a local bike shop.

I went to three different shops. None of them carried such an item anymore. 

After my third shop, I gave up, went home, and searched for it online. Happily, Jandd Mountaineering, an established maker of bike and hiking bags and accessories since the early 1990s — and whose web site still looks like a 1995 web site — had some in stock, and was offering them on sale at less than $4 each. The postage was a little more than the item, but by then I didn’t care. 

I gave it my best shot.

The internet killed local brick and mortar bike shops years ago. My online purchase won’t change that, any more than buying a single item locally would slow it down. That’s just the way it is. And next week, I’ll have a new pump strap to replace the one I wore out.

Some mountains are impossible to die on.

Happy riding.

Coffeeneuring returns! The 14th annual Coffeeneuring Challenge begins Oct 6

The 14th annual Coffeeneuring Challenge returns October 6.

This is your opportunity to keep riding after the rainy season gets underway, meet friends for a tasty cuppa and enjoy the season from the saddle of your bicycle.

My miles aren’t impressive anymore, but they are still lovely.

Prizes available for finishers who log their rides and follow the rules.

Or you can just log your rides and have fun.

Details here:  https://chasingmailboxes.com/2024/09/14/coffeeneuring-challenge-year-14-we-are-back-so-save-the-date/?unapproved=205417&moderation-hash=74c895eeb7a32f33c1d2f31000c174e6#comment-205417

Due to the High Holy Days, I’ll get a slightly later start this year. But I should still be able to make my rides happen, especially if Coffee Outside is happening in places I can get to easily. (The Council Crest ride two weeks ago was, frankly, unrealistic for someone like me. LOL.)

So get out your rain gear and patch the holes, put a dab of Proofhide on your saddlebag straps, make sure your fenders are solid (in Oregon, fenders stay on most bikes year round), and start planning your coffee stops.

Happy riding!

(Photo: the Rivvy in 2016. Since then, the shifters have moved to near the grips, the grips have been replaced at least twice and the basket has been replaced/upgraded. I’m especially hard on baskets and this bike is on its third since I’ve had it. But it remains a lovely ride.)