Coffeeneuring Challenge Ride #4

We are on the fourth weekend of the Coffeeneuring Challenge and it does not feel like a Fall day, with the need for a hot beverage.  Instead with a high of 83°F, I decided to go for a long ride and just enjoy the beautiful sunny day.  I picked Dancing Mule Coffee Company as my location because it is almost two miles from my house and on the way to a Greenways Trail. I went online to check out their hours, since many coffee shops in the Midwest are closed on Sundays, and discovered that The Dancing Mule Coffee Compnay has a great backstory about their name and I highly recommend reading it here.  I parked Tsuki and Kapua outside and ordered my coffee on ice, but while I was waiting Tsuki had to vocalize how sad she was that I was not in sight, so the barista offered to bring my beverage out to me so I could stay outside with her.  I got my 16 ounce iced coffee in a 20 ounce cup so I could put it in my cupholder as we rode to the trailhead.  On the Galloway trail we received an interesting compliment when another cyclist, while passing us, asked if I was from Amsterdam, since I was riding my cruiser dressed in casual clothes.  I guess our ride are rather Dutch in spirit. 

After riding through the park, I took us to the nearest PetSmart because this past week Tsuki lost her collar with her i.d. and although it must be somewhere in the house or yard, it seems to have disappeared and she was in the need of a replacement.  I was able to get her a cute purple harness with LED lights on clearance among the Halloween supplies, and as we left PetSmart my riding friend Susan called to see if I wanted to go for a ride.  At this point I was needing some real food so we agreed to meet at Culver's, and then continue for a longer ride.  For lack of a better plan we decided to just go back the route I had already ridden and enjoy the beautiful day.  So back on the trail and then home, for a total of 17.11 miles.  The most challenging aspect of my ride today was going up the hill from the park to PetSmart.  You can see the spike in my elevation in the graph. I was only able to make it about two thirds of the way up with Tsuki, who weighs 35 pounds, on the bike so my goal is to be able to make it all the way up with her added weight.  With next weekend being All Saint's Day, I need some good themed ideas for a ride!