COFFEE, APPLES, AND SANTA

Sept. 12 and 16, 2012  PEDALS adventures: 

Sometimes good rides are very short ones…they don’t take you anywhere new, they just give you pleasure because you did them.   We had two short September rides that were just such times.  First, we took advantage of a beautiful fall evening and rode the Towpath trail of the FW Rivergreenway.  It is one of my favorite paths because it starts in a park, goes through a bit of residential area, and then finishes with a decidedly rural feel of cornfields and open spaces at Eagle Marsh..all in FW and within a few miles.  It was an unremarkable ride, but it felt good to ride after work, enjoying the outdoors and the quiet that biking brings.

VIEW FROM THE WESTERN END OF THE TOWPATH,
4 MILES FROM DOWNTOWN FW

Of course, I can’t go near downtown on a ride without stopping at my favorite Starbucks (see "There and Back" blogpost ), even if we rode there in a car after the bike ride.  I had a coupon for a free drink of any size, so I ordered a venti Pumpkin Spice latte to share w/ Tom at one of the outside tables.   Of course, he had to bring papers to grade (can’t have even one free night when you are an English teacher) but I enjoyed the time “posting” our status at SB on my Facebook page and watching parts of the FW Tincaps playoff game on the big screen down the street.  It was a perfect nightcap to a perfect night ride.

Just a few days later, the Johnny Appleseed festival was held in Johnny Appleseed park, through which the path of the Rivergreenway trail system goes through.   After finding out the FW Trails group was sponsoring secure bike parking at the festival, we decided to forgo the huge lines of traffic waiting to park/leave by parking at IPFW University and riding our bikes into the festival.  The plan was flawless as  we arrived, parked our bikes just inside the festival entrance (and received our  claims tickets for them), and entered the festival in record time. 

PRAIRIE FIRE STRING BAND PERFORMING
AT JOHNNY APPLESEED FESTIVAL

As always, biking and eating go hand in hand, and we enjoyed apple rollup pancakes, caramel corn,  ham and beans and corn bread, and apple cider as we strolled through the booths and watched pioneer aficionados demonstrate old fashioned skills and perform old folk songs to modern audiences.  It was at one of these “concerts” that Santa sat down on the bench in front of us.  How did I know it was Santa?  The beard, the belly…and the giant belt buckle that said “SANTA” gave it away.  Who knew Santa was a fan of country bluegrass?

 

"YOU-KNOW-WHO" ENJOYING SOME
BLUEGRASS MUSIC BEFORE HIS
BUSY SEASON STARTS! 

While neither ride covered significant mileage or covered new ground, the memories of both adventures will stay with me as memories tied to our bikes….NICE!

The stats: Towpath: 8.4 miles (RT), Time: 49:44 , ODO: 440 miles

Johnny Appleseed Festival  2.065 miles (RT), Time: 17:22, ODO: 442.07

Notable Nature Sightings:  none

Oxymoron Sighting: Surely Santa announcing his presence at  the September Johnny Appleseed Festival through a belt buckle constitutes an oxymoronic moment, dontcha think?

There and Back...all before 10 AM!

August 12, 2012  PEDALS adventure: 

It’s always fun to introduce novice “urban bikers” to the ins and outs of riding the trails. Our neighbors, Alex and Jennifer, have enjoyed the holiday donut rides with us from our homes, and Jennifer has even ridden with me in the annual nighttime FW Rivergreenway ride sponsored by the FW Parks Department.  Alex, however, has yet to start an urban ride from anywhere other than his own driveway.  After this ride, we have changed all of that!

Our favorite FW Rivergreenway path is the Maumee Path.   It is on the east side of FW, travels along the Maumee River, eventually ending in downtown.   More often than not, rides on this path end at what we consider to be the coolest Starbucks anywhere at the corner of Jefferson and Fairfield streets. The four of us decided this would be a great morning ride destination and set off from our house at 7 AM.  

It was a beautiful morning, although a bit cool for August.  We layered up, as much of the path by the river is heavily wooded and could be cooler than at our houses.   We drove to the Carrington Field trailhead on Coliseum Blvd. to start the ride. We enjoyed the shadows that the early morning sun cast on the path and the River, traveled alongside some FW neighborhoods, and soon found ourselves riding on the bike lanes in downtown FW.

Our favorite Starbucks
Jefferson and Fairfield in Fort Wayne

The downtown FW Starbucks is located in a renovated old Firestone Tire store.  The store was about to be demolished when SB purchased it, and turned it into a funky coffee spot.  Besides the typical ordering and seating area inside, this SB has an outdoor ”garage” area, with tables, chairs, couches and giant overhead garage doors that are opened (or closed) as the weather warrants, as well as a fabulous outdoor patio area.  

 

We got our drinks and pastries and sat under the old photos of the Firestone as it used to be.  Besides enjoying good coffee and great conversation,  we enjoyed looking at the ridiculously low price for tires that was advertised in the old photo taken when it was a Firestone store.  The architecture of the old store certainly stands out, and I, for one, am grateful that SB rescued it from the wrecking ball, and maintained the façade, making it both vintage and modern all at once.  It is no wonder it is our favorite SB location ANYWHERE, whether you sit on the patio watching the wide variety of  cars go by on the major downtown thoroughfare (Tom says it’s a great place to “shop” for a new vehicle..if you wait long enough, every kind eventually goes by),  or choose the garage, or even stay in the store (when it’s too cold). 

The coolest thing about Alex’s bike is that is has a nifty pressure spring shelf on the back, an accessory to go along with its designation as a “commuter bike.”   While we have never figured out how anything very big would fit under the pressure spring arm, I was able to utilize it on my first ever biking/shopping experience.   This SB had Café Verona K-cups for use in our Keurig coffeemaker at home….it was the first time I had seen that blend in a K-cup.   I whipped out my gold SB gift card, bought a box, and loaded it on the back of Alex’s bike.   AWESOME!!!  

The only thing left to do was to hop back on our bikes and back to our car and back to our neighborhood….an adventure in biking and eating and friendship, all before 10 AM!

The stats: 8.2  (RT), Time: 59 min. , ODO: 387 miles