This might be a bit off-topic, but it sure made me smile a bit when I saw it.

The winner of the polka-dot jersey for being the best climber in the mountains, Michael Rasmussen (nicknamed The Chicken) was doing an interview for Danish television. When asked about his pre-ride meal he said that it consists of 80 grams of oatmeal, some fruit and a couple of espresso's!

So I know what I'll be drinking next time I'm going to hit the trails!

Thomas

That was an amazing tour. I plan to catch the recap on Sunday (7PM EST). As for espresso enhancing performance, I've found that 5-6 consecutive doubles help my writing. Is that legal?

I certainly did enjoy the Tour, especially the last week. But this latest twist, as of yesterday, has really let the wind out of the sails. Let's just hope Landis's "B-sample" comes back negative.

As far as Rasmussen, he was quite impressive on his stage win. Must have been the double-shots! You know though, I just read in Bicycling magazine about a study that showed caffeine consumption right before endurance exercise actually harms performance. Can't remember the details right away, but more time (a couple hours?) was recommended between having your fix and hopping on a bike. One thing I do know is that a No Doz taken about half-way through a race certainly worked some magic!

Me too, it was a great tour this year and for Landis and the cycling sport I sure hope the B-test turns out negative.

Actually Rasmussen won a street-race yesterday in Denmark, impressive for a tiny climber!

That's a good point, I'm not sure what caffeine does. But what about those powergels, some of them have caffeine in them, could it be that in small proportions it helps? It was kinda funny to see Rasmussen with his stovetop espresso maker, making himself a couple of pre-ride shots

Coffee and bikes have always worked well for me. This morning I rode mountain bike with a pal for three hours in the mountains. Pre-ride consumption was three espresso and then an americano for the drive to the trailhead. When I got on my saddle I was "in the groove". I enjoy the coffee for the coffee's sake, the mental focus and physiological boost is a bonus. In three weeks myself and four other pals are doing the 24 Hours of Endurance Mountain Bike race in Canmore, Alberta. They all like my coffee, so I am taking my espresso machine, grinder and lots of home-roast - don't think I have ever pulled shots by caving headlamp before.

Onemoreshot, that sounds great! I love the fact that you can combine the mountainbiking and espresso!

Where do you ride and what kind of mountainbiking do you ride, sounds like XC?

Hey Maskedman,

I'm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Calgary is about 30 minutes away from the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. The areas that we most frequent are about 40 minutes away in a very large natural park area called "Kananaskis Country". We are riding what is considered by most to be world-class mountain biking terrain. A pretty tough race called the "Bow 80" which is an 80km race on some pretty difficult stuff, runs on our usual riding spots. Also the "TransRockies" race (similar to the TransAlps) runs in that same area. The sign up for the annual Bow 80 is this week and I have been convinced to do it again; the only time I did it (which was a few years ago) I said I wouldn't consider it anymore (that whole love/hate thing). I've been lucky to ride in lots of different spots in N. America and I like this area the most (though I haven't ridden in Colorado and I hear it is great). There are some big-hit trails for the downhiller-crews but 98% of the terrain we ride in is for cross-country racing/hammering. There are lots of trails for casual riders also, the area makes for a pretty broad-spectrum offering. Most of the guys I ride with are on Santa Cruz Blur's and such, I'm riding an Ellsworth Truth with an 80mm Fox Fork which fits my style very well. As the season progresses my wife gets more concerned I'm sure as I tend to ride more aggressively and since I'm not that young anymore my bones don't bend as easily.

A major downside to this area is the short-ish riding season, we get quite a bit of snow in the mountains, so generally most folks will hop on their road bikes until the mountains clear up. I split my time equally between the road and the mtns and enjoy both; but I'm really only a weekend warrior compared to some guys. Still, I love it.

Do you ride? And what do you think about coffee and riding?

I'm certainly an advocate of caffeination! I wasn't much of a coffee drinker when I was racing (road)... That was a time when most serious racers lived somewhat of a monk's life. No coffee, alcohol, very low-fat diet. In summary, no fun. Body fat was down to 4.5%. The amazing thing was that when I "retired" from being a Cat-1, and began eating like a normal human-being, I began to ride better and gained no weight.

Before a typical weekend ride, it's a double cappuccino then an Americano for me. Only issue I'm ever concerned about is having to stop to pee too much. Usually not an issue, but there are times.

Speaking about Canada, I'm about to participate in a ride called RAW, or Ride Around Washington, which is going to take us from the Canadian border to the Oregon state line. Lots of climbing through the Cascades. Over the six days, the organizers claim it'll be 36,000' of climbing. Cool! Luckily, it's not a race, so I can actually enjoy the scenery. Bummer is that the "coffee" on this sort of thing is typically horrible. Time to be a tea drinker.

Very cool, I bow down to your Cat-1 history accomplishments, seriously. Gotcha on the stop for a pee-thing, I guess that's where MTB has the advantage, there is always a tree nearby.

Speaking of the Cascades, one of the guys I am doing the 24 Hours of Adrenaline with also did the Creampuff 100 last year; said it was a tough race. I haven't done any racing in the US but the Creampuff 100 sounds pretty interesting (though it would probably crush me). One of the tougher rides I did was the Road to the Sun loop in Montana, unsupported in a single day, just me and another buddy and all the spare gear we could cram into fanny-packs. 245kms, a wicked headwind and the Continental Divide a couple of times made for a long day. At one point we were lying on the side of the road, in the gravel, laughing about nothing, just really exhausted while eating bananas. I recommend that ride to anyone though, it is a classic beautiful ride.

I just took a quick look at the RAW ride, it looks fantastic. Nice to have a strong bike organization like that, no doubt you will have a good time if the weather holds. And hey, what do you mean there won't be any good coffee, it looks like one of the sponsors is Starbucks.

Hmm, Starbucks. Actually, when I'm forced to go to one of their shops (typically when I'm on the road), I'll only get a cup of drip - no espresso drinks. Occasionally, they do drip pretty well. But on a ride like this, it'll be weak and made with lousy water. Not good.

Yeah, RAW is a great ride. The fact that it's limited to 200 riders means that overnight stops are typically pristine; the organization and food are also excellent. Even though you're camping, the accommodations are great. This will be the second one for me. I've also done something called Cycle Oregon which is with 2000 of your closest friends, but that's a bit nuts. The coolest thing is that this will be the sixth of these rides I've done with my mom, who just turned 71. 450 miles and tons of climbing over six days. I just hope I'm able to do this at 71.

Your epic ride in Montana sounds like one that most likely sucked while you were grinding through it, but is one hell of a great memory now. While maybe not that extreme, I need challenges to make life satisfying. Beats sitting on a couch.