I brought my AeroPress on vacation with me, along with a big bag of Wellsley Farms Breakfast Blend pre-ground coffee, in hopes of using most of it up before its “best before” date in early August. After a few rather unsuccessful attempts to brew a good hot cup with the equipment available to me here, I decided to try the cold brew recipe from the AeroPress web site. I’ve tried making regular cold brew in a French press, which takes 24 hours and requires a coarse grind. I’ve also tried making pour-over iced coffee, also with the Wellsley Farms pre-ground beans. Both turned out pretty good, but I think the cold brew was slightly better. The AeroPress recipe produced a decent cup more quickly than the French Press and with less work than making pour-over iced coffee. I’ll probably experiment with this recipe a few more times this week. One thing that I noticed is that the long stir time allows more water than usual to drip through the filter before pressing. I might eventually try brewing this with the AP inverted (which would avoid the dripping) and see if it makes any noticeable difference.
Day: July 11, 2023
Biking Notes
Today, I took an out-and-back trip from Bethany Beach to Isle of Wight Park near Ocean City, MD. It was the first of (hopefully) 2 or 3 rides at the shore this week. My round trip distance was just under 34 miles. I rode my Masi single speed bike, which is my favorite bike to ride in coastal areas, as the flat terrain makes multiple gears mostly unnecessary. It was a really nice day for July on the east coast, but traffic has really picked up along this route in the post-COVID years, particularly near the town of Bayard. Once I crossed the border into Maryland, the roads quieted down, and I was able to enjoy the ride a little bit more. My main reason for visiting Isle of Wight park was to find a “Cache Across Maryland” geocache, plus a bonus cache. I skipped a few other caches in the area because they were back in the woods, and I forgot to bring bug repellent, which is a necessity around here this time of year, unless you really like ticks and mosquito bites.
This was likely my longest ride of the week. The next time I get out, I’m planning on riding east to Frankford, which is about a 20-25 mile round trip. If I can get out a third time, I’ll either head north toward Holt’s Landing, or south to Fenwick Island.