I was a super-keen cyclist at school in the late-1970s and wanted to become a pro rider. After school, I went to live in Belgium for 18 months, where I effectively got my head kicked in every single day on my bicycle. Although I was a decent national-level junior, the standard in Belgium was on a different level. It was there that I was introduced to espresso coffee. We'd have three coffee stops on a long ride, and I developed a taste for it.
Back then, the Italian coffee brand Faema sponsored Belgium's biggest team, so coffee had really started to enter mainstream Continental cycling culture - while England was stuck with cups of tea. All we had at home were tea shops and fish and chips; we were so far behind. In the early-1990s, I joined the military, rode for the Army cycling team, and got into roasting my own coffee. I started understanding and enjoying the process of coffee production.
After serving in the parachute regiment and special forces, I left the military in 2001 and began studying to become a barrister. It was then I began to daydream about building my own coffee house. I wanted to create just one roast, one profile. Just like in cycling, I wanted to break down the mechanics of creating the perfect coffee. We ended up using a triple-A-grade Brazilian bean roasted in a £250,000 computer-driven air roaster.
Having obtained three master's degrees and a PhD, I'd run out of ways to push myself intellectually, so the new challenge was building a coffee shop. We opened our first shop, The Independent Pedaler, in 2017 in Bridge [near Canterbury, Kent]. Then came the idea to get involved in racing. I didn't want to go racing myself, but to help younger people to get really good - and I loved time trialling. For me, the kick you get from time trialling is like a single shot of max-strength espresso!
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 11, 2024 من Cycling Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 11, 2024 من Cycling Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
CLASSIC BIKE COLNAGO SUPER
A trailblazing bike immortalised by Merckx and Saronni
"Strava activities are the only way I know some of my friends are still alive"
...or that Bernard is doing his weekly shop
AN EXPERT'S TAKE ON... SADDLE SELECTION
Crucial advice to guide your next purchase
JUST A NUMB#R?
Approaching a landmark birthday, Charlie Graham-Dixon explores how ageing affects cycling performance and what can be done to stay ahead of the curve
RURAL PERIL
More UK cyclists are killed on rural lanes than on busy city streets. Rob Kemp investigates why and what can be done to keep us safe while riding in the countryside
A BLESSED RIDE THROUGH THE FOREST OF BOWLAND
Forgoing cloak, cassock and cross, Trevor Ward goes in search of the holy roads that helped make a Tour winner
Dame Sarah Storey claims road and 19th gold double
More success for Team GB's Paralympians in Paris, but Storey slams women's time trial course
Roglič matches Vuelta win record
Slovenian takes fourth Tour of Spain title after hunting down O'Connor's lead, writes Adam Becket
Williams crowned Tour of Britain champion
Welshman leads home resurgence at the stage race to crown an Israel-Premier Tech clean sweep, reports Tom Davidson in Felixstowe
CLASSIC BIKE CLAUD BUTLER OLYMPIC ROAD
Iconic British brand's Holdsworth-era road bike