jdon

Do you drink it?
What is your daily consumption?
Why do you drink it? Delay LT onset? Just a caffeine buzz?

I normally have two cups per day but always have an espresso before a challenging ride. Anything that may delay lactic acid build up is great but I can't attest to that actually happening.

Machka 

Yes.
1-2 cups a day.
Because strong, black coffee tastes good.

Lamp-Shade

I go through about a pot every morning.
Highlander Grog. Good stuff.

ericm979

I don't think that coffee or caffeine delays lactic acid buildup... at least I have not seen any studies to that effect. If you have please post a link.

Caffeine does help you use fat for energy, and increases blood glucose by kicking the adrenal glands into action. For that reason I use a caffeinated gel near the end of long (5+ hour) races.

canam73

During a workout is about the only time I don't drink coffee. I drink it because I'm an addict.

flip18436572

I would drink coffee maybe if it had a decent flavor/taste. I like the smell when I grind it and while it is first coming out of the coffee maker, but do NOT like the taste.

jdon

Thanks ericm, while not a study here is a link to a Dr Mirkin article. https://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine041209.html

I was told this a few years ago buy my sports nutritionist.

cyclokitty 

Espresso makes me happy. Several cups of espresso makes me hyper and happy. So I tend to drink a fair amount of it before a day long ride.

paulclaude

I find coffee before workouts a bit hit and miss. I try not to drink it too often as it has other side affects, too. If I have it in the afternoon it definately affects my sleep that night. Coffee seems to give me a super high then a low, so I just drink tea (green or black) instead. You get a steadier lift without the crash. However, on some mornings when I really feel like it, I will brew up some "real" coffee (not instant rubbish). I drink it black, sometimes with a bit of brown sugar. Tastes even better when you are not used to having it every day.

Carbonfiberboy 

3 cups/day. I just like it. Organic, fair-trade only. French press. Black.

In terms of ordinary workouts or rides, I only drink it before an early morning workout. However I'm sure to have a cup before a serious ride or event, and then also take a caffeine pill at the start: less peeing.

It's good for you!

Racingboo

I can't drink ordinary coffee, as it contributes to blood sugar crashes (feeling weak and faint, feeling as if my face goes numb, shaking). This also means no energy drinks such as Red Bull, as that positively wipes me out all by itself. Very horrible feeling. Anyone else have this happen to them?

However, I drink one cup of decaff every day, because I love the taste - black, two sugars. I can't stand the taste of coffee with milk.

stevemtbr

Well what a know, I'm drinking a cup right now. Just got back from a cold and snowy ride and a cup of joe is what the doctor ordered. Made with a French Press of course. Summer it's only 2 to 4 cups a day, winter 3 to 5. It's my only bad habit but I drink it because I just like it. I can go without it and suffer no side effects.

mudpuppy

I usually need about 2 cups in the morning to get me going. Can't handle caffeine after about noon, or it keeps me up at night. Love the taste, black, no sugar. Grind the beans fresh daily. Has anyone seen Folgers whole bean Colombian lately? I can't seem to find it in stores any more.

Machka 

Although I like a cup or two on a regular work day or whatever, I don't like to drink coffee before a ride. I will, occasionally, but it's not my first choice.

antiguru

2 cups a day usually. Will always have one before a long ride.

Keeps my appetite under control, I find.

paulclaude

Well... today I woke up and felt like coffee, so I brewed up some of hawaii's finest Kona, cowboy style. The motivational factor coffee gives you is something I love. 30mins ago my legs were tired and sore after 3 long days on the bike, and I had decided to take a rest day. Now I want to go out and ride I'll probably just do an easy spin on the turbo though, for recovery and all...

Carbonfiberboy 

So you experienced coffee drinkers . . .

The theory is that coffee spares glycogen. So it makes sense to me to drink it at the start of a long ride or event. However, I know that many people try to save their energy and start coffee toward the end of the ride or event. Has anyone tried it both ways and noticed any difference? I think I've noticed a positive effect from using caffeine fairly continuously, but it's hard to separate out all the different factors that contribute to feeling better or worse.

I mean a long event, like a 12 hour or brevet or multi-pass ride or some such.

10 Wheels

2 to 3 cups with honey in the mornings, then out for a 80 mile ride.

koffee brown

Tons of it. I drink it every day. I drink it before I teach aerobics classes too. When the members see me flying in with coffee, they say "oh man!" cause they know I'm gonna be hyper all class. I drink it before I teach yoga and pilates too- that makes for one hyper, totally ADD type mind and body experience- I'm bouncing off the walls!

koffee

Billy Bones

Two 16 oz. mugs every day, both before 10 AM. . .for the buzz, especially that "Popeye's Spinich" phenomenon that accompanies the first big caffeine bolt. . .HOOO-Haaaa!!

Exception 1, a cup of cappucinno [no sugar and no flavor save that of the Most Holy Bean] or espresso after a long work-out. Exception 2, the same any time of day anywhere in Italia.

[Does anyone share my theory that Frank Herbert's prescience drug melange was based on caffeine? I'm pretty sure that with enough [but not too much] coffee, I can 'see' the furure.]

10 Wheels

After the ride:

paulclaude

One thing I will say... it HAS to be taken black with no sugar/milk etc. You just can't appreciate the flavour any other way IMO.

PAlt

It might make you see the furor in the future..."Moab'Dib! Moab'Dib!..."

Machka 

In the weeks prior to a brevet, I'll cut back on my caffeine consumption. Then on the brevet, my first choice is usually a coke at an early control, followed by strong sweet tea at subsequent controls, and occasional cokes and iced teas too, of course. I didn't start drinking coffee on my brevets until the 2003 PBP. The tea they served was horrible, but the coffee was decent, so now I might have tea at one control and coffee at the next ... always sweet, unlike the usual way I drink coffee.

I just can't stomach the black coffee I normally love on or before a ride.

caloso

I usually take it black if I make it in the drip machine. Or con leche y azucar if I make it in the stove-top moka. Either way, it's heavenly.