biking to work in the spring: coffee shops and routes
Coffee House Creamery. 3780 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor MI 48103 / 734 222-0555.
Approximately 3 miles from Kerrytown.
Pros: Casual ambiance, friendly staff. Sandwiches can be made with whole wheat bread. Online reviews say espresso/coffee is good. Free, fast wifi. Lots of outlets.
Cons: In strip mall. No vegetarian sandwiches. No bike parking (used bench).
Bike route: Huron St to Jackson Ave; Jackson Ave to Parklake Ave; cut through Dolph Park, cross Wagner Rd to Jackson Plaza; went back to Wagner Rd to cross Jackson Rd (scary 4 lane highway). Return: Wagner to Liberty.
Pros: Bike route has some hills, not too many, not too steep.
Cons: Bike route goes along highways. Scary. Need to cross roads at traffic lights, often need to swap sides of the road to be on bike lane.
Next time: take Wagner Rd. Impossible to cross Jackson Rd near Jackson Ave.
Foggy Bottom Coffee House. 7065 Dexter-Ann Arbor Rd, Dexter MI 48130 / 734 424-9630.
Approximately 10 miles from Kerrytown.
Pros: Laid back, funky ambiance. Friendly staff. Outlets. Free wifi. Near Dexter cider mill and Dexter downtown.
Cons: In strip mall. Very few vegetarian sandwiches. No non-white flour breads. No bike parking (used tree). One outlet by window seating, most outlets near seating in back away from windows. Wifi extreeeemely slow sometimes, may need resetting.
Bike route: Miller Ave to N. Maple Rd; N Maple Rd to Huron River Dr; Huron River Dr to Central St through downtown Dexter; Central St to Main St; Main St changes to Ann Arbor Rd, changes to Dexter-Ann Arbor Rd. Return: Dexter-Ann Arbor Rd, changes to Ann Arbor Rd; Ann Arbor Rd to Miller Ave.
Pros: Beautiful route along Huron River Dr; watch out for winding route. Has hills, but can mostly surf over them by building momentum on preceding downslopes. Return route: has hills, but not too bad.
Cons: Return route is shorter but extremely unscenic except for a few farmhouses along the way.
Next time: Watch out for Ann Arbor Rd to Miller Ave turn. Easy to miss.
Moon Winks Cafe. 5151 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 / 734 994-5151.
Approximately 6 miles from Kerrytown.
Pros: Cute place, well-lit. Friendly staff. Few vegetarian lunch options. Serve Zingerman's pastries and desserts. Decent ice cream (had caramel macchiato ice cream). Feels local, standalone building along 2-lane road. Free wifi, speed seems decent. Near Matthaei Botanical Garden.
Cons: Slow service. Outlets only by large tables.
Bike route: Glen Ave to Fuller St; Fuller St to Glazier Way; Glazier Way to Earhart Rd; Earhart Rd to Goss Rd; Goss Rd to Woodridge, Woodridge turns to Arrowhead Dr; Arrowhead Dr to N Dixboro Rd; cut through Matthaei Botanical Garden; continue along N Dixboro Rd to Plymouth Rd. Return: Plymouth Rd to Broadway St.
Pros: Mostly on 2-lane roads.
Cons: Hills somewhat steep, not possible to coast all of them (had to walk one). Bike routes very narrow or non-existent, in bad condition.
Return route physically gentle, visually ugly.