Where to stop for Coffee?
 

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have what is known as the winter dank season. When it's not actually dripping rain, it is cloudy, dank dreary and damned damp. On such days when I am not wanting to do a full "ride" I'd still like to ride a few miles and maybe get a coffee. Most of the coffee shops are of the kiosk variety, so outdoor seating. So where do I go when it is too cool and damp to want to sit outside? Mostly I just stay home and grouse.

There are about a million Starbucks in the PNW as well as small independent coffee shops. I don’t see the problem.

Only problem is not liking to lock/leave the bike unattended. That's why I like the kiosks, except the cool and damp. But you are right.

Eugene doesn't have cafes? Portland and surrounding has lots. I live in SW Portland and can ride 4 1/5 miles west or 6 miles southwest (a miles from where the good riding starts) to branches of Ava's Roasteria. Now, after that, it's another 5 to a farm market, only open on weekends except summer, 9 and a real hill to Newburg with a really nice coffee place next to George Fox University or 19 to Gaston and it's market with seating.

'A few miles'? If you have a favorite kiosk-style shop just walk down to it, get a coffee, and walk back while drinking coffee. A round trip from my house to the post office with a stop for a cup of coffee is 3 miles, good for those 'off' days (I still mail a few letters every month). Good exercise and you don't have to ride a bicycle in the dreary, dank environment.

And an answer to the bike outside waiting to be stolen while you sip your coffee - a winter beater. I have two, fix gear and geared. Both 40-50 year old steel. Each has fenders, a mounted Kryptonite, LowRider front rack, powdercoat paint, bearings greased with marine grease ... They fit me just like my good bikes. They perfectly happy to be locked up almost anywhere; are great rain rides and just about perfect for the rides you are describing. (And carrying enough dry clothing to be warm and comfortable while you sip outdoors is easy with the Ortleib panniers.)

Every coffee shop that sits along one of my many rides always has a group of riders sitting outside. I usually ask a couple of them if they'll keep an eye on my bike while I go in.

Most of the places we go for coffee have windows and you can see the bikes while inside. Some places have covered seating outside with heaters, though heaters aren't always needed here.

Same, more or less. I now do 85% of my riding year round on an older Cannondale hybrid with fenders and front panniers. No coffee stops, but many rides are to shop at various suburban supermarkets.

I carry a cheap cable combination lock, which is probably all any of us needs, now that e-bikes have replaced all other bikes as likely theft targets.

Being a randonneur in the PNW, I've ridden through cities and towns from Bellingham to Klamath Falls. Good coffee and good beer everywhere. Coffee is life. There are three approaches to balancing coffee craving against bicycle theft. First is helmet strapped through the wheel to slow someone 5 seconds. I consider this okay if the bike is in sight. Given I might be 100+ miles from home with no support, this isn't ideal but as I said coffee is life. Second is rolling it inside. This is the best option, and only once or twice have I been turned down. OTOH I don't try this if the place is small or busy, or my bike is dripping. Third is a lock. Locks may deter an opportunist but I'm not fooled into thinking a lock is secure. A committed thief will steal the saddle, the stem and bars, any unlocked wheel, the pump, bags, obviously GPS, lights. I don't usually carry a lock on brevets.

Usually, I can find coffee in a situation that I consider an acceptable level of risk, one way or another.

Around town, I'll ride my fixie and lock it with a mildly deterring lock.

Never had a bike stolen. OTOH, friends have had bikes stolen from their locked garages, apartment bike storage, and in one case from inside their apartment.

I choose to live life, drink coffee, and not let the thieves ruin things.

I've stopped at a Starbucks or similar about once a week since about 1998, never locked my bike. I don't know anyone who even carries a bike lock.

I've observed that for some cyclists, they are their own ball and chain lock for their expensive bicycle when they are unwilling to leave their bicycle out of sight and immediate reach. Conversely, the bicycle acts as a ball and chain on the owner who is unwilling to ride it to any location that might require the owner to spend any time or distance away from immediate proximity to the bicycle due to fear of it being stolen.

I had my bike stolen at a Starbucks, where I had gone inside to wash the grease off my hands after helping another rider with a stuck chain.

Police found it the next day, abandoned, a couple blocks away. Thieves had opened up the saddle bag, found nothing of value, then left the bike in a parking lot.

FWIW, this happened in Los Altos, CA, the fifth wealthiest cities under the USA. I'm guessing it was bored teenagers.

I often ask and then take the bike inside. Have only been turned down twice and I say, That’s fine, and find a shop that will. Most people could care less unless it creates a safety problem.

Well, as I often remark, we live in paradise. Not everyone can.

Whenever I have to leave my bike unattended for a short while, whether at a coffee shop or a park restroom, I usually set the gears to the hardest combination. I can easily visualize catching up with an untrained, struggling, red faced thief.

A bike is a lot harder to steal when the front wheel is by your table at the coffee shop.

Easier to pick up and toss in the back of a pickup.

So when your bike is nabbed and ridden off, you can get a waive or two off. Running in cleats after a guy riding off should be made a new Olympic sport.

I like to think I'm a little more careful than that. Maybe if they're tall enough to ride my bike I wouldn't want to mess with them.

A friend had his bike stolen by a guy he stopped to help. The guy had a beater bike and he was messing with a tire or something and when my friend started working on the bike, the stranger took off on his nice bike.

Now that is really dirty. Hope someone caught him.

McDs? I like their coffee. Nowadays have to jump thru hoops to get a senior coffee with the kiosk. Some donut shops have decent to good coffee.

Security? I often lean my bike against a window where it'll be visible and lock the rear wheel to the frame for a coffee/snack stop.

Maybe Im not riding with enough effort, mostly zone 2 rather than 3/4, so never feel the need to stop for coffee. I do look forward to post ride beer(s)

I ride with 2 different clubs. One, my main club, always stops for coffee or snacks and sit around and chat, even on shorter rides. It's part of the social aspect of riding. We also have a small group who has a regular Tuesday ride and we also stop for coffee every time.

The other club I occasionally ride with never stops for anything except maybe a bathroom break. If they stop at a park for bathroom and water they get going again within a few minutes. If nobody asks for a bathroom break they just go until the ride is over. When I ride with them I feel part of the experience is missing.

I agree. There are two ride groups I frequent in the summer months. One with a planned coffee stop and the other that just makes a restroom break. It’s nice to be able to stop and chat for a few minutes and get to know people a bit. A couple of times, one gentleman picked up the tab for four of us. Need to repay him the next time. The other group just moves right along and all I know about them are their bike skills. Not quite the same thing.

That's me too. Stopping for coffee or a pastry to just chat is one of the best parts of any ride.

There is a small chain of coffee shops near me called the Yellow Vase. This the one in Malaga Cove, but I've since transitioned to the one in Redondo Beach. Better natural scenery. :love:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9e8828938.jpeg

Why must we ride bikes to get coffee?

Make it at home or take your car there.

Bring your own coffee in an insulated vacuum bottle.

I agree. There are two situations where I stop for coffee on a ride. 1) The club ride I'm on has a planned stop at a coffee shop, 2) I am cold but still have more than an hour to get home. I used to always stop at a McDonald's for this because they used McGarvey's locally. They probably don't anymore.

Release the front wheel quick release--that will stop them in their tracks (but don't forget before you get back on.)