My 43rd Year

Jo Jo’s Super Dogs, Amy’s Omelette House, Harrison House, handups (are not a crime)...CX blues...It’s all about the pancakes...Breakfast club...Legacy, Metro, Colonial Diner, Local Links, Herman’s, Turning Point, New Berlin, Ewing Diner, Cafe Seventy Two...Human Village, Eclipse, Atco Brewing Company, Berlin Brewing Company, Screamin’ Hill, Slack Tide, Death of the Fox...ten bucks and a beer...ab mat, ab dolly, speed rope...core and abs, boot camp, battle rope, FitMix...the golden key, Donna's Fan...S-Town...Denver Colorado...Great Divide, pancake flights, robusty, brownies, Voodoo Doughnut, Left Hand , Christkindl Market, Rocky Mountain National Park...DFT, donuts and deadlifts, intermittent fasting, BCAA, Strong Lifts 5x5, AMRAP...Halo Top, Enlightened...chick pea pasta, black bean pasta, lentil pasta...spicy hummus, fit fuel, oh yeah one...Hello Fresh...Aldi, hot sauce, sweet potatoes...peanut butter sandwiches, hide ’til Thursday...Brooks, Asics, La Sportiva...Altra Superior, Lone Peak, Timp...Number Thirty Seven, CBLSL...Clement tires, MXP, LAS...No Tubes, Knog lights, Handup Gloves, Osprey...Focus CX, commute by bike...Voodoo Doughnut (again), I drive your truck, Picnik, playground, Mount Bonnell, Lazarus Brewing Company...Rizzeri Salon, Pantene beautiful lengths, nine inches, hairs the story...it will grow back...Chewy, Mr. Softee, Hazelnator...White Mountains...Joe Dodge Lodge, extra dessert, private bunk room, all up hill...Carter Moriah Traverse, Wildcat A, Wildcat D, Carter Dome, Middle Carter, South Carter, Moriah...Another round of four thousand footers...Highland Center, to go containers...Tom, Field, Willey...Rek-Lis Brewing Company, Schilling Beer Company...sunrise, Osceola, East Osceola...Serial...Kia Soul, popcorn, Starbucks...George Washington Bridge...Connecticut traffic...#milesformatt...Ford Focus, Lafayette Campground, Coleman air mattress...Cannon, North Kinsman, South Kinsman...cannon balls, wet socks, Fishin’ Jimmy, Lonesome Lake Hut, baked goods...Hancock, South Hancock, mud, scree, bad coffee, day old donuts...Katz Coffee, Texas Coffee Traders, Endgrain, Long Bottom, Koffee Kult...pleasant morning buzz...Cafe Bustelo, Reddi Whip...DD Perks, dollar coffee, chocolate milk Pisker’s, Randolph’s, L&M, Deluxe, Gallo’s, Mc Millan’s, Live Love Donut, Nino’s Pastry Sop, Donut Revolution, Di Bartolo’s, Broadway Bakery...Tour de Donut...#commuterlife #campfifty #cancersucks #livelikeroo #donuts #drinklocal #gymfamily #nofilter #gertiestrong #godblesstexas #montanastrong...my first year without you

Tour de Donut

My devotion to cream donuts is something that’s been cultivated over the past two years. I blame it on my training clients. It started when Diane’s husband brought me a chocolate chip cookie from Whole Foods. From there it progressed to bismarcks, ultimately ending with the chocolate frosted, chocolate cream donut from Randolph’s. Occasionally, a white paper bakery bag containing two of these treasures would appear by my stuff in the morning. Training clients began to take notice...oh, Randolph’s is good, but have you had L&M? They are the best. A box containing four donuts soon followed. Word has since spread and now, pretty much everyone at the gym knows. Cream donuts are gifted to me on a regular basis. Currently, I am averaging four per week. 

I was talking “donuts” over lunch with a friend last month. It was her birthday and I figured we’d grab a donut to celebrate. After scanning the internet for options, I deferred to the waitress. She lamented that there really weren’t any bakeries in the area to get a good cream donut and then suggested we could try Nino’s Pastry shop. I called ahead to confirm that they had them. There were only three left so I asked the woman to set aside two. They looked much better than they tasted. The cream was flavorless and the cake potion had an unpleasant aftertaste. 

I felt as though my friend had been short changed on her birthday donut. Knowing there is an abundance of good bakeries in my area, she suggested that we celebrate my birthday with a Tour de Donut. This was an AMAZING suggestion and I was slightly jealous that I had not thought of it. Route planning began immediately and resulted in a 26-ish mile ride with stops at five locations. 

The first annual Tour de Donut (Donna’s birthday edition) took place on September 16, 2017. 

First stop: Gallo’s Bakery, Cherry Hill 
Sandwich type, soft cake, cream is sweet but not overpowering 





Second stop: Deluxe Bakery, Runnemede 
Sandwich type, cake is more firm and has a yellowish color, cream is sugary sweet 
These actually taste much better frozen 
Best value at $.70 per donut 


Third stop: Donut Revolution, Barrington 
I decided to break with tradition on this one and support a new local business. This shop serves specialty donuts. I opted for the peanut butter cup. It looked much better than it tasted. In theory, it is a delicious idea, but the base donut had a spiced taste to it that was overpowering and clashed with the other flavors. 

Fourth stop, McMillan’s Bakery, Westmont 
YES, PLEASE! The cream donut with granulated sugar (as opposed to powdered sugar) is my current favorite. And, while I haven’t had all of the cream donuts in the area, this is the best I have tasted so far. 
Sandwich type, cake is not too soft, not too firm and the cream is smooth, almost buttery. Eat one now, save one for later. 
Priciest at $1.40 per donut but worth it

Fifth stop: Randolph’s Bakery, Maple Shade 
Ah, the place that started it all! 
Stuffed type, cake is soft, chocolate cream has just the right amount of sweetness. My only complaint is that they don’t have enough cream in the middle. 

The tour ended with a stop at Wawa for dollar coffee. 

My actual birthday isn’t until the end of this week, but I am fairly certain that there will be an abundance of donuts on that day.