coffeeneuring 2016; #3

this is my first year coffeeneuring! you can see my previous chasingmailboxes adventure here

i have a theme: stop exclusively at clp locations i haven't yet visited. also, i'm trying to ride slowly enough so i can hatch pokemon eggs while i go, but this is pretty difficult because the max speed is 6.5 mph, which is barely jogging pace.

it rained! i packed a raincoat and was only mildly miserable. i planned to go further down the river trail to the west end library, but i got kkind of cold and fed up and stopped at the south side instead.

• target: carnegie library of pittsburgh, south side branch
• weather: 60°f, rainy
• pokemon eggs hatched: 3
• trains encountered: 2
• dogs seen: 4
• total miles: 10.3 total

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30 October 2016 14:12

coffeeneuring 2016; #2

this is my first year coffeeneuring! you can see my previous chasingmailboxes adventure here

i have a theme: stop exclusively at clp locations i haven't yet visited. also, i'm trying to ride slowly enough so i can hatch pokemon eggs while i go, but this is pretty difficult because the max speed is 6.5 mph, which is barely jogging pace.

this entry is written up fairly late; i haven't had a great week for getting things off my task list. this ride actually happened on saturday, 10/15.

i was sick this week, so i picked a closer target that i thought would give me a lazy, short ride along the river trails. i did not fully understand how much of those trails were inaccessible due to construction on a private section of land that the trail crosses over; i ended up rerouting down a straight, fast section of road that i've always loved taking at inappropriate speeds on my motorcycle.

i tried to stick to the sidewalk, but a set of semi-permanent road work signs and sandbags blocked so much of the sidewalk that i gave up and started walking my bike through the debris. at one point, a pack of cyclists on roadies and bike shorts blew by, waving at me, so i hopped off the curb and drafted behind them. i figured as long as i was going to ride on a road that was shitty for bicycles, i might as well take advantage of some herd support.

i had a cup of tea out of my thermos in the hazelwood library parking lot. the main drag in hazelwood is not a really friendly place for bicycles, but lots of neighborhood kids rode around between traffic bubbles. my conspicuously orange bike gets a lot of appreciation from that crowd.

• target: carnegie library of pittsburgh, hazelwood branch
• weather: 75-80°f, sunny
• pokemon eggs hatched: 2
• times honked: 3
• times honked at: 0
• total miles: 7.7 total

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21 October 2016 17:14

coffeeneuring 2016; #1

this is my first year coffeeneuring! you can see my previous chasingmailboxes adventure here

i have a theme: stop exclusively at clp locations i haven't yet visited. also, i'm trying to ride slowly enough so i can hatch pokemon eggs while i go, but this is pretty difficult because the max speed is 6.5 mph, which is barely jogging pace.

i met a middle schooler who was out riding the trails with her father, and she was really excited to keep pace with me and chat about schoolteachers she didn't like, her friends who are diehard steelers fans, what color bikes she likes, which of her family members have died recently, what sports her sister plays, and other things that got caught by the wind as we pedaled.

the seat of my pants have been on their way out for a long time, and on this ride, i kept catching the nose of my saddle in the hole. also, the sole of my right shoe has detached so far that it gets stuck around my pedal. maybe i'll get around to patching this someday.

• target: carnegie library of pittsburgh, wood's run branch
• weather: 55-60°f, partly sunny
• pokemon eggs hatched before my battery died: 2
• jails passed: 2
• strangers chatted: 4
• total miles: 15 + 6 post battery = 21 total

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09 October 2016 18:03