About the ride: Let us pause here and give thanks for the great names that the South has given to its geographic features; names like "Mulepen Gap," "Big Frog Mountain," and "Junebug Creek" were all seen on this loop around and over "Bean Mountain." I rode this loop alone. It was supposed to be a fun solo ride, challenging but lollygagging enough to clear my head and de-stress. I was psyched on the route I mapped out but by the end of this ride, I puked, I cried, and I (knowing how over-dramatic it would sound) asked out loud, "when will death come?" While definitely not the longest ride I've ever ever done, it was most definitely the hardest. And being chased by two country pit bulls (not to be confused with their more benign counter-parts, "city pit bulls") up a steep muddy hill absolutely did not help.
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| shortly after being chased, here I puked. not a bad vom spot. |
Was it fun? No. I distinctly remember yelling at one point, "THIS IS NOT FUN!" Am I glad I did it? I guess. Would I do it again? Not for a long time. Or at least that's what I thought until I started driving home, belly full of Burger King. The closer I got to home the more I began to think you know, that wasn't so bad. Maybe I'll do it with a friend next time.
About the coffee: I stopped for coffee a few miles beneath the summit at Lillard Gap. A lovely spot with a beautiful view of the valley below. I brought along Velo Coffee Roasters' "Mihuti," a washed Kenyan with notes of peach, lime, praline, and brown sugar. I'd be lying if I said I could pick up on all those flavors but I can pick up that it's good. So good, I experimented all week with all sorts of Aeropress recipes to bring out all that fruit forwardness. When I'm outside, I like a recipe with strong water-to-coffee ratio and a methodology doesn't require a stopwatch. While the following does require a bit of time keeping, it's easy to do it in my head.
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| this was the best cup of my coffeeneuring season. |
Dump 18 grams of coarsely ground coffee into an inverted Aeropress. Saturate the grounds by partially filling the chamber and stir. Let it bloom for 20 seconds, fill to the top and stir again (this recipe uses 220 grams or 8 ounces of water AKA half a baby Nalgene). Let it sit for half a minute and then plunge. All in all, it should take a minute and should produce a strong but bright and fruity cup of coffee.
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| somewhere on the descent toward Benton. |
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| my ride began with many views of the Hiwassee River. this was my favorite. |
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