The 4th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge is over and 7 weekends, 7 cups
of coffee, 7 different places way to spend some riding time. Thanks is
due Mary of Chasing Mailboxes for
making
it happen and I'm guessing that anyone participating did so with a
smile on his or her face. I mean, bikes and coffee? How can you not
smile . . . seriously!
For me the schedule was easy at least for the first few weeks with
Haile Plantation's Village a place I go every Saturday, so planning the
first few destinations was much easier than my ride up the East Coast a
few years back. Below are my destinations and some relevant pictures.
Cup #1; October 4, 2.5 miles, Tree
City Coffee Roasters
Tree City (soon to be called Flagship) is not in Memphis, but the young
lady from whom I purchased my first Challenge Cup is Memphis.
It’s hard to match the freshness of coffee roasted by Andrew on
Thursday and sold on Saturday; that is exactly the way it works when I
visit the Farmers’ Market in Haile Plantation’s Village each Saturday
morning.
Memphis
filled
my cup with Tree City’s Breakfast Blend and I took along a pound of
Full City Roast (medium) Natural (Nicaragua – Selva Negra) for $12. A
fine way to start a weekend morning!
Cup #2; October 11, 2.5 miles, PattiCakes
PattiCakes is also located in Haile Plantation’s Village and, as the
name implies, specializes in cakes of the cup variety; very suitable to
accompany a cup of coffee.
PattiCakes brews locally roasted Rembrandt Coffee in a neighborhood
friendly environment where locals kibitz, chat and relax. Their house
blend was even better when coupled with one of their cupcakes.
Cup #3; October 19, 1.65 miles, Barnie’s
Franchise coffee places are not my favorite places, but the local
Barnie’s is more neighborhood then franchise and is a comfortable place
to spend a few Sunday morning hours checking email and reading online
news. The coffee of the moment was Mocha Java and it required a Danish
to help overcome the UF Gator’s loss to Missouri’s Tigers.
Cup #4; October 25, 4.5 Miles, Starbuck’s
I’d talked about bike parking along G’ville’s highly commercial Archer
Road and one of the establishments with adequate through remote racks
was Starbuck’s. Since then they have relocated to the other side of the
street and I decided to check their bike security along with getting
the Cup #4.
Like any Starbuck’s in town it was full of young patrons, virtually all
of whom were virtually connected to some virtual part of the virtual
world. Like any Starbuck’s in town there was a steady din of
conversation. The coffee d’jour was satisfactory and the donut I chose
was above average.
The new location offers adequate bike racks and reasonable
security, but with the drive-through passing within inches of the racks
extra care is required when coming and going
.
Cup #5; November 1, 2.5 miles, Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill (LRNG)
A place featuring adult beverages might be excuse for the quality of
its coffee, but when you call a tavern a “grill” and serve meaningful
meals, the coffee should be as good as the meal. LRNG doesn’t serve
mediocre coffee. Order a cup and you get some of G’ville’s best; Tree
City.
I settled at the bar on an unseasonably chilly, blustery morning when
the recently completed extension of Archer Braid Trail (ABT) through
Haile Plantation was being officially acknowledged. Bike riders in
their brightly colored kits mingled with the usual Saturday morning
Farmers’ Market patrons, enjoyed some music, collected a few freebies
and sampled munchables from LRNG.
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The ABT extension makes Haile’s Village very bicycle-accessible which
fits well with the New Urbanist development’s concept. The Trail now
extends nearly nine miles from the west trailhead in the small
community of Archer to its current terminus at well-maintained Kanapaha
Park and will eventually connect with other existing and planned
trails. Ample parking at Kanapaha Park makes it an ideal place for
families to enjoy the Trail and the 2.5 mile ride to The Village. Cup
#5 blended all the things that’re good about riding a bike in
Gainesville and the Challenge simply added another good reason to be in
the saddle.
Cup
#6; November 8, 7.5 miles, Maude’s Classic Café (A Gourmet Coffee
Shop)
With the last weeks of the Challenge at hand Cup #6 could be had in
conjunction with the Fall Arts Festival in downtown G’ville. Whata
deal! Maude’s was the right place to have a cup and a muffin before
plunging into the crowd drawn by the Festival perfect weather; neither
too hot nor too chilly.
A cursory study of Maude’s could cause it to be viewed as a hipster
café, but it’s neither more nor less so than the other trendy coffee
shops in G’ville. A cup of Sweetwater Organic Coffee, also a G’ville
roasted brand, and a muffin while watching the eclectic mix of people
made it a good way to prepare for the larger than usual crowd of
Festival-goers.
Cup
#7; November 16, 2.8 miles, Waffle House, Archer Road
America might run on Dunkin’ but in the South there’re a lot of people
who’ll have their coffee at Waffle House so I decided to make the
Southern Tradition the place for my final cup.
The coffee at WH isn’t exceptional, but it comes in a heavy cup that
keeps it hot and you’ll get the question, “need some more hon’?” until
you pay and leave. It’s hard to beat the value and even more difficult
to ignore the Southern Diner ambiance; that’s one of the reasons to go
there. Another reason? Waffles, of course. And then there’s the show
put on by the grill operators on a Sunday morning.
Meeting the requirements of the 4th Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge was
well worthwhile and helped put my disappointment from the Bicycle
Challenge into proper perspective. Serious bicycle riding has little to
do with kits and carbon fiber and centuries. It’s about caring about
yourself and your community and enjoying the ability to get around on
two wheels powered by your own effort.
The National Bike
Challenge and Falling Over
This year’s National Bike Challenge gave me the same kick in the saddle
as last year’s. My goal was an average of twenty miles a day and I was
doing pretty well until I fell over kinda like Arte Johnson and his
tricycle on “Laugh-In”; a 3 mph moment of carelessness. Landed on my
hip, the same one that’d been repaired with titanium rods to hold the
ball on the neck of my femur. Wasn’t nearly as much pain as there was
blood from elbow, knee and finger, so I finished the remaining 16
miles. Later there was plenty of pain and I didn’t (probably couldn’t)
ride the next day or Saturday, managed a cautious few miles thereafter,
returning to the scene of the fall a week later.
During the Challenge, Archer Braid Trail through Haile Plantation
progressed from construction site to completion. When I was able to
resume riding it was very nice to cruise cautiously on the very smooth
asphalt and over the numerous transition points. I missed my Saturday
morning visit to the Farmers’ Market, but will enjoy it even more now,
despite the missing piece of asphalt at Kimball Wiles Elementary School.
What About After the
National Bike Challenge
So, how will I fill the hole left by no longer being able to compete
for a year’s supply of toilet paper (yes, one of the monthly prizes)?
Along comes Mary G. and her blog; chasing
mailboxes. Commencing on October 4 is the Fourth
Annual Coffeeneuring Challenge; 7 Cups (of coffee) in 7 Weeks
(Saturdays and Sundays only). Say what?
The basics are this; visit one place where you drink coffee, document
it, do that each of the seven weekends and submit your completed
“challenge” at the end. Prizes? Yeah, some, I guess.
- Difficult?
Not really? Potentially a good way to discover your own back yard, so
to speak.
- Rules?
Yeah and you can read ‘em here.
- I’ve
already planned my first several weekends; Tree City at the Haile
Village Farmers’ Market, Limerock Road and patticakes (not open
Sundays) also in Haile Village, Barnie’s on lower Tower Road and
undoubtedly the Starbucks at Butler.
Look
at chasing mailboxes and enjoy Mary’s whimsical perspective, except
when she’s serious. Maybe Gainesville and GCC will turn in another
stellar performance.
Getting to Haile Village is a three mile ride mostly on the paved path
winding its way through the Plantation’s neighborhoods and I do it
boldly, despite the warn sign telling me the path is a benefit for
residents and guests, only. I figure the Farmers’ Market in the Village
is an open invitation.
When the current extension to Archer Braid Trail is completed access to
the Village will be dramatically easier as will the ride to Archer.
Memorial Park will be a fine alternative to using the YMCA parking area
on Archer Road and the new section will add an additional couple of
miles.
Haile meets ABT |
Ninety-first Terrace is the Main Street of the Village; it’s where the
Market appears on Saturdays and where much of the Village’s other
“content” is located. With improved access provided by ABT it makes the
eateries located there much more convenient destinations for anyone
wanting to venture out on a bike. It’ll be possible to ride to Haile,
indulge in snacks, a meal or just dessert and work some of the calories
off getting back to the Park.
Haile Village may not be specifically bicycle friendly, but traffic is
seldom a problem, amenities are easily accessible and there are widely
spaced racks and abundant flyparking options. After the Market the most
relevant amenity I might consider using me is dining, though it’s been
a long time since I have availed myself of the opportunities.
Haile Village Bistro is a starting point for many Gainesville
Cycling Club (GCC) rides so you can assume they are friendly or
tolerant of bicycle riders. They’re open daily at 0700 offering light
breakfast and complete lunch and dinner entrees until 11pm weekdays and
1AM on Saturday and Sunday. Their menu runs from deli sandwiches to
Middle Eastern inspired Kabobs. English Pub food is also on the menu,
but in my opinion it should only be ordered in the attached Queen’s
Arms Pub; Fish and Chips, Shepherd’s Pie and Bangers and Mash
have always been very good. Fish and Chips’ll cost you $12 and will be
worth the price.
Queen's Arms Pub |
Haile Village Bistro |
There is a rack across the street from the Pub and a wrought iron fence
around the outdoor seating of the Bistro. Neither is the ideal way to
accommodate bikes, but both serve the purpose and unless the weather is
oppressively hot or unpleasantly cool, outdoor seating is a good thing.
Sisters
is no longer open for dining. It is catering only. Alas.
patticakes is
a confection destination but not nearly as bicycle friendly as it
oughta be. With an abundance of carbohydrates available it’s a great
place to indulge in extremes. Haven’t visited since soon after they
opened so I’ve no idea how much a designer cupcake goes for. I do
recollect that whatever I paid was justified by the taste.
Only flyparking is available using various trees and signs, but this is
less than ideal.
Cacciatore is an oddity.
It’s a catering company that makes pizza and other typical pizzeria
fare from 5pm to 9 mp on Thursdays and Fridays. Its prices are
competitive and reviews suggest they make good stuff. It fits outside
the general idea of bicycle friendly. Maybe I’ll stop by for a piece
some evening and have more to say about it. I'll even add a picture
when i do.
Limerock
Road used to be something else and it was something
else when I ate there. Billed as “the Neighborhood Grill you’ve been
searching for” it may be just hat, preposition notwithstanding. Like
any good Neighborhood Grill in the Home of the gators, it offers Happy
Hour whenever the Gators play. It’s not clear whether that is just
football or includes lacrosse, softball, basketball, et cetera. The
lunch menu shows a host of handheld Grill-type options for lunch and
more worldly items for dinner. Lunch will cost about $10 and for dinner
you’ll need more than $10 and less than $20 for a meal.
Limerock has an adequate bike rack and there are numerous flyparking
options should the rack be full.
South Garden and Limerock Road are in the same nook at the North end of
the Village. South Garden offers typical items at competitive prices.
As with Cacciatore, I’ll ride by some afternoon and taste what they
offer. They’re open Tuesday through Friday for lunch (11am – 2pm) and
dinner (5pm – 8:30pm) and for dinner only; Monday, Saturday and Sunday
(5pm – 8:30pm).
Adequate flyparking is available and Limerock’s rack is nearby.
With parking available at Memorial Park, ABT should become more heavily
used than it is already and the possibility of a stop in Haile Village
makes it even more appealing.
