Those of you who (like me) are of a certain age, will probably fondly remember the film The Breakfast Club. Released in 1985, it brilliantly tells the story of a bunch of teenagers doing after-school detention.
This post is entirely unrelated to that movie, except for a gratuitous intro paragraph, and the same name.
Cycling can be hungry work
You probably don’t need me to remind you that cycling is active travel, right? Nor that the “active” part means you burn calories while doing it. And calories burnt need to be replaced!
At this point, I need to skip to South Africa, Jo’burg, specifically. In the early 1970s, a radio DJ and a few mates wanted to go riding motorcycles together. Finding a time slot that suited them all proved difficult. In the end, they settled on early Sunday morning. As they set off so early, the plan was to grab breakfast somewhere, then ride back after.
That became known as the Breakfast Run, and is a tradition that continues still. These days, few riders now ride out to the original Stywe Lyne café, by the Hartebeespoort Dam. The café’s name is pronounced similar to Stay-ver lay-ner. It translates as “Tight lines”, like what fishers see when they have a bite on the line.
A new tradition
The Breakfast Club is a new tradition, loosely based on the Breakfast Run, and there’s a clue in the name: get on your bike, cycle out to a nice café somewhere near(ish) to you, and have breakfast, before cycling back. You get bonus points if you invite other riders along, but there’s no issue doing a solo ride.
Obviously, you’re free to decide for yourself exactly what constitutes breakfast, but I will strongly suggest that in this context, it at very least includes sitting down at a table, at some café. Breakfast itself could be a full English fry-up, just a croissant, or even just a coffee.
What I suggest is that you do at least one Breakfast Club ride per month, and do tell others about it on social media (use the #BreakfastClub hashtag). You can do the same route, to the same café each time, or you can have a range of different routes, to a number of different cafés.
Fast, or slow
Whether you ride there fast, and have a slow ride back, ride there slowly and ride back fast, ride there and back fast, or take it easy all the way is entirely up to you. Also, the café doesn’t have to be rural – city rides can be great fun, too.
If you’re going to make your Breakfast Club ride an open invite one, tell people where the meeting place will be, and what the expected pace (and distance) will be.
As for me, I’m planning on doing a mix of rides, along different routes, and I’ll probably make a few videos about it. I’m very lucky to live in a beautiful area, with quite a selection of cafés to choose from.
So, are you joining the Breakfast Club?