Takoma / Silver Spring bike commuters sociability time

[Bicyclebug]

I’m a DC reverse commuter so a Takoma coffee spot would be ideal (any day except Tuesday and Wednesday for me). Hope we can work this out!

Edit: Soupergirl opens at 8:15…while not super early, this may work for some of us.

[Dickie]

Riley, I think that’s a great idea. I am a “Southerner” so I probably won’t attend all that much, but I have a friend who is getting into cycling and lives in Silver Spring. I want to get him involved so your plan would be a perfect place for him to meet folks. I posted on the FCCII thread a suggestion that all coffee clubs should meet on Friday mornings (although the Arlington one is meeting tomorrow…oops) so everyone will begin to adopt the idea that friendly forum folks will be sipping coffee on Friday mornings somewhere near you… thus you are always guaranteed a place to go. Just an idea. keep us posted on the progress.

[bikenurse]

Some good news for us “northerners” – a Zekes coffee roastery is going in at RI ave and S. Dakota (they have a shop in B’more and sell their fab fresh roasted beans at farmers mkts in the DC area). This will be close to the commuting route for many of us coming into DC from PG and Montgomery county via the NW branch trail – Brookland – Met Branch. Sounds like you have some good coffee shops in SS/takoma, but we have nothing in PG/NE DC (Busboys and poets in Hyattsville doesn’t open till 8am). Here’s hoping for a FMCC in NE!

[TrishN]

Great idea, Laurie – Would love a FMCC at Zekes!

@mllwhnp 48162 wrote:

Some good news for us “northerners” – a Zekes coffee roastery is going in at RI ave and S. Dakota (they have a shop in B’more and sell their fab fresh roasted beans at farmers mkts in the DC area). This will be close to the commuting route for many of us coming into DC from PG and Montgomery county via the NW branch trail – Brookland – Met Branch. Sounds like you have some good coffee shops in SS/takoma, but we have nothing in PG/NE DC (Busboys and poets in Hyattsville doesn’t open till 8am). Here’s hoping for a FMCC in NE!

[DismalScientist]

@Riley Casey 48122 wrote:

The Northern Virginia side of the forum ( hereinafter known as the southerners )

I’m picturing Dickie as Eric Cartman dressed as Robert E. Lee here.:p

[Bicyclebug]

What about shortcake bakery? I haven’t been there yet but they open early, have pastries, and bike parking. Being right off the NE Branch on Rhode Island I can’t think of anything more convenient at present. And if they don’t have coffee, perhaps a BYOC scenario by the skatepark (since its springtime :p) while we chat and much on strudels.

[Greenbelt]

@Bicyclebug 48353 wrote:

What about shortcake bakery? I haven’t been there yet but they open early, have pastries, and bike parking. Being right off the NE Branch on Rhode Island I can’t think of anything more convenient at present. And if they don’t have coffee, perhaps a BYOC scenario by the skatepark (since its springtime :p) while we chat and much on strudels.

Endorse this idea — owners are really nice people.

[Riley Casey]

I’ve been there with Greenbelt and company during the ride for Natasha Pettigrew ( a ride that I hope is repeated this year, good folks turned out for a sad but important cause ). It’s a very nice place with pleasant proprietors but a bit off the track for those of us in or passing thru TPSS. I hope we can get bit more interest in a meet up. I might have to wear a placard at BTWD to drum up participants at this rate.

@Bicyclebug 48353 wrote:

What about shortcake bakery? …

[Pavahotti]

I, too, like this idea. I’m probably going to stop by the downtown Bethesda area on Bike to Work Day, as I prefer the 13 mile route downtown along the Capital Crescent Trail, but I’m all for meeting my fellow Silver Spring cyclists!

From Summit Hills,

Matt

[Amalitza]

@Riley Casey 48122 wrote:

The Northern Virginia side of the forum ( hereinafter known as the southerners )

What does that make those of us who actually live and work south of the beltway? (though technically still “northern virginia” i guess). really far south-erners?

[ShawnoftheDread]

@acl 48534 wrote:

What does that make those of us who actually live and work south of the beltway? (though technically still “northern virginia” i guess). really far south-erners?

Amish

[dasgeh]

@Riley Casey 48122 wrote:

The Northern Virginia side of the forum ( hereinafter known as the southerners )

Having been doing Civil War-themed tours with my extended for the past week, I can say with confidence that we’re all “Southerners” in the sense that we’re all from South of the Mason-Dixon line. Maryland was a “border state” during the Civil War/Rebellion/War of Northern Aggression/War between the States — still had slaves, but stayed with the Union, in part because Lincoln arrested the Maryland legislature before they could vote to secede. So before y’all get all righteous…

[Riley Casey]

Gotta tie this back into biking. About sixteen or so years ago my wife and I took our bikes up to the annual Gettysburg reenactment. We drove the bikes up, parked in the lot along with the thousands of other attendees and then biked to the site of the ‘battle’. We were the only cyclists in evidence and after watching the tail end of one segment of the action there was a two hour lull in the schedule as they set up for the next segment. This seemed a good opportunity to explore so we found a dirt farm road on the property ( the reenactments are held on private farms in the vicinity of the actual battlefield park for those who haven’t been to one ) and rode away from the spectator area only to discover that we had managed to ride around the battlefield to the Union lines. Since they were still in ‘recess’ we walked our bikes over to the nearest unit which turned out to be an artillery battery and the the one ‘gunner’ who hadn’t retired to the shade of the trees spent the next half hour regaling us with the skills of the Federal artillerists and how the reb gunners were just no good at it. She never once broke character while talking to her shorts wearing cyclist audience. Yes she was playing a woman disguised as a man in the Union army which was not unheard of at the start of the war although I’m not sure how many of them were loading canons by 1863. As they announced the impending resumption of hostilities we went back to the road and cycled back to the spectator seating.

Ever since that year the advertising for the Gettysburg reenactments has prominently stated ” No Bicycles Allowed On The Grounds”

@dasgeh 48603 wrote:

Having been doing Civil War-themed tours with my extended for the past week, I can say with confidence that we’re all “Southerners” in the sense that we’re all from South of the Mason-Dixon line. Maryland was a “border state” during the Civil War/Rebellion/War of Northern Aggression/War between the States — still had slaves, but stayed with the Union, in part because Lincoln arrested the Maryland legislature before they could vote to secede. So before y’all get all righteous…

… 150th Anniversary of Gettysburg. Worth a visit

[dasgeh]

This reminds me: we did see a bike tour of the battleground (from afar – we were on top of Little Roundtop, and yes, you can see everything and yes, that’s why it was so important). That would definitely be a great way to visit the field — you’d get around more than you could on foot, but you’d have a better appreciation for the distances and topography than you get in a car (or minibus, if you happen to be traveling with 20 family members age 1 to 72).

[bikenurse]

@Bicyclebug 48353 wrote:

What about shortcake bakery? I haven’t been there yet but they open early, have pastries, and bike parking. Being right off the NE Branch on Rhode Island I can’t think of anything more convenient at present. And if they don’t have coffee, perhaps a BYOC scenario by the skatepark (since its springtime :p) while we chat and much on strudels.

The pastries are amazing but the coffee needs work. They have an espresso machine, but it doesn’t work. Nice folks tho, and a great place to meet up.

[Author]

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