The Hot Chocolate Ride

Like the Hoppy 100, the idea for the Hot Chocolate Ride came from an innocent tweet. Folks wanted to do a winter beverage ride, so I suggested hot chocolate. Crystal was interested, we did some searching on places to get hot chocolate in the city, and a ride was born.

In deciding which places to visit, we wanted to pick places that could handle a group comfortably. There are some notable sit-down places that have exceptional hot chocolate, but we wanted to keep it casual and keep it moving. The group met first at Dolcezza Gelato. A gelato place in the winter time? Yes– they happen to have fantastic hot chocolate!

Down the L Street cycletrack and through Chinatown, our next stop was Pitango Gelato. Here, we made our first planning gaffe– we got there several minutes before the shop was to open. Luckily, the woman working this morning was kind enough to let us in and serve us. I got the affogato– hot chocolate poured over a scoop of gelato. Rich and delicious, and provided me the buzz that set the tone for the rest of the day.

We then cut through the Capitol and headed southeast to Lot 38. I decided to pace myself and have some green tea and an apple danish here. I probably should have passed on the danish. It was all right, but my stomach was still working on the affogato. We admired the ice skating rink across the way at Canal Park, but we didn’t skate.

We fought strong, side-swiping winds to get to our next location, Union Market in northeast. Hot chocolate was to be had at Peregrine Espresso, but R and I opted to have tacos at TaKorean. Again, I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I should have had only one taco. My stomach was feeling a little heavy.

I was determined to have one more hot chocolate (it is a hot chocolate ride, after all), so the remaining riders continued through the cold back to Dolcezza, where I had a small cup with a churro. A lovely ride back home with MG by the Potomac sparkling with the sunlight was a good end to the day.

So, lessons learned: Double-check the ride route and stops, and don’t eat if you’re not hungry, no matter how good the food looks!

All in all, though, it was a fun ride. Thanks to everyone for coming out and enjoying the hot chocolate!

Rootchopper’s account can be found here.