Every culture, every tribe, every demographic has a spiritual home, be that its religious hubs, its sports grounds, or in the case of cycling, its cafés.

Cafés are ingrained in the essence of cycling and we can thank, or blame, the Europeans for that I suspect. Coppi and Bartali drinking pre-race espressos or later, Eddy Merckx riding for the Faema espresso machine company team. In the modern era, World Tour Pros like Wout Van Aert have followed the trend. The UK, famous for its ‘tea and cakes’ eventually embraced Café Culture and now coffee shops have taken over the highstreets – for better or worse. But Brits have been cycling on the Continent, and visiting its cafés for years and I’d like to think we are at least in part responsible for the acceptance of cafes in the UK.

If you visit the more cycling-centric parts of Europe you’ll see café culture in all its glory. The villages and cities of the Low-Countries are full of the typical patisserie laden, hanging basket festooned temples to coffee populated by commuters on their Bromptons and the socialites sipping Lattes and Cappuccinos. Head further inland and into the mountains and it’s a different vibe. Much more alpine and rustic and the rushing office types have been replaced by walkers, or more often, hordes of leather skinned octogenarians with their steel bikes drinking espressos so dark you could tarmac your driveway with it. You can put yourself into whichever camp you feel more comfortable in. No matter which end of this scale you associate with, it’s all come back across the Channel and been integrated into the British cycling ethos.

I’ve lost count of the number of rides that have started, finished, or in some way included one in the route. I’ve known people to design routes entirely based on the location of a few preferred cafes, or to ‘test’ a new one friends have raved about, and I include myself here. Sometimes I don’t even need to go in, just the knowledge it’s there, on route and ready for me should I feel the urge is enough to bring inner calm. They are a safe space to calm nerves stressed by over-amorous cars, and they are the ‘social glue’ that holds us, and if the weather is bad, the ride together. In the winter you can warm up and head back out, in the summer you can sit outside for hours after the ride and tell tall tales of previous exploits, or plan the next one. But cafes are more than just coffee, there’s cake to be had too, and outside of purely cycling, our favourite cafes also become social hubs. Yes, it is possible to go to a café, as a cyclists, and not take a bike. My local runs all sorts of other group events throughout the day, and not only for riders; there’s mum and baby groups, arts and crafts and just social get togethers of friends old and new. Where ever they are, that are always worth dropping in, bike or not, and seeing what is going on.

Food and Cycling - Café Culture – Where we gather