Drinking coffee and cycling a bike belong together. End of story. May the little delight of caffeine be for a short energy or performance boost, a fast increase in concentration or a nice chat during the ride...the cycling community loves nothing more than a quick social caffeine consumption in between, after all, whole group rides are aligned after him.
The so-called coffee rides are not so much about the sporty excursion per se, but more about chill rides with friends in nature - with mandatory stops at just about every café along the way. There, the whole group orders flat whites with almond milk, cappuccini, espressi, americani...you get the idea. And since we at buycycle are not only proud of our infallible bicycle knowledge, but also of our extensive knowledge of human nature, we have broken it down for you in highly scientific manner: What does your coffee order actually say about your character and cycling style?
1. Espresso - the classic.
If you order espresso, you love the taste of coffee, and either that short little shot is really enough to delight your taste buds and give you the caffeine kick you want, or you want to seem a little hardcore. After all you are a real cycling pro... or at least you want to appear to be. You probably also ride an Italian bike and a Campagnolo groupset, and phrases like "expresso" or "two espressos" wouldn't cross your lips in your worst nightmares. If someone else dares to make this mistake, you either have to complain loudly or your shocked coffee lover's heart stops for a moment.
The advantage of the short shot for you? You are back in the saddle faster than all the others and can directly start an attack ... or you use this much needed time to bleed your brakes or change your layers. Oh. And you definitely wear a cycling cap.
2. Americano - no frills.
It's a pretty boring order, but you don't care. Because you are just like your drink, you're direct, independent and yet your position is clear and strong. No discussion needed. You honestly don't care if your group has to wait until you have finished your black water. You love coffee, you don't need anything else with it, and back on your bike you ride on just as unperturbed and impressively calm as you sat and sipped in the café. Which doesn't mean that you are not secretly the fittest of the entire group and could easily add another 100 km to your route...
Alternatively, you have not dared to ask the cool barista at the hipster café your friends dragged you to about the difference between Vietnamese Fusion Coffee and Black Heavy Blend filter coffee from Colombia. Better something safe then. Something reliable. Just an Americano.
3. Espresso macchiato - the little extra.
You are an impressive cyclists, no doubt about it. Or you just really want to seem like one. You stick to the classic, but you need a little icing on the cake. For once, because you want to be a little bit extra and also because espresso without anything to smooth it out is a little too much for you. But you'll still recognize the roast immediately. You love coffee and cycling equally and know your way around: But that's what you show off too. You are the first to start an attack or to get a little impatient waiting for the others at a summit... You wear the most expensive clothes and you also clean the chain of your Aero-bike on every pit stop. Yes, you are a little bit posh and you ride a little too often in the cradle to show off your beautiful stretched legs.
You are not afraid to stand out and make an impression and maybe not everyone is a fan of that, but they can't blame you either. Because you can be relied upon on every ride, you are punctual, conscientious and perform and you know what you are talking about. You are a true cyclist and that's what people notice and appreciate.
4. Flat white - quite chic.
If this weren't a coffee ride, you would have canceled from the start. Coffee comes first, ride comes second, and that's why you order the most enjoyable and most luxurious thing on the menu: a Flat White. With latte art. You take your time to enjoy this work of milk-art in peace, sitting there in your expensive chic bike clothes in the sun in front of your clean and functional endurance-bike, which has by far the most impressive frame paint and an electronic and fully synchronized groupset. Your legs, dressed in sparkling white cycling shoes, are quite loosely overturned, your sight is a pure feast for the eyes. And you know it.
You're here to have a good time on the bike with your friends, you don't attack, you don't ride terribly well or terribly badly, but always deliver a solid performance. For some reason, you never break a sweat, not even on the longest of climbs. Oh, and you're the ones who have a 35 mm point-and-shoot camera stowed in your jersey.
5. Cappuccino - take it easy.
You may have cycled to the café a little earlier to have enough time for your frothy wonder. Which you would never order after 11 o'clock in the morning, because you are responsible and certain Italian traditions are not meant to be broken. With your cappuccino (insert very Italian pronounciation, of course) you have a croissant or a cinnamon bun, because you want to cut your carbohydrates with a little culinary luxury rather than with some bars or gels that you don't really trust in anyway. Because you are a bit old-fashioned and peculiar indeed and your cycling outfit is by far the most interesting to look at - a bit bizarre though too. You are firmly convinced that things also work if you do them a little differently and we have certainly seen you whizz past us at 37km / h wearing cat eye sunglasses.
But at the same time you're always in for a chat during the ride, you are uncomplicated and open-minded and modest. You ride on the best and finest of all-rounder racing bikes but don't make a big deal out of it. You always ride a bit better, more agile and faster than anyone would have expected from you.
6. Tea - the wild card.
You really are unpredictable. It may well be that after this ride you'll go straight to yoga. Maybe you have sworn off caffeine, want to (and can?!) strengthen yourself from your inner peace only and still improve your performance, or maybe you just don't like coffee but want to be able to hold something in your hand while sitting in the café with the others... No one knows. Because you don't talk about it either.
Your bike is not the most expensive one, but it's new and always clean, your bike clothes fit perfectly and are unexciting and you have never forgotten anything or been late. Everybody likes you, but has a lot of respect for you too, because you can never be sure whether you are really just in for a chill ride or whether you will launch the attack of the century out of nowhere - and win it.
7. Matcha latte - we couldn't help it.
Neither coffee, nor a frequent order, but this one still has to be on this list: To anyone who orders a matcha latte... we have no choice but to love and hate you at the same time. You showed up here in leo-print bibs and a perfect butt, paid for your matcha with Apple Pay and your stamp card, and if neither the ride nor the drink were posted on Insta, they didn't happened. You either got dropped on the first climb and drove straight to Hot Pilates instead, or you were the first to the top and your hair still looks like it's been blow-dried.
Or maybe you're the father of two teenage girls and a whole new world has been opened up to you by the two of them. The kids were right, this green stuff does taste good!
8. Coke or soda - so fresh and so clean?
Wow. No one else is as effortlessly cool as you are. The whole squad admires you silently, but not because they are intimidated, but because you are just the most relaxed, nice and open-minded person on the ride. You are top trained and even though you don't actually ride thaaaaaaat well, you wait at every junction and summit and always have a spare tube or a helping hand for everyone. You went for a run before the ride and you'll definitely go skating afterwards. You are perfectly dressed and usually ride fixie, but got given a - for some reason ultra high-end-gravel bike from some friend that you now use for group rides.
You're sitting in the café with cycling gloves on and an ice-cold bottle of soda or Coke in your hand, you know every single one of the regulars and greet them all friendly with a laughing nod. We can't help it that you're the life of the party.
It's not as if we didn't have perfect coffee at buycycle - after all, our Munich office is proud of its sparkly portafilter machine. But you're definitely in better hands with us when it comes to finding your next dream bike. Because among the 15,000 used and refurbished road, gravel and mountain bikes on buycycle.com you will definitely find the perfect bike for you.
If you do feel the need to discuss our coffee-cyclist-character-studies, our team is always there for you. But it will adamantly insist on these very much scientific facts. Sorry, espresso macchiato drinkers. We still love you. And wish you all: Happy browsing, happy sipping, happy cycling.