[Bruno Moore]

So, the backstory: I caught the beans Boomer won at the last Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT) latte art competition at La Colombe Chinatown. Like, literally caught—they were lobbed at my face. I mean, the whole place had a bit of a “WELCOME TO THUNDERDOME!!!!!” vibe, what with baristas from Baltimore and Washington leaning over balcony and stair railings, drinking beers, and chugging the loosing cappuccinos, so, come to think of it, having someone wing a sample of pretty good coffee at my head wasn’t actually that surprising. As far as breaks from repacking bottom brackets go, that wasn’t a bad one.

“Spirit of the Inglorious Founder” is a reference to Kinetic Sculpture, a race in the same sense BAFS is a competition. One of the many, many awards is the Spirit of the Glorious Founder award, given for reasons that…well, nobody’s quite sure what the reasons are, but it kinda makes sense when it’s given. It’s not the Grand Mediocre Championship, given to the team that’s not necessarily the best at anything, but is good at everything; rather, it almost seems like a “ah, these guys, they get it, whatever ‘it’ is” trophy. I’d thought about giving home-roasted beans as the SotIFA, but, given that accordioneur roasts his own, well…

[Bruno Moore]

@Steve O 137614 wrote:

Bruno is looking for someone to pick up his prizes and bring them to the HH, in case you didn’t see this in the other thread.

Thanks to Rod for picking these up!

[Bruno Moore]

So I’m not going to be able to make it (work), but I have prizes. I don’t know who can make it by Bikeyspace Downtown (4½ and K NW) Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, but I can pass them on if it’s you.

[Bruno Moore]

@Steve O 136928 wrote:

Northside Social. Unpronounceable Burundian coffee.[/IMG]

The staff at Potter’s House just calls theirs “boozy.” Only their multilingual African barista can actually pronounce it, and he was out that day. Great stuff, though!

Okay, so, in the “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” points total that Doesn’t Actually Matter For Me, Because I’m DQ’d Anyway:

—Vigilante during Route One Rampage. Had gone in for a public cupping a couple weeks before, but this time…effit, what’s the last thing I’d ever get? Let’s confuse the baristas, who have me pegged as a handpour/single origin espresso dude. Affogato…peanut butter chocolate affogato. Now there’s an abomination before all that is good and holy in coffee if I ever heard…wait, what just happened? Seriously, you’re giving me some racer’s gift card prime because you like my All-City cap? Uh, okay. Score?!?!

—Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT) at La Colombe Chinatown while overhauling a new old Schwinn’s bottom bracket. TNT’s a monthly barista gathering/latte art competition; no, I’m not a pro, I’m a tad out of place, but, ya know, I’ll join in the audience at Thunderdome. Free coffee for everybody! FREEEEEE COFFEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

—Pulled off the Misha’s/Killer ESP double. Yes, it’s a stupid joke (the two places are a block away, it’s faster to walk), that’s why I did it. Misha’s is where I first headed down this coffee rabbit hole; really should have taken them at their word that, yes, they would actually French roast a Harrar. Oh you poor dear. I can tell there was once some fruit and vibrancy there, once upon a time, hidden somewhere underneath all that burnt char. It’s…well, it’s sad. I still love the cafe. Great vibe. But they’re killing their coffee.

Good thing there’s Killer ESP and their shopdog. Stumptown’s not local, but black tea mango gelato is…and Chuck Brown on the stereo is also Great Vibe.

[Bruno Moore]

The number of people who pass up free pie (really people, it’s FREE PIE and you’re just gonna keep on going?) is astounding.

Thanks to all y’alls who stopped by, who helped out, to Sol for providing pies, and Annmarie for putting this schebang together!

[Bruno Moore]

Paging greenbelt, come in greenbelt…have we got a transit/streetscape planning challenge with your name on it or what!

[Bruno Moore]

@wheels&wings 135535 wrote:

As for Steve O’s proposal, I’d agree with americancyclo… Actually I’d be uncomfortable with point awards for engaging in social activities, photos, etc. Call me old-fashioned, but I feel like these things should come from the heart, and to give them point values takes the fun out of it. Also I’d say that much of the homegrown genius and good humor of Freezing Saddles is not the sort of thing I’d want to quantify…. like when my teammate Snugglefestival took it upon herself to sew headbands and face-masks and distribute them at our Cap City Happy Hour (pure awesomeness). I know that my own participation could not easily be assessed in any metric either…things like ride title poems and cooking up silly prizes (more in the works). I sure as heck wouldn’t want to get points for these things. I like to do them because I love FS and because you are my friends. At the same time, I don’t do side bets or other activities ‘cause I’m a single mom who can barely keep her head above water.
However we decide to re-structure Freezing Saddles, I hope it will continue to encourage cohesion in the winter riding community but at the same time leave a lot of space for different forms of participation.

I’m really, really uncomfortable with the level of points-based “you must be this Elite to ride” shiznit going on. That’s part of why the coffee “challenge” is so ridiculous; yes, it’s partly my guide to awesome people and places you can bike to, partly me soliciting tips for other awesome people and places, partly just me being weird, and partly me poking fun at the whole “let’s score points!” mentality. Look, we’re biking during snowstorms. Biking. In snowstorms. Are we really taking ourselves seriously? Why would we even want to?

Look, beerneuring is expensive. I did it last year, but, by the end, $5 a beer really put a hit on my (bike shop minion) budget. Even my weirdo coffeechallenge doesn’t quite sit right with me in every respect, even if I deliberately chose something cheeper and more work-friendly than alcohol; I don’t want to have any “pay to play” aspect to any part of FS if it can be helped. How can I reconcile my transit activism, my honest and sincere belief that riding a bike is something for all people, something liberating and freeing, something you can participate in regardless of class, race, perceived ability, gender identification, sexual orientation, employment status, or other category we use to discriminate, disparage, and destroy one another? How would imposing minimums, of any kind, increase the inclusiveness of our community? How do our endless “are ebikes real bikes? Do they count?” discussions, to take but one example, help our community, save to reinforce a notion that there are Real Cyclists™ and cheaters (nevermind that the cheaters with their electric assists may be carrying cargo, children, may be people with disabilities, elderly, or otherwise not be able to fully enjoy riding a bike without assistance)?

And now here we are looking for ways to limit our competition and keep more points totals. Looking for ways to winnow and exclude. We don’t want the Great Unwashed, the Uncommitted, the noncompetitive, the social for society’s sake; no, we need points totals!

It reminds me very much of the old John Forester idea that we need to give certificates for Competent Cyclists—the discriminatory idea that some people (in Forester’s world, physically Elite males on road bikes, who viewed their commutes as Serious Training for racing), people who have been properly trained and initiated, are Real Cyclists, and the rest, infantilized. It’s a return of the idea that we’ve been trying to kill, this idea of cycling as competition, rather than a part of everyday lived experience, something for every single person who wants to ride.

I’ve been reading many of Mary’s interviews with my former Inquisition teammates from last year on Chasing Mailboxes. Thing is, we still see each other pretty often, whether at TCM, Vigilante, Board & Brew, Proteus, or just on the trails. FS built us into a community. It’s a bit harder to do that this year—CT6 is spread out over two counties, after all, even if a bit more than half of us are in the College Park/Laurel area, and three within coasting distance of one another—but we still try. Do I want points for meeting Millie for coffee, or riding through the snow with Bonnie? No, not really. Don’t f’n care. The picture of my face covered in wool, or my borrowed bike dripping, or the stories I can tell baristas are worth so, so much more.

So here’s the deal. If we’re trying to keep this for the few, as a competition, one with standards to be observed, well, it’s been real, good ridin’ with y’alls, but I’m gonna have to call it quits. I can’t be part of that. It goes against so much of what I want a true cycling community to be, one that encourages the person who’s scared to ride and the person who’s scared not to. There is no place for elitism in our community, and, if we’re going to be placing point values on what should be joyful, slightly silly, and transformative, I’m out. We make a place for all, or we are nothing.

[Bruno Moore]

Dangit, wish I’d seen this earlier—we have some Showers Pass jackets at Bikeyspace that are 20% off. So if anyone else is looking for a good late winter/spring/next year jacket…

[Bruno Moore]

@americancyclo 135193 wrote:

I think Maryland gets less snowfall.:p

The NWS (well, for Snowzilla, anyway) begs to differ. I will say that having the City of College Park plowing the Trolly Trail the day after two feet and change got dumped on it was nice…and having MN-CPPC do Jack Diddly on the commuter trails it controls (they’re part of the park and not considered roads or commuter facilities for “liability reasons,” I’ve been told) was decidedly Not.

[Bruno Moore]

Okay, finally getting around to posting these…yes, again, I know, I’m DQ’d for y’alls benefit, but still.

For those of you (glaring at you, Starbucks) looking for what a macchiato should be…Dolceza CityCenter knows. Got it dialed in durn near perfect.

Those of you looking to hit up the Vigilante roastery—they’re back open (I missed them doing pourovers in their event tent during the cold and wind last week), and officially remodeled. It was a bit of a madhouse on Saturday, but hey, my across the street neighbors and their new touring bikes were there too.

As for #coffeeclubs, I’m still trying to leave College Park FMCC early enough to hit up Metbranch 2FMTRCC. Think I’m 0/2 this year (shame, Brünø, shame!), so one chance left—though, in all fairness, the local coffee shop’s service might have a thing or two to do with that…

[Bruno Moore]

Okay, finally getting around to posting these…yes, again, I know, I’m DQ’d for y’alls benefit, but still.

For those of you (glaring at you, Starbucks) looking for what a macchiato should be…Dolceza CityCenter knows. Got it dialed in durn near perfect.

Those of you looking to hit up the Vigilante roastery—they’re back open (I missed them doing pourovers in their event tent during the cold and wind last week), and officially remodeled. It was a bit of a madhouse on Saturday, but hey, my across the street neighbors and their new touring bikes were there too.

As for #coffeeclubs, I’m still trying to leave College Park FMCC early enough to hit up Metbranch 2FMTRCC. Think I’m 0/2 this year (shame, Brünø, shame!), so one chance left—though, in all fairness, the local coffee shop’s service might have a thing or two to do with that…

[Bruno Moore]

So, general observation: are Marylanders just a hardier bunch overall? I remember from last year that the Unexpected Inquisition jumped a few places during snow days, and, looking at this last cold snap, I notice Cow Team Six (mostly Marylanders) has jumped into third, just behind another Calvertland squad. Maybe it’s something about the fortitude we’ve developed dealing with our local drivers or something, but “fatti maschii” indeed.

[Bruno Moore]

@Steve O 134961 wrote:

More points for me
I had the “Inidan Monsoon” (sic)
The workers there had no clue and could answer no questions. They did not know where in India (Inida?) it came from or anything about it. Maybe our expert knows.
However, I at least get a point for a new shop: Greenberry’s. I chose this shop because my toes were freezing and it was in my line of vision.
The brownie was unexceptional.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10965[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]10966[/ATTACH]

Probably Monsooned Malabar, or something taking after it. Sad to hear that things were unexceptional, though.

Got a hot tip from Rod about Caffé Aficionado—going to have to check that one out along with Northside Social someday Soon.

[Bruno Moore]

grumblegrumblebike’scoatedinsaltyou’reonthebeachgrumblegrumblenotbitterjustbettergrumblegrumble

[Bruno Moore]

Took a Surly Instigator 2.0 for several laps inside the shop while we were dead today (PLEASE, will SOMEBODY come visit us bikeshopminions?). Unfortunately, the building we’re in doesn’t get reception or GPS signals of any kind, so my Strava track never started.

So much for that idea.

[Author]

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