Teecycle Presents: The Tour de Stone Creek

Local coffee company Stone Creek recently announced they’re giving away a free pound of coffee to anyone who visits all eight of their locations. 100-some miles for a pound of coffee? That’s a no-brainer. I’m in! Besides, it’s always nice to support socially responsible local businesses, especially when caffeine is involved. This is about to get EPIC.

Downtown Milwaukee Stone Creek

It starts deceptively easy. The Stone Creek kiosk in the Grand Avenue mall is a mere three block walk from my (pretty much former) office, lulling me into thinking this is going to be a quick and painless journey. (This will not be the case) I order an iced coffee in my own mug, though I’d be much cooler with an official teecycle mug. The shirt came from the recent Swap-o-rama-rama at Fasten Collective.

Shorewood Stone Creek

Uecker

Size XL
$7 + $3 shipping

I knocked this one out easy, too. It’s less than a mile from my house, and Jess sent me to the Blockbuster next door to pick up a Lost DVD when she was sick. Speaking of sick, this shirt — from June 4, 1989 — is one of the older in the teecycle catalogue. Uecker’s ride — if you’re not from Wisco you may know him as the dude from Mr. Belvedere — has now changed sponsors but is still one of the biggest group bike rides in the country. And real men wear pink.

Glendale Stone Creek

I found this shirt at a rummage sale in my hometown of Beaver Dam, Wis. The woman who sold it to me said they took their honeymoon at Pocono Gardens and holy crap, JUST WATCH THIS VIDEO! (This one is even better, but longer.) Apparently, the t-shirt aged way, way better than the now-dilapidated resort. Kind of sad.

Bay View Stone Creek

I’m a Weezer fan. Always have been, always will be. Hating on their new album is so 2002. Plus, this shirt is awesome because it sorta glows in the dark. True story: I interviewed three members of Weezer in college circa “Maladroit.” Of course, that depends on your definition of “interview” in the case of Rivers Cuomo, a difficult subject if there ever was one. I was able to ask him six questions via email, to which he responded with a total of 36 words. The other guys were great, though. I asked one of them (the drummer, I believe) about Rivers’ newfound beard growth. He responded with a plainspoken honesty that I’ve yet to see duplicated in my entire journalism career either before or since. “It’s… beardly,” he said.

Wauwatosa Stone Creek

Women in Science

If you want to learn more about women in science, you could look it up using Stone Creek’s free wireless. Just saying.

Whitefish Bay Stone Creek

Milwaukee River clean-up t-shirt

Are we there yet? Almost. I got this shirt by doing a clean-up with the Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers. It’s an extremely comfortable shirts. Feels very silky

Delafield Stone Creek

Modest Mouse

The last two stops were waaaaay out in the western Milwaukee suburbs and exurbs. I decided to make the final push a long training ride for my upcoming Denver-Milwaukee bike trip. The barista was surprised to see how far I’d come in pursuit of a free pound of coffee. Especially on a bike. Fortunately, my usual — tasty iced black tea, not too sweet — refreshed me enough to get back on the bike and helped me modestly float on to…

…Oconomowoc Stone Creek and a FREE pound of coffee!

Chicago White Sox

Well, this is it. I ended up biking about 80 miles on the day, a few extra than planned due to a couple directional blunders. I treated myself to an iced mocha for the effort. Honestly, I believe Stone Creek does the best iced mochas in town, and trust me I’ve had my share of iced mochas. It’s not too syrupy or sugar like some others, it’s just pure chocolatey, caffeinated deliciousness. It’s even better after a super long bike ride, with a free pound of coffee and an awesome new (used) shirt. Thanks, Stone Creek!

$1 of the sale of each shirt is donated to the River Revitalization Foundation to restore urban river trails and waterways.