COFFEE LEGS

THE COFFEE STOP IS SYNONYMOUS WITH THE RIDE. HERE’S HOW TO NAVIGATE THE JAVA HUNTERS…

COFFEE AND CYCLING GO TOGETHER LIKE CHOCOLATE AND CROISSANTS, SHAVED

LEGS AND LYCRA, AND FROOME AND ANOREXIA. You think of one and you think of the other. They are inextricably linked and inescapable.

It’s true that sometimes, you can drink coffee without having actually ridden a bike; but a brew always tastes will ping: “8am Camps Bay for coffee. Leave 8.30. Top Chappies and back.”

A round of sugarless Meias de Leite is ordered by the java hunters even before the first pedal is turned in anger. At the turnaround, negotiations ensue as to whether the ride will stop midway for another round of cappuccinos, or continue to the end for a top-up, followed by ‘ just one Castle Lite’. the suggestion was made by Jan that we partake of a halfway beer. This progressed into two, then three beers; and in the end, wives, girlfriends and an Uber had to be called to take us home.

As the season progresses – and important races like the Double Century and the Wines2Whales start appearing on the horizon – the coffee stops are interspersed with longer bouts of riding, while chocolate croissants are replaced with Banting-friendly plates of bacon.

With this type of riding, there are some tricky areas of etiquette that often crop up. So to avoid me having to raise some of the issues with the Victoria & Coffee members, deputy editor Jonathan Ancer has done the job with the help of an etiquette specialist (‘Coffee- Stop Etiquette For Freeloaders’, page 28).

Thankfully we have no ‘Freeloaders’ in the V&C – but I suspect we have more than a few ‘ Three- Stop Wonders’!

A round of sugarless Meias de Leite is ordered even before the first pedal is turned in anger.