Since 2002, RIDE Cycling Review has published a ‘Caffeine Culture’ in each issue. The locations have changed significantly and the style of this regular section refined over the years but the basics of it all remains the same: to let readers know about the bunch cycling culture that exists in certain destinations around the world. Most instalments also include the popular second-to-last section of the magazine: ‘Bikes from the bunch’. This is a vox pop with riders from each bunch who talk about their bikes. We ask them to explain the brand, how they came to buy their bike(s), what they like about it, what they don’t like… how far they ride and – of course – why they ride.
Here is a summary of all the destinations that have been featured…
Issue | Destination | CC Number | Caffeine Culture Author |
67 | Lake Taupo, New Zealand | 52 | Claudia Carr |
66 | New York, New York | 51 | Jimmy Phillips |
65 | Winery rides (various locations around Australia) | 50 | Drew Tuckwell |
64 | Perth, WA | 49 | Nick Squillari |
63 | Northern Ireland | 48 | Giles Belbin |
62 | Southern Highlands, NSW | 47 | Rob Arnold |
61 | Boulder, Colorado | 46 | Nick Legan |
60 | Flanders, Belgium | 45 | Jered Gruber |
59 | Mt Buller/Mansfield, Victoria | 44 | Rob Rixon |
58 | Noosa, Queensland | 43 | Rob Rixon |
57 | Bormio, Italy | 42 | Rob Rixon |
56 | Brisbane, Queensland (revisited) | 41 | Chris Southwood |
55 | Sydney, NSW (revisited) | 40 | Chris Southwood |
54 | Coffs Coast, NSW | 39 | Matt Vagg |
53 | Zug, Switzerland | 38 | Benjamin Fitzmaurice |
52 | Queenstown & Wanaka, New Zealand | 37 | Scott Rainsford |
51 | San Diego, USA | 36 | Mark Johnson |
50 | Wagga Wagga, NSW | 35 | Graham Springett |
48 | Utrecht, Holland | 34 | Rodrick De Munnik |
47 | Bendigo, Victoria | 33 | Darren Casey and Josef Stolz |
46 | Blackburn, Victoria | 32 | Carl Brewer |
45 | Monaco & Nice, France | 31 | Ben Johnson |
44 | Adelaide, SA (revisited) | 30 | Kym Howard |
43 | Launceston, Tasmania | 29 | – |
42 | Shimano Di2 Launch, Japan | 28 | Rob Arnold |
41 | Sydney, Safety (Road Rights) | 27 | Jane Aubrey |
40 | Beijing, China | 26 | Tom Lanhove |
39 | Melbourne, Victoria (revisited) | 24 | Matt Keenan |
38 | France, Slovenia, Oman | 23 | Les Clarke, Mike Cotty, Scott Hannaford, Paul Guiname |
37 | Bundaberg, Queensland | 22 | Les Clarke |
36 | Dunc Gray Velodrome, Sydney | 21 | Les Clarke |
35 | Katoomba, NSW | 20 | Les Clarke |
34 | L’Etape du Tour, France | 19 | Fleur Jolly |
32 | Wellington, New Zealand | 17 | Nick Warren |
31 | Newcastle, NSW | 16 | Olivia Gollan |
30 | Ballarat, Victoria | 15 | Don Stewart and Mike Bigarelli |
29 | Darwin, Northern Territory | 14 | Phil Blum and Paul Bubb |
28 | Sunshine Coast, Queensland | 13 | Ben Johnson |
27 | Thredbo, NSW | 12 | Mark Gunter |
26 | Singapore | 11 | David Kirby |
25 | Warragul, Victoria | 10 | Murray Fenwick |
24 | Gold Coast, Queensland | 9 | Craig Cahill |
23 | Auckland, New Zealand | 8 | Kieran Turner |
22 | Canberra, ACT | 7 | Mark Carter |
21 | Sydney, NSW | 6 | Andrew Curro |
20 | Tasmania | 5 | Matt Conn |
19 | Brisbane, Queensland | 4 | Lawrence Cranley |
18 | Adelaide, SA | 3 | Justin Stewart-Rattray |
17 | Melbourne, Victoria | 2 | Mike van Niekerk |
16 | Perth, WA | 1 | Marc Sherriff |