It had been a while since I last led a club ride. Given my participation in the Coffeeneuring Challenge, I decided to lead a ride and add a stop for hot chocolate. I plotted a course that passed by two coffee-type shops. My club’s groups had ridden past Emily’s Donuts & Café many times. We normally stop at a convenience store down the road. I opted to make Emily’s a primary stop on October 18th. Six riders left Newport News Park and rode ten miles to Emily’s in Williamsburg. The six of us had no problem finding enough wall or glass to lean our bikes. The shop is very small, making it easy to keep an eye on the bikes outside. Only two of us opted to make a purchase. After a cup of hot chocolate and a single blueberry donut hole (imagine the look on the guy’s face when I asked for just ONE), three more riders joined us for the quick, ten-mile stretch to Yorktown via the Colonial Parkway. The Parkway was a little busier than expected. The cars gave us plenty of room on the three-lane road and we held a good pace along the gentle, rolling terrain. We stopped at another coffee place that I’ll reveal in a future entry. Our stop was brief. We then made our way back to Newport News Park for a total of 31 miles.

We rode a tame pace since a few of us have plans to ride a metric century the following day. The 100-kilometer ride should prove to be popular since it’s part of our group’s “Pub Series” rides. I may knock out another coffeeneuring ride beforehand. If I do, I’ll combine the reports into one entry.

No, Really, Just One…

Scott