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I
have been leading bike rides and cycling tours in Australia and New
Zealand for over 15 years and on many occasions I have commented
that I think everyone comes along for the coffee & food
experience as much
as for the cycling! And why not - some effort followed by
conversation over a brew is the perfect balance in life.
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A lot of the
inspiration for what I do has come from my friend Dale (the
Guru) Garvey's passion for cycling which is possibly only
surpassed by his love of food. Many of our New Zealand
tours have been defined by his seasonal favourites - we have had
the year of the Blue Cod followed by many tours of Blue Berries
and Cranberries. Pancakes, berries and 'ice cream or cream with
that sir' - "yes!" - for breakfast followed by cranberries,
chicken & brie for lunch and dinner. Perfect!
We are choked with
cooking related televisions shows at present - I was about to
say I don't watch any of them but that's not entirely true.
The occasional glimpse at 'Good Chef/Bad Chef and The Chef & The Cook' has
made it past my inconsistent censorship standards but as for the others -
I'm unsure if they are cooking or reality TV? The Networks
would have us believe the are Current Affairs!
Ken McDonald kindly
gave me a copy of the Map Coffee sponsored Brisbane 2011/2012
Eat and Drink Award Winners and reading through the list and the
category winners I was excited. |
I recently rode the Grinders
“Ships Ahoy” ride and what a
great few hours it was. With
Jon out front, the pressure
of knowing where to go did
not exist so riders can sit
back and enjoy the views
without the fear of getting
lost and then having to do
extra Kms. The pace was the
same as Brisbane City
Council’s Active Parks rides
so no extra grinding needed.
The river ferry crossing was
a novel idea with the river
sparkling on this sunny
winter’s day.
The pit stops were above
average, each having their
own unique ambience with
great food and coffee along
with friendly staff all
round.
So as Molly Meldrum says,
“Do yourself a favour.” and
join a Grinders ride
sometime soon. Cheers
Ken McDonald
"Just got back from
Jon's Grinders Cycling Wed ride from Shorncliffe to
Scarborough and back.... what a fabulous day for riding
with beautiful water views, nice & scenic, lovely
breakfast at Feelz Good cafe overlooking the water at
Woody Pt; a good 50km ride with good pace... Oh by the
way - nice company:)
Big tick for the breakfast venue !! Cheers Linda G "
For 2014 the Grinders rides will be merged into my
'Beat the Boring' ride program as exploring new food and
coffee establishments is never boring! |
Then the other day on the way
home from a ride, I heard a segment on ABC
radio where an expert was discussing baking and cooking
using seasonal fruit - nice!
The
penny had dropped - the world's gone crazy for exercise and good, interesting food -
and in the case of cyclists - great coffee!
New Year's
resolution fitness or diet fads aside, the exercise phenomena
charges on and television executives aren't letting up on trying
to take our interest in food from survival to inspired.
Looking around it's obvious that a growing number of people just
don't get it. Can
we have a lifestyle that embraces both?
Sure, but you need
to find the right balance and my philosophy always tips the
scales on the exercise side of the equation - don't be a passenger -
get off your bum and participate!
Bushranger Bikes
has been doing this through our bike rides for many years
however the primary focus has really been on the exercise part - the
cycling. The other is just a (very) pleasant indulgence.
Now we are going to change the focus just a little.
The Eat & Drink Awards has
given me a great list of fantastic food & coffee establishments,
some we already know or have tried, and over the last few weeks
I have done the hard work and checked out a few more - research
is always essential!
As we know there
are some really fantastic cafes around now and thankfully it is
getting hard to find an ordinary coffee in Brisbane - at last.
And there has been a frothing (that one's for you Ross) of new
cafe's and light food restaurants emerging featuring quirky
premises, funky decor, tempting menus and tasty coffee.
Yahoo!
So - the
Grinders Cycling Club has been established and embraces the Bushranger Bikes cycling model - offering small
group, intimate & friendly rides for the adventurous cyclist. A chance
to exercise, stay healthy, connect and socialise with friends
and to link this with a little fun through sampling fine food & coffee - basically a
contemporary lifestyle cycling club where you can
have some guilt free fun!.
Go on - join me,
your friends and Grinders for some yummy & energetic cycling fun
and maybe you might be inspired to share your experience and
rate the cafes (optional) via the Bushranger Bikes
Face book page. Check out the details on
Rate the Experience.
Jon
Click Here to
join Grinders Cycling Club.
When are the Grinders rides?
Grinders Cycling
Club is a Bushranger Bikes Management Pty Ltd associate
enterprise and is hosted by my grassroots business - DogMTB -
mountain biking, coffee and food has always been a perfect mix. |
