Just kidding about the "lines" thing. I would never snort blow and ride. This thread is about the importance of good coffee to a man--it feels wierd to refer to myself this way, but I digress--who loves to ride and can no longer drink booze. Coffee has provided me with something for my palate to appreciate while simultaneously making me juiced enough to put in some serious miles.
Today, I decided to ride from Georgetown in NW Washington DC where my parents recently moved, to the Fair Oaks area in Northern VA where I live, via the WO&D trail. The round trip was almost exactly fifty miles, though I did make a detour in the middle to pick up a mimikaki (a Japanese tool for ear hygene) for my girlfriend.
Just accross the Francis Scott Key bridge from Georgetown is Clarendon, VA where my favorite espresso bar, Murky Coffee, is located. Murky serves up some serious, Northern Italian, ristretto espresso drinks; I happen to like a double espresso best, but I've been experimenting with others lately. In the Clarendon shop, Murky has a three-group Synesso Cyncra: if espresso machines were bikes, this one would be American custom steel, all the way. If you are looking for a drink that has to be ordered in Starbucks-ese, then don't bother; by the way, Ryan (the guy in red in the photo) and the other baristi, will make a lovely macchiato, but it won't have any caramel in it, so you can forget it.
Fortified with a solid four shots, I started riding. The trip down the WO&D is basically flat, so it was mostly just a bunch of spinning. After reaching Vienna, VA, I turned on to Ox Road and rode out towards Fair Oaks Mall. It was on Ox that I had a few close calls with some people who apparently didn't notice my bright red jersey and annoying LED tail light. A loaded flat-bed wrecker passed within a foot of my knuckles. Scary. The trip home was finished off with an americano with two shots and a double espresso. A good ride, indeed.
Today, I decided to ride from Georgetown in NW Washington DC where my parents recently moved, to the Fair Oaks area in Northern VA where I live, via the WO&D trail. The round trip was almost exactly fifty miles, though I did make a detour in the middle to pick up a mimikaki (a Japanese tool for ear hygene) for my girlfriend.
Just accross the Francis Scott Key bridge from Georgetown is Clarendon, VA where my favorite espresso bar, Murky Coffee, is located. Murky serves up some serious, Northern Italian, ristretto espresso drinks; I happen to like a double espresso best, but I've been experimenting with others lately. In the Clarendon shop, Murky has a three-group Synesso Cyncra: if espresso machines were bikes, this one would be American custom steel, all the way. If you are looking for a drink that has to be ordered in Starbucks-ese, then don't bother; by the way, Ryan (the guy in red in the photo) and the other baristi, will make a lovely macchiato, but it won't have any caramel in it, so you can forget it.
Fortified with a solid four shots, I started riding. The trip down the WO&D is basically flat, so it was mostly just a bunch of spinning. After reaching Vienna, VA, I turned on to Ox Road and rode out towards Fair Oaks Mall. It was on Ox that I had a few close calls with some people who apparently didn't notice my bright red jersey and annoying LED tail light. A loaded flat-bed wrecker passed within a foot of my knuckles. Scary. The trip home was finished off with an americano with two shots and a double espresso. A good ride, indeed.