One of the conversations I have with racers, whether they’re riding mountain, gravel, or road bikes, is their coffee plan before their race starts. How much coffee do you have? When to drink it? How much is too much? More than that, how do you plan on brewing coffee wherever the race is at? Let’s jump into this and explore how to get the most out of your coffee experience before your race begins …
This time of the year, I’m behind the lens of my camera or serving coffee (or both) at races 100% of the time. Meaning, I’m not racing. However, I know what it’s like to take off on a gravel ride and have to pee 15 minutes into the ride because I just drank coffee. It’s not a big deal when you’re in the middle of nowhere. But when you’re riding through a city, it’s a different issue. Depending on the race, stopping to pee may not be a big issue for a long-distance endurance race. But if it is a road crit or XCO race? Then you’re in trouble.
But coffee pre-race is so important, right? For many of us, coffee is part of our regular daily routine. I’m sipping on my second cup as I type this. Like clockwork, I make two pourovers each and every morning. Sometimes, I’ll throw in a cortado, but coffee is the first thing on my mind when I walk up. That’s the same whether I’m at home or camping at a race venue since I need to be there early to take photos. I still keep my same routine … two cups of coffee.
When do you need to cut off coffee before you race? That’s a tricky question to answer because our bodies are different in size, weight, and current level of hydration (or dehydration). That means there’s no universal answer for every person. Knowing your body and your daily rhythms at home is part of the answer.
The second consideration is how you brew coffee the morning of the event. A good number of people camp out before the race begins. That means you’re staying anywhere from a tent to a van, an RV, etc. That also means there’s a wide variety of what you can access to brew coffee. That’s why I default to making pourovers. It’s the same process whether I have electricity for my water kettle or heating water with a gas stove. I like predictability. I have even grabbed our travel pouches a few times since that makes brewing coffee that much easier.
What am I trying to get at in this article? What’s my advice? Since we’re creatures of habit, I recommend staying on the same routine as if we were back home. On top of that, find a brew method that is enjoyable and easy to do. If it’s race day, you probably want to spend more time fidgeting with your bike than messing too much with coffee cleanup. Keep it simple.
What do you need to brew coffee wherever you go? You need a way to heat water, a brewing device (pourover, Aeropress, etc.), coffee, a coffee grinder, and a scale. That’s the bare minimum. While I’d recommend a gooseneck kettle, truth be told, you can make most anything work, whether pouring from a Jetboil or even a pot. Keep it simple and make it work for you.
I trust you’ll experiment and dial in your pre-race coffee routine as race season progresses. Just because you’re racing doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your coffee before you hop in the saddle. Good luck!
