I like to start the day with a cup of coffee. Coffee for me falls into 2 categories. There is the “sit and enjoy a rich cup of Sumatra, savoring every sip” coffee and then there is the “functional” coffee. Functional coffee is for caffeine consumption and jarring the pulse. I’m odd this way. With the former, I take my coffee black or with a little sugar and try to taste the nuances of the blend. The functional coffee I take with cream and sugar.
Now this causes problems with my friends. Some of my Dunkin Donuts friends snear at me if I’m holding a cup of Starbucks, Peets or Seatle’s Best coffee, exclaiming “how can you drink that snob roast”. My “sit and enjoy” friends are stunned when they see me with a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee and can’t understand how anyone would brew java without a French Press.
Early Morning Group Rides
A couple of the early morning rides I attend start at, or just before, 6:00am causing me to leave the house at 5:30. I don’t like to start the coffee machine that early out of consideration for my wife. If I start the coffee machine at 5AM, the brew is nasty by 6:30 when she gets up. So on early ride days, I leave a few minutes early and go to the Dunkin Donuts 2 blocks from my home for a “functional” cup of coffee (French Press friends shutter).
Now there is a method to the madness. I order a small “regala” (cream and sugar). This is key because I’m going to be riding AND drinking as I roll to the rendevous point. Dunkin Donuts uses a stiff cardboard cup with a rolled lip for their small coffees. The medium or large (…you know….grande…venti) are served in styrofoam cups. I like the small cardboard cup because of the hard rolled lip. This lip is strong enough for me to clasp between my front teeth leaving my hands free to shift or brake when necessary. Most of the time I ride one-handed, with the coffee in my other hand. However, there are times when one needs to stop at a light (although rare at 5:30am) or put both hands on the handlebars over rough, busted-up pavement.
So, one morning I roll up to the start with the cup dangling from my front teeth and one of the riders says “nice feedbag”. This was followed by an escalating discussion/argument over functional vs. French Press coffee. I down the last sip (mostly sugar) and toss the empty cup in a near-by trash can as I ride off. At least I had my first cup of coffee, unlike “some” people.
