So what's the facination with coffee for the millions of cyclists out there? You hear talk about it in the pro peloton, on Sunday group rides and at the bike shops. Why are coffee and cycling so intertwined? Well, I thought I'd find out.

Could it be the caffeine? Some of us drink coffee for the taste without regard to its caffeine content while others drink it especially for the high they may get from the stimulant. This could make sense if you drink coffee during the last part of your ride but it wouldn't make any sense if you drink it before your ride like most people do. So I'm ruling out coffee being used as a jolt of energy.

Coffee even sponsors a cycling team! Credit: Jittery Joe's Cycling

Follow up:

Is it because of the history and culture of cycling? Professional cycling enjoys deep roots in Europe and we all know Europe's fascination with the coffee bean. Of course, they don't drink "American" coffee like most of us. Instead, they like their coffee beans strong, either as a shot of espresso or in the form of a specialty drink like a cappucino. Because of cycling's connection to Europe, are we more of a cyclist if we adopt the European way and enjoy a coffee drink on a regular basis? Can we topple that steep hill faster because most pros drink some form of coffee too? Do we want to be just like them? No, I don't think so. As cyclists, we enjoy the sport more for the thrill we get from riding through a nice cool breeze, knowing that we're getting a great work out, contributing to getting more cars off the road and just plain enjoying that piece of machinery that cost us an arm and a leg. Do some of us dream that we're riding in the European peloton just after sipping a cup of espresso at start of one of the stages at the Tour? Sure! But we don't get up at 6a.m. for that reason! We get up because we enjoy having the road all to ourselves with nothing but a light mist and a picturesque sun rise on the horizon.

If the yellow jersey does it. I want to do it.

So why then do cyclists drink coffee before a ride? I have come up with only one real solution --- to lose weight. Yes, you heard it right. Boxers run in clothes from head to toe in 90 degree heat, non-active people sit in a hot sauna while cyclists lose weight by doing what comes natural -- pee, urinate, defacate, shit, poop, drop a load, what have you. As most of you know, coffee is a diuretic. I'm not a doctor but by doing a quick search about this subject and from my own experiences, it works! The diuretic effect can be non existant to some, while worse in others. Point is, when you drink coffee, you will have to either pee or shit soon afterwards. And for those weight conscious people in spandex, it could mean the difference between getting by with your 53/42 or needing a triple crankset to get over that hill!

I am an avid coffee drinker. I have a drip coffee machine for the weekdays and use a french press on the weekends. I don't go crazy with the type of beans I use but I do like to stick with local brands like Zabars, for example, that are not too expensive. But I never drink coffee before a ride! I don't want to ever get caught needing to poop during my ride. It's bad enough having to pull over to drop your shorts for a whiz, but to poop? No way.

I'm not sure how others do it. Maybe that's why we are all physiologically different from each other. Regardless of the actual reason each of us drink coffee and ride our bikes and the effects it may have on us, cycling and coffee will forever be linked together. It's like Simon and Garfunkel or Sonny and Cher or Jon and Kate. However, this relationship will last forever.