Coffee Cycling Culture

Coffee and athletics don’t usually go together. After all, you’d be unlikely to see a Premier League footballer sip on a cappuccino on the side lines. Normally, water and sports drinks are the only beverages consumed by people who are in the middle of strenuous activity.

But cycling isn’t like most other sports. The sport has a close affinity for a great cup of quality coffee, and that’s not by accident. From both a historical and modern perspective, there are many reasons why cyclists enjoy sipping on coffee, so much so that we even made our own cycling coffee to honour this long-standing connection.  

From providing energy to helping attract newcomers, coffee has certainly made a lasting impression on cycling. Let’s take a closer look at the intersection between cycling and coffee. 

Coffee’s Effects On Cycling Performance

As anyone who has tried intense road cycling will know, cycling requires an exceptional level of strength and endurance. Anything that gives the cyclists a boost, therefore, is highly welcome. And if that boost is delicious and widely available? Then even better.

Multiple studies have investigated the effect of caffeine on cycling performance, and the results have been positive — drinking a cup of coffee really can boost your performance when you’re on the saddle. Three of the cycling benefits of drinking coffee include:

• Increased physical alertness.
• Improved blood flow.
• Enhanced fat burning.

To get the full effects, drink a cup of coffee around 30 - 60 minutes before you set off. One of the studies found that doing so can lead to 3%+ levels of performance, which might be all you need to put in a display that you’re proud of. 

Mid-Ride Coffee Pitstops: Social Media Goodness 

The mid-ride coffee pitstop provides a welcome reprieve from the saddle. Plus, it offers a chance to fill up on those benefits that we mentioned above.

And it does something else, too. It encourages people to get into cycling. How? We’ve all seen — and sometimes posted — photos of a cycling crew with their coffees in hand on social media. To the people on the outside looking in, that looks like a pretty appealing way to spend a day. Cycling thrives when participation levels are high — and coffee, surprisingly, may actually play a role in attracting new riders. The more the merrier! 

Cycling Store Coffee Machines

The cycling benefits of coffee are well-known, so it’s no surprise to see that many cycling stores provide coffee. It’s such an essential part of the cycling day experience that it’s more surprising when they don’t have a coffee machine. Some even have full-blown cafes selling premium coffee. 

Coffee Shops Are Increasingly Cycling Friendly

Finally, coffee shops have been all too eager to cater to the cyclists' love of coffee. In some parts of the world, you’ll even find coffee shops that only serve cyclists.  But it’s more common that a coffee shop is a bike friendly cafe, which means groups of cyclists are more than welcome to pitch up and take a break from peddling. Better still, if you are a remote worker, why not create a healthy work commute by cycling to the best spots and working from coffee shops.

To recognise the cross over between coffee and cycling, we have created Operation Watts, a South American Ipanema, that is perfect to fuel those long Sunday rides!

Operation Watts | South American Ipanema