Author: lpaulriddle

Today’s Second Cup

lpaulriddle

I opened another new bag of beans to brew a mid-afternoon cup. These beans are from Amity Coffee Roasters in Greenwood, DE.

  • Beans: “Angel Albino Corzo-Chiapa” medium roast (Mexico)
  • Grind: Fine – 1.5 turns on the JX minus 6 clicks, or 39 total clicks
  • 90°C water
  • 15 grams coffee / 200 grams water (1:13.3)
  • One new paper filter (dry)
  • James Hoffmann’s Ultimate Aeropress Recipe (20 second pour, 2 minute steep, swirl, wait 30 seconds, press 30 seconds)

This is a slightly finer grind than I’ve used with medium roasted beans in the past. Also different is that I only used one filter, and I did not wet it. This was probably the best cup of coffee I’ve brewed in a couple of weeks! Always great to hit on a good recipe. I may try these same tweaks with my “La Esparanza” beans, as the last cup I brewed with them seemed a little under-extracted for some reason.

Random notes

lpaulriddle

Still experimenting with the light roast coffee beans I picked up the other day in Bethany. This was an improvement over yesterday:

  • Local Coffee Roasting Co. Breakfast Blend (Guatemala/Colombia)
  • 11 grams coffee, ground at 39 clicks on the JX (1.5 turns minus 6 clicks)
  • 200 grams water at full boil (1:18.1)
  • Two paper filters
  1. 20 second pour
  2. Steep 2 minutes
  3. Take off scale and swirl
  4. Wait 30 seconds
  5. Press 30 seconds

Compared to yesterday, this was ground slightly finer (39 vs 42 clicks) and poured right off the boil, instead of 99°C. Arguably not much of a difference there, but I suspect that due to heat loss, this gives an actual steeping temperature close to 99°, which is what the Hoffmann recipe calls for. The cup definitely had more flavor than yesterday’s. Just to make sure I’m extracting these beans as much as I can, I may try drawing the brew time out a little longer, and see if I can get it to the point where I start to taste some bitterness. At that point I’ll back off the brew time a little bit, and see if the cup is as strong as I would like. It’s worth noting that the instructions on the bag of beans specify a 1:17 ratio, which is slightly more coffee than I’m using here.

I got out at around 6:40 this morning and ran 5.3 miles. I felt a little better than I did Sunday. I woke up slightly sore after climbing yesterday evening and swimming yesterday afternoon, and wasn’t initially sure I wanted to go out, but once I get moving, I felt fine. Climbing went well last night. I climbed 4 routes on lead and 4 on top rope, at grades ranging from 5.8 to 5.10+. It was my first time leading in about a month. Lead climbing is one of those things you have to keep doing regularly to stay comfortable and confident on the wall.

This and that..

lpaulriddle

On July 6, I noted some recent issues with tightness in my right calf, which has been a recurring issue with me. I’ve suspected that poor kicking form while swimming freestyle and backstroke might contribute to this. I did not swim at all while we were on vacation last week, and had no tightness issues for the entire week. However, I’m noticing that a little bit of tightness is back today, also in the right calf, and I have not yet been in the pool. It just occurred to me that both days I’ve had the issues were right after I took long drives. On July 4, we took a 6-hour day trip to Pennsylvania, and yesterday was a 4-hour(!) drive home from Bethany. My right leg, of course, is the side I use for the accelerator pedal. Could there be a connection here?

While at the shore, I picked up a few half-pound bags of coffee beans, including some light roast (breakfast blend) from Local Coffee Roasting Co. in Roxana, DE. Today was my first foray into brewing anything lighter than medium roast in the AeroPress. I followed the James Hoffmann recipe pretty closely:

  • 11 grams coffee, ground at 42 clicks on the JX (1.5 turns minus 3 clicks)
  • 200 grams water at 99°C (1:18.1)
  • Two paper filters
  1. 20 second pour
  2. Steep 2 minutes
  3. Take off scale and swirl
  4. Wait 30 seconds
  5. Press 30 seconds

The end result was OK, but lacking in flavor, which tells me I’m probably not getting enough extraction from the beans. In his video, Hoffmann recommends adjusting either the grind size or the water temperature to address this, instead of upping the amount of coffee, which you might do with a darker roast. Next time, I may try going a little bit finer with the grind, and possibly heating the kettle water to a full boil and pouring directly off that.

Ride notes

lpaulriddle

It’s our first day back from Bethany, and while I usually go in to the office on Mondays, I decided to telecommute today so that I could take care of a few post-vacation chores around the house. In lieu of my usual bike ride to and from work, I decided to ride a quick loop around the airport this morning, something I had not done on a weekday in a couple of years. Traffic was not all that bad, probably partially because it’s summer. Ridge Rd still seems to carry less traffic than Race Rd and Hanover Rd, at least for now, as I have a feeling that it is going to be getting more developed in the coming years. There’s already a monstrous townhouse development going up just south of the 295 overpass, although that does not seem to have impacted traffic all that much, at least at the times of day that I pass through. Until it becomes unpleasant to ride, Ridge Rd will continue to be my go-to weekday route to and from Elkridge. The BWI loop itself seemed quieter than the last time I rode it on a weekday, which (I believe) was in 2021 — still during the peak of COVID. Including a quick detour to find a cache in a business park along Aviation Blvd., my total distance today was a little over 23 miles. The weather was in the 70s with a dewpoint in the mid-60s, which felt downright pleasant after spending a week at the coast. I rode my Surly Disc Trucker. My next ride will likely be to work on Wednesday, and if it stays dry, I may try to take my mountain bike.

Run notes

lpaulriddle

I kind of knew that today wasn’t going to be the greatest run of my life. It was a good run in the sense that it happened at all, as today was our last day in the beach house, and we had to be out by 10:00am. I knew that if I was going to run, I was going to have to get out really early. I figured that if I woke up early enough, I’d go, and if not, I wouldn’t. The Powers that Be must have wanted me to run, because I was out of bed at 5:30 after 6 hours of sleep. I wolfed down a couple of sausage patties and potato pancakes, drank a little bit of water, suited up, and got out of the house just after 6, before any other adults in the house were moving. I went 5.4 miles at a rather plodding pace. My energy did not feel the greatest this morning, and I’m wondering if I was starting to get a little bit dehydrated after 7 extremely humid days here. It could also have been lack of sleep, or a combination of the two. I am glad that I got out, though, because it keeps me on schedule for the week. My next run likely will be Tuesday morning, and it will also have to be an early, short one, as I have to leave for an appointment at around 8.

Morning Paddle Notes

lpaulriddle

This morning, we launched the kayaks at Sassafras Landing and paddled around 5 miles on Miller Creek, which feeds into Little Assawoman Bay. Nice paddle with plenty of wildlife, particularly birds, including herons, cranes, and ospreys. It’s definitely important to get out early this time of year to beat all of the recreational boaters. It was pretty quiet when we launched at around 8:15am, with just a few other boats and personal watercraft out, but it was definitely getting busier, and heating up, as we took out. Sassafras landing is a nice put-in from a sandy beach, but there are many other options for accessing this body of water. Four years ago, we put in at the Kent Ave ramp in South Bethany, which is on the Assawoman Canal to the north. In 2021, we launched a little south of here from the dock behind the house where my brother and sister-in-law’s family was staying. On the south side of the peninsula where we launched today is Mulberry Landing, which looks like another boat ramp. Next time we paddle here, I might check one of these other locations out. Once again, though, definitely need to get out early — preferably before 8:00am.

Smoothie Recipe #1

lpaulriddle

This has been my go-to smoothie recipe since I started making them regularly a few months ago.

  • 1 banana, sliced and preferably frozen
  • A little bit of whatever other fruit is on hand (pineapple chunks, blueberries, strawberries [1 or 2], blackberries, raspberries, etc…), preferably frozen. I’ve also used red grapes, which worked better than I was expecting it would.
  • 8 ounces faux milk (oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, …), preferably unflavored/unsweetened
  • Big wad of nut butter (peanut or almond works well) preferably without added sugar
  • Roughly 1 scoop protein powder (been using chocolate since it’s all we have on hand)
  • A bunch of chia seeds (I just dump some in from the bag, but I suspect it’s around 1 or 2 teaspoons)
  • Big handful of greens (usually spinach, but I’ve used parsley, and will try baby kale when we have some)

Blend everything up in the Ninja. If it’s too runny, add some rolled oats. If it’s too thick, add some more faux milk. Makes two small to medium smoothies, or one big smoothie.

Variations:

  • I’ve occasionally added plain Greek yogurt, and it’s not bad. It can be used either in addition to or in place of the protein powder.
  • I’ve tried making them with romaine lettuce as the green vegetable. It works in a pinch, but I’m not crazy about the taste.
  • I’ve also tried an apple as the second fruit, and it works, but I much prefer berries.
  • I added some eggnog on 1/2/2024, and it was pretty good. The eggnog flavor tends to overpower most of the other fruits, though.

Ride/Brew Notes

lpaulriddle

Today’s ride took me west from Bethany to Frankford (DE) and back, passing through the town of Omar along the way. On the whole, this is a more pleasant ride than south through Bayard, because there is less traffic, and the roads are wider and more bike-friendly. The town of Frankford itself is something of an exception, with more traffic and narrower roads that are not exceptionally well-maintained, but that’s a rather small portion of the ride. My total distance was just under 24 miles, which is about what I set out for today. From Frankford, the route can be extended by heading north to Dagsboro, South to Selbyville, or even east to Fenwick via DE-20 and DE-54.

I’ve been making a glass of cold brew every day this week, and I think I’ve gotten it nailed down to this recipe:

  1. Pre-moisten 2 new or used paper AeroPress filters
  2. Set AeroPress up in inverted orientation
  3. Add 1 heaping scoop (roughly 15 grams) Wellsley Farms Breakfast Blend pre-ground medium roast coffee
  4. Fill AeroPress a little over halfway with room temperature water
  5. Stir vigorously for 1 minute
  6. Press slowly into an 8-ounce glass
  7. Add ice and top with water

I had been brewing this in standard orientation previously, but a lot of water was dripping through while stirring, which the inverted orientation avoids. I think inverted produced a slightly superior result, but I’d have to do a blind taste test to say for sure. Next time, I think I’m going to try topping off with milk or cream, and see how that tastes.

I also found that using the drip coffee brewer makes a better hot cup with this coffee than the AeroPress method I was using earlier in the week. I’ve been using 4 level tablespoons coffee to 8 ounces (1 cup) water. I’m sure I could get better results from the AP with a little bit of tweaking, but haven’t really bothered fooling around with it.

Run Notes

lpaulriddle

I ran at the shore for a second time this week. I had hoped to do a 10-miler today, but it was extremely humid, and I was only carrying 16 ounces of water. In spite of that, I ran just over 8 miles at 11 minutes/mile on average. I started out faster than on Monday, and really slowed down towards the end as the temperature was rising, but at no point did I feel like I was struggling. My form felt great throughout, with no discomfort or muscle tightness anywhere. It was the best I’ve felt on a run in a while. If I had had more water and/or some kind of electrolyte drink or energy gel, I could have easily gone farther. I feel like I’ve acclimated to running in the humidity, but if I want to go farther than 6 to 8 miles, I’m probably going to need to invest in a hydration vest. With that said, I do like the Amphipod 16-ounce soft water bottle I’ve been running with lately. When I first started out, I was using a hip belt with a holder for a regular bike-style water bottle, and I used to hate how the water would slosh around in the hard plastic bottle. The soft bottle contracts as I drink the water, so there’s no air in there, and hence, no sloshing. I wasn’t sure I was going to like having to carry the bottle in my hand, but it really doesn’t get in the way at all. It’s a great bottle for shorter runs in warm/humid conditions.

Millsboro Pond

lpaulriddle

Today’s paddle brought us to Millsboro Pond in Sussex County, DE. This is about a 30 minute drive west from where we are staying in Bethany Beach. I had paddled here at about the same time last year, and wanted to come back with my better half. We spent 90 leisurely minutes on the water and covered about 3 miles. The area of the pond to the north of the boat launch is mostly undeveloped, shallow, and scenic, with lots of wildlife. We saw numerous herons, turtles, dragonflies, damselflies, and various and sundry other creatures. Lily pads are plentiful, and there are a lot of really nice little side channels to explore. I believe this is a man-made pond. I’ve never paddled south from the launch, where I presume the dam is located. From what I’ve seen from the road, that part of the pond is more developed, with numerous docks, waterfront homes, artificial erosion barriers, etc., all of which make it less desirable for paddling in my book (if I wanted developed shoreline, all I have to do is drive 15 minutes from home to Anne Arundel County). There are several geocaches placed around the north end of the pond, and that’s what initially brought me here. I found several of them last year, and a couple of them today, leaving a couple more for a future visit.

I’m hoping to get out in the kayaks one more time while we are at the shore. I’ve been eying Strawberry Landing or nearby Sassafras Landing, both of which are 15 to 20 minutes south of Bethany, and will give us an opportunity to check out Little Assawoman Bay. I rode my bike to the Sassafras Landing launch last year, and it looked like a nice place to paddle.