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Congrats to those who did the entire ride!

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So… while I hadn’t been planning on being able to make it to the great doughneuring ride today, the wheels in my mind kept turning as I imagined the glorious potential. What if I could actually meet up with this huge group of cyclists in pursuit of doughnuts? I mean, going through Hyattsville, they were practically going to be in my back yard. What better opportunity for BAFS participation at its best – socialization, food, and bicycles!

First, though, to fix the flat on my trusty Nona. *sigh*

Then the wheels in my mind kept turning. Doughnut warfare! I could pelt the riders with doughnuts (I mean, toss people doughnuts to help them get extra points)! This required a pannier and a quick stop at my local Dunkin:
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That flat, though. I knew that I didn’t have as much time as I was planning. No longer could I count on being able to meet the group at Benning Road. In fact, I knew that I would have to take the quick route to Bladensburg. So I did – every best shortcut that I knew – my scintillating knowledge of this area as a bicyclist – I arrived just north of the Bladensburg Bridge and could just make out a colorful posse of bicyclists on the other side. Text to Mary: I will wait at Shortcake (about 1-2 miles north of my current position). The trap was set. I kept quiet and partially concealed from the bicyclists by the bridge as they crossed the tributary.

Bonus doughneuring pitstop established! People seemed to enjoy the surprise of me standing in their path with some spare munchkins.

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From there I joined the crowd. It was great fun.

My “doughnuts” of the day included:

Glazed munchkin from the College Park Dunkin Donuts – I picked up one of these and about 24 siblings as the lightest offering to the anticipated-doughnut-logged riders. About what you would expect. I do like DD’s glaze.
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Peanut-encrusted doughnut from the Hyattsville DD – I thought that peanuts would give me some nice protein to the carb-bomb of a doughnut. Nothing extraordinary, but not a disappointment. I like a good nutty doughnut.
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Apple danish (special exception given by Edelweiss) at the Tiramisu Bakery in Silver Spring. I love a good apple Danish. This one had a lovely flaky dough and the apples were just what I was looking for.

AND

Some kind of savory fried dough thing, also at the Tiramisu Bakery in Silver Spring. It would have been interesting to warm this up. I still have the rest of the bit. Perhaps I’ll try it later tonight. There wasn’t a huge amount of flavor – I wonder what it’s normally paired with?
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Congrats to the group from the ride that I like to call “the Completionists”! In from the start to the end, including whatever commute they had to get to and from the ride. A courageous bunch.

Thanks, Kate!

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@Edelweiss 154378 wrote:

Estimated times to be calculated and posted here for those wishing to join as we circumnavigate. Watch this thread! Save the date, plan now for this Doughneuing Extravaganza. Potential for Bonus Points abound. Doughneurers only, and all of Team 4, and any friends you invite.

What are the estimated times at each stop? Thanks!

Millie

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The latest in my entries. Birthday socks from my son. Doughnut run to Laurel.

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Today’s doughnut rendez-vous was a feat of derring do. I went to Laurel. It’s not too pretty trying to get to Laurel. Especially on the return trip home as I decided that traffic was just a little too aggressive to stay on the road (MD-197) and I relegated myself to the sidewalk I thought… could this be a level of the Underworld in Dante’s Inferno???

The goal was a worthy one, however. Montgomery County residents might remember a Dutch Country Market – with its Amish workforce and delicacies galore… it moved to PG County about a decade ago (haha!). One of the sections is a bakery, where you can watch and smell doughnuts being freshly prepared all day long. Don’t try going here on a Sunday, though – the place is only open Thursdays through Saturdays, with some different days around holidays.

Just so you know, I’m not a huge fan of bacon on doughnuts, even though I love bacon. However, I would eat this maple bacon doughnut again. What made it so tasty? Hmm.. the texture of the doughnut, the richness of the maple and chocolate frostings… and they candied the bacon perfectly. Yes. Candied bacon. They did it right!

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Up for consideration is a doughnut that, in my mind, embodies the doughneuring challenge in a big, BIG way. I mean, massive. Just look at the size of this apple fritter from Shoppers!

Okay, so I admit, Shopper’s fritters are not actually my favorite. About the only thing they have going for them is their size. The best part of any apple fritter is the apples, followed closely by the ribbon of cinnamon sugar throughout. Shoppers, alas, usually doesn’t cut it. Safeway, honestly, makes really good fritters. Hmm.. maybe I need to venture over there soon…

Entry for sorriest, though largest, doughnut? Hmm…

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So sorry not to be able to join this ride! It’s really starting to sound like anyone who doesn’t join is pretty much out of the running (that whole thing about sampling 6 different doughnuts in one place if someone brings a knife thing). Ah well. Have a great time!

@Edelweiss 154378 wrote:

Doughneurerers, and Team 4,

We will circumnavigate the District of Columbia to experience doughnut nirvana on Saturday, February 11th. Weather prediction is favorable. Exact details coming soon, but Save The Date.

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So today I went on a doughneuring tour! I was on a quest for bacon doughnuts and ground hog doughnuts of course. Only one of the three places had bacon doughnuts, and none of them had ground hog doughnuts. Hopefully the fact that I found a doughnut in Maryland, Virginia, AND DC gets me brownie points anyway.

First, 202 Doughnuts in Bethesda, MD – connected to Bold Bites. This was my second favorite doughnut of the day. The cinnamon frosting on the outside was amazing, I loved the chocolate chips on the inside, but the frosting on the inside was sooooo sweet. Still a delicious doughnut, and the sugar high made the downhill trip on the CCT all the most enjoyable.

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Second, District Doughnuts in Georgetown. I had been to the one in the Washington Navy Yard, but not this location. Bacon – success! This one was also frosted with Nutella. As far as bacon doughnuts go… not a bad combination. It was my third favorite doughnut of the day.

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Third, as the shadows were getting longer and the sun was getting lower in the sky, I hightailed my way down to Sugar Shack in Alexandria, VA (remember that sugar rush?). Here, I had my favorite doughnut of the day – lemon elder flower. Umm… yummy!!! Anyone who likes the elder flower drink from IKEA will appreciate this uniquely flavored doughnut. I immediately decided to buy a couple extra, and returned back home for the day.

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Miles: 63
Doughnuts: 3
Quiches: 1
Chicken sandwiches: 1

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@Judd 153930 wrote:

I’m calling BS too, but only because Michigan is not part of the Midwest. Quit trying to be in the cool kids club like people from Illinois, guys.*

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh, you mean the Illinoyings? Michigan is completely part of the Midwest! And we’re cooler than those Illinoyings. But keep spending money in our state.

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You know… I grew up in the Midwest. I’m perfectly happy with a Dunkin’ Doughnut on occasion. I don’t normally go for filled doughnuts, but there’s just something enjoyable about heart-shaped doughnuts. Raspberry filled chocolate frosted doughnut? Yum. What was even better? (I asked nicely.) They were kind enough to let me bring my bicycle inside since I didn’t have a lock!

Dunkin’ Doughnuts on Greenbelt Road – Beltsville, MD

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The Wawa (Beltsville) experience… it may seem like I’m going for the sorriest doughnut, but honestly what I had wasn’t all that bad. The case was mostly empty when I got there at 9:30am, but lo – I beheld an interesting white and pink striped confection and decided to give it a try. White chocolate raspberry. I don’t know where they get their doughnuts from, and I can only image the artificial flavorings and colors that might be present, but it wasn’t half bad. A raspberry-flavored cake doughnut with a heavier white chocolate icing. Not too cloying – which is what I expected. It would have gone better with a nice cup of hot tea, but I’d eat it again.

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Just north of Bladensburg on Route 1 in Hyattsville is a wonderful Mom n’ Pop bakery named Shortcake if you need a good reason to linger. The Caribbean-style meat pies and the quiche are awesome, and they have plenty of bike parking.

@shardg 153775 wrote:

Ok, a quick guess is we will be in Bladensburg at 12 noon, if we get there earlier we will wait or do something to be at the Visitor Center at 12:00 before we head south, should anyone want to meet there. We will have 7 or more riders at this point.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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My bikes. I’m relatively new (2014) to any serious bicycling and can’t spout off a lot of stats about my bikes, but I do like to take a lot of pictures of them. I mean – a lot.

Meet Nona. She’s the workhorse of the season, and this is her third Freezing Saddles. These are the only tires she has, but she has cunning and determination and has been up to the challenge of taking me at least somewhere on the very worst weather days. (I have ridden every day during the competitions so far). Last year she got her fenders and this year she got her rack and some panniers. So convenient for doughneuring! Nona’s a bounder despite weighing in at about 40 pounds.

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Now meet Blanche. As you can tell, Blanche is more like a fair-weather kinda gal. Still, I’ve had to tip her upside down after riding through torrential rain before, so she’s not afraid of a little dirt or gravel once in a while – despite her pedigree.

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I went back to Astro Doughnuts on 18 January, but am only now catching up on all of my social media (darn work getting in the way of important things!). From this photo, I sampled 3 doughnuts. In the top left corner, peanut butter and jelly; next to it, lime mojito; and underneath that one, German chocolate cake.

The PB&J one was pretty awesome in that it was jelly filled, but still in that lovely toroidal shape. For me, that means just the right amount of filling. It was well-balanced, and I’m sure that the peanut butter gave me some nice fuel for bike-riding.

The lime mojito had what I thought was a surprisingly – and welcome – sour lime flavor for such a sweet setting. Good for those who don’t want their entire experience to be sweet-sweet-sweet.

I adored the German chocolate one because, once again, I thought it was well-balanced. This time, it was balanced between a cake portion that was relatively non-sweet and a wonderful coconutty frosting. Much like my favorite cookies (frosted sugar cookies), it was a ying-yang of sweet and non-sweet. Reminds me of the best German chocolate cakes that I have tasted.

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My fourth submission relies upon the sweet generosity of our judge. Check out the pear frangipane that I had at the Board and Brew this morning! Frangipanes have an almond paste (like marzipan), upon which are layered delectable fruits coated in a lovely glaze. And the phyllo-pastry base? So light, so airy. Everyone should go out and add this offering to their experience!

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Okay.. so I went to Astro Doughnuts this morning for the first time in the hope of finding a patriotic doughnut… no dice. I asked if they could pipe on “USA” but they couldn’t. Ah well… surely the effort of finding a new place and using my bungee cord netting to share these doughnuts with other BAFSers counts as something?

The doughnut that I chose to consume was the pineapple upside-down doughnut. You know, I’m sure that one could choose to interpret the fruity dark-yellow as Trump’s hair… Whatever you think, the doughnut was abso-smurfly delicious. I like this place better than District doughnuts. The caramelized pineapple topping, the fluffiness of the yeast doughnut.. Mmm…

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