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Two cyclists at a cafe.

What makes a good cycling café?

Not every café a cyclist goes to can count as a cycling café. Here’s our rundown of what makes a serious cycling café.

Cycling cafés are a relatively recent ‘thing’ – places where you get served by baristas whose knowledge of coffee bean roasting is matched only by their ability to recall the stage winners of every Grand Tour of the last five years. Previously, cyclists would go to charming little tea rooms, where you would have to jostle elbows with little old ladies, or garden centres or greasy spoons. They were less cool but arguably more relaxing – no need to strike a pose or talk loudly about your training plans or how many miles you had covered that morning.

Of course, cycling cafés aren’t just for cyclists; it would be hard to make a living if you relied purely on the Lycra clad. The things that appeal to bike riders also make them warm and welcoming places for everyone else too. Cycling cafés are a soft way to lure new people into bike riding, where a bike shop can seem intimidating, a café offers hospitality to everyone. A great café can often overtake the bike shop to become the hub of a cycling community.

So, what makes a cycling café a ‘real’ cycling café?

Does it have somewhere to put your bike or does it just have a picture of a bike somewhere? If it’s the latter, it’s not a cycling café. To be a good cycling café there needs to be real consideration for cyclists. For example, somewhere to lock your bike, a track pump to top up your tyres, a little workshop, spare inner tubes for sale and some good cycling magazines to browse! Avocado toast and macchiatos might hit the spot for a certain type of cyclist, but the best cycling cafés are ones that offer all-day breakfasts and have chairs you’re allowed to sit on with a wet bum.

Location, location, location

Location is everything when it comes to cycling cafes – for it to really work it needs to be in the right place on your ride. Two-thirds of the way around the route is just about perfect, so you’re hungry enough to appreciate the stop but there’s still a bit of a ride to go. Cafés at the top of hills are the best, so you aren’t setting off uphill on a full stomach. If you’ve got some fast climbers in your group, you could send them on ahead with your order!

Choice of champions

Coffee and cycling have a long cultural relationship. Many of the countries that took pride in their coffee also excelled at cycling. Italian espresso machine manufacturer Fabbrica Apparecchiature Elettromeccaniche e Affini (or FAEMA), sponsored the eponymous Faema cycling team, launched in 1955, which included legendary Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx.  And anything Merckx did was cool.

Let’s not forget that coffee is good for your performance. Drink coffee, ride faster says Cycling Weekly. If you’re going to drink coffee like a pro cyclist it needs to be short, strong and black before your ride but post-ride you can treat yourself to a latte or cappuccino for the protein, fat and calcium in the milk to aid recovery. This is the exact reverse of continental coffee drinking culture, where milky coffees are for breakfast and never taken after 11am. An Italian would shudder in disgust at an afternoon cappuccino!

Cake conundrum

In theory, you should be careful to only replace the calories burnt during your ride, and choose foods with the right balance of protein, carbohydrate and a little fat that will digest easily and fuel your ride home. But we all know the best thing to have is a massive slab of carrot cake – it’s part of the reason for going on a bike ride!

We’re always on the lookout for somewhere good to cycle and a decent coffee, so if you have a favourite café stop let us know on our Facebook or Twitter feeds.

For more information about our services or to start your claim, call 0808 100 9995 and speak to one of our specialist solicitors. We’re here to help. You can email us or schedule a callback.

Written By:

Emily Pheysey

Litigation Executive

Emily has over 7 years of experience in the legal sector, handling road traffic accident claims to recover compensation and support her clients. Her focus is to ensure all clients feel comfortable and at ease with the claims process so that they can focus on their recovery.

Emily considers rapport to be an essential part of the role and strives to always provide excellent client care.

Away from work, Emily enjoys spending time with her family and friends and travelling as much possible.

Diane Holderness

Litigation Executive

Diane is a Ministry of Justice (TOJ) Team Leader within our Cycle Department. She has 11 years’ experience managing road traffic accident claims, and 6 years’ experience managing MOJ claims.

Diane enjoys a challenge and always strives for the very best results for her customers; something that is clear in the way her team continually adapts its strategies in order to secure the most desired outcome. Diane has worked her way through the legal ranks here, and is proud to now have a strong, specialist team that is committed to customer satisfaction.

Diane believes that happy clients make a happy working environment, and it is this that ensures a productive and efficient workforce.

Nina Haddock

Chartered Legal Executive

Nina has over 30 years’ experience in the legal sector. She specialises in recovering compensation for injury claimants as a result of road traffic accidents. Her focus for each and every claim is to help her clients secure the funding that they need to pay for ongoing treatment and support.

Nina became a CILEX Fellow in 2006 and now helps her clients and their families at a time when they have been through a traumatic experience, and everything they hold dear to them appears to be changing.

One case Nina is particularly proud of is supporting a client who had successfully sought asylum in the UK, following a road traffic accident. The claim was successfully pursued through the MIB and the client was left with significant injuries. Her client was able to use the compensation to aid family members with their applications to seek asylum in the UK.

Julian Fox

Cycling Accident Solicitor

Julian qualified as a Solicitor in 2005 and has worked in all areas of personal injury since 2000. Julian has a well-rounded understanding of personal injury law, having represented both claimants and defendants.

Julian always aims for maximum damages to meet his clients’ needs for injury and rehabilitation expenses, and can often secure interim payments to help meet clients’ financial needs. Julian is highly proactive in ensuring cases are progressed, ensuring a timely conclusion.

When not at the office, Julian is a keen cyclist, both on roads and virtually -he will often do an hour of ‘Zwifting’ in the mornings before starting work.

Richard Atherton

Cycling Accident Solicitor

Richard has 12 years of legal experience and qualified as a Solicitor in February 2014. He has been a Team Manager with us since 2019. Throughout his career, Richard has specialised in personal injury, handling an array of Road Traffic Accident cases, in addition to employer and public liability.

Richard prides himself on his very strong strategic and planning skills, which come into their own in complex injury cases where more technical arguments are involved. On every case, he is committed to ensuring that his clients receive full compensation for their injuries.

Away from work, Richard enjoys sport; he is a season ticket holder at St Helens Rugby Club and a Liverpool FC fan. Not only a spectator, Richard also likes going to play golf as often as he can.

Dave Gardner

Litigation Executive

Dave has over 20 years of experience in the legal sector. His specialism is personal injury and he has dealt with hundreds of cycling injury claims during his career. Excellent client care and communication is paramount to Dave. He prides himself on being accessible and available, attending court hearings where damages are in dispute to ensure the best outcome for his clients. One case Dave is particularly proud of is when he supported an elderly client who suffered serious injuries following a road traffic incident. The police had not taken any action against the defendant, so Dave had to be proactive and act within a 24-hour window. The case proceeded and the client was in receipt of £30,000 in damages, which he would not have been entitled to had the client not approached Dave. He is also an avid supporter of Glasgow Rangers and travelled abroad on many occasions to see them play in European competitions.

Gerard Horton

Partner

Gerard is a Senior Solicitor at Cycle SOS. In his 13 years of experience, Gerard has built a national reputation in the catastrophic injury sector, dealing with high value and complex cases. Alongside his legal role, Gerard supports several charities including Headway Central Lancashire, Northwest Regional Spinal Injuries Centre and spinal injury charity, Back Up.

Julia Eyton

Partner

Julia brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Cycle SOS team.

Specialising in representing those who have had life changing injuries, Julia handles some of the most serious and complex personal injury cases both within Cycle SOS and nationally.

She often works on high value claims and is skilled in winning complex liability cases.

NADIA KERR

Partner

Nadia has over 30 years of legal expertise and has represented hundreds of vulnerable road users. With a focus on ensuring timely rehabilitation, speedy repair or replacement of bikes and kit, and securing fair compensation, Nadia is committed to advocating for justice and client rights. Alongside her legal career, Nadia actively participates in national campaigns to benefit vulnerable road users and acts as a Trustee/Director for the national cycling charity, Cycling UK. Nadia was named in Cycling UK’s ‘100 women’ and was a founding member, now running a women’s cycling group, TeamGlow in South Manchester. Among her many achievements, Nadia takes pride in her spot on BBC Breakfast, where she provided expert commentary on long term government funding for pothole repairs.

Caroline Morris

DIRECTOR OF SERIOUS INJURY

Caroline has specialised in personal injury for over 25 years, recovering more than £56 million in damages during that time, to help clients rebuild their lives after injury.

Caroline is committed to achieving rehabilitation options early, meaning her clients benefits from the best care and treatment at the earliest stage possible.