Coffeeneuring 2020 Week #1: Rosemary Hill

Coffeeneuring Week 1: Rosemary Hill

Coffeeneuring: riding bikes, drinking coffee, seven times, seven places, seven weeks; there's some rules. 

Before I got off of instagram, one of the last posts I saw was something from @pondero about "coffeeneuring." Chris Johnson is one of my bikespirations so I looked into it. Riding bikes? Coffee outside? Weird, obscure, challenge for the every-man adventurer? I'm your huckleberry. 

Reid and I rode to "Rosemary Hill," an unofficial name for a bump on the river walk with lovely yellow wild plants (Bearded Beggars Tick?) and a vantage point of Lookout Mountain. Reid made coffee at home, probably something nice and undoubtedly made in a Chemex. I made coffee at the hill: cheap dark roast my mother-in-law gifted me brewed in an Aeropress. The Aeropress makes everything taste nice. After a good chat, Reid and I pedaled hard around the Strava segment "HoboShredzzz" and then parted ways.

I was interested in linking up two gravel roads via a steep, downhill, hiking only trail and so continued up the mountain via the Guild and Upper Truck trail systems. At trail's end, I hike-a-bike'd down the John Smartt Trail which was miserable. "This was a very bad idea," I wondered out loud, "But it'll be worth it... I think." And it was a good idea. The Lower Truck Trail had several large trees down which called for portages or detours but is still a nice ride through the woods along Chattanooga Creek and the gravel through Reflection Riding / Garden Road was the creme de la creme. A very good ride and a promising start of the Coffeeneuring2020 season. 

Date: 10.12.20

Location: 35°02'02.7"N 85°19'25.0"W

Bike: Shanina

Coffee: dark roast, Aeropress, inverted, 13:1   

Miles: 28.6 (strava)

 

Blasting down Rosemary Hill (photo by Reid)