Drinking caffeine before strenuous bike rides reduces muscle pain, a new study suggests.

Reporting in the April edition of the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, Illinois professor Robert Motl describes how java comes to the rescue. He says caffeine works on a system in the brain and spinal cord called adenosine neuromodulatory that is involved in pain processing.

“Caffeine blocks adenosine from binding so you stop part of the pain receiving process,” he says. “We do not have the data to show how caffeine takes effect, but we do know the physiology of caffeine.” He said one of the next steps for his research team would be to conduct studies with rodents in order to better understand caffeine’s role in reducing pain.

His study involved 25 fit, college-aged males. One group had low to non-existent caffeine intake. The second group routinely drank three to four cups of coffee a day. Everyone was instructed not to drink coffee 24 hours prior to the session. For one session, they were given a caffeine pill, the equivalent of two to three cups of coffee. For the next session, they were given a placebo.
During both exercise sessions, riders were asked to record perceptions of quadricep pain. Motl says the results surprised him. Both habitual and “naive users,” or people who didn’t drink coffee, experienced less pain after taking the pill.

A former competitive cyclist, Motl says he would always meet other cyclists at coffee shops before they would ride so “we could get all loaded up. And wherever you go in Europe, you’ll see cyclists sipping on a shot of espresso or drinking their latte before riding.”

Motl thinks people intuitively know to drink coffee before riding because it makes the exercise less painful and they can push harder.

Photo of Motl with his bike and a cup of coffee by University of Illinois.

--By Janice Lloyd, USA TODAY

Update: WebMD has pretty much the same story

Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Press & Thermal Glasses

Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Press & Thermal Glasses

While high-end coffee makers promise ultimate convenience, there's still nothing quite like a french press.

The Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Press & Thermal Glasses ($40) brews up to 8 cups of coffee the old-fashioned way, and features a built-in, three-piece stainless steel filter, a polished stainless lid and holder, a wide black handle and knob, and a glass carafe.

As a bonus, the set includes two 12-oz. Pavina double wall glasses, giving you everything you need for a great coffee experience.

Ah Yes - The Beer Refreshing

Ah yes, second only to coffee as the refreshment of choice for cyclists, this photo from the BBC reminded me to post about seasonal beers.

Via Bikehugger.com

Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Press & Thermal Glasses

While high-end coffee makers promise ultimate convenience, I (and many others) say there's still nothing quite like a french press.

The Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Press & Thermal Glasses ($40) brews up to 8 cups of coffee the old-fashioned way, and features a built-in, three-piece stainless steel filter, a polished stainless lid and holder, a wide black handle and knob, and a glass carafe.

As a bonus, the set includes two 12-oz. Pavina double wall glasses, giving you everything you need for a great coffee experience.

Geek Caffeine Themed Design - Something to add to your wish list...

Created by Taiwan’s MOD Design, Reset Cups are larger-than-life versions of the “Ctrl-Alt-Del” keys, typically used to reboot or login to your Windows PC. Each set of three key cups ship with a matching circuit-board embossed tray (which sort of reminds me of TRON for some reason). MOD will be making them in both a white-on-black and black-on-white version, so you can match them with the color of your keyboard.

Other than the fact that MOD showed off the Reset Cups at the recent Maison + Objet design show in Paris, there’s no further information on when or where you’ll be able to buy these yet. I guess for now, you’ll have to settle for pressing the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys on your PC over and over again.

[via Electric Pig via The Daily Dairy]

7-Eleven Election 2008

7-Election Coffee drinkers weigh in on the '08 US Presidential race with every coffee purchase by choosing between a Obama cup of coffee and a McCain cup of coffee at U.S. 7 Eleven stores. Which coffee you will buy? Current Tally: Obrama Vs McCain is 59.68% : 40.32%.

Shade-Grown Coffee Ensures A Future Cup-a-Joe

Photo Via Melinda Shelton

Coffee is grown in two main ways: in the sun or in the shade. But three University of Michigan researchers show that if we want to look forward to a nice hot cup of coffee a few years from now, shade-grown coffee is where its at.

Read more: Shade-Grown Coffee Ensures A Future Cup-a-Joe

Tell Me What Your Coffee Is…

…and I’ll tell you who you will vote for President.

Amazing how we can use various things to predict future events, isn’t it?

BIGresearch conducted a survey recently. The idea was to see if you can tell which presidential candidate a person prefers based on which coffee they like better.

And the choices are:

President:
a. Barack Obama
b. John McCain

Coffee:
a. McDonald’s
b. Starbucks

So what were their findings? People who drink Starbucks more prefer Barack Obama while people who drink McDonald’s more prefer John McCain.

Read more about this survey and it's results at one of the better 'Java Blogs' - Brewed-Coffee.com

18 Coffee Trees per person? I could not live with that few...

20 Million -- That's how many families (about 60 to 80 million people) depend on coffee for their income. After oil, coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world.

100 -- That's how many coffee beans it takes to make one cup of coffee on average.

4,000 -- One coffee tree yields about 4,000 beans per year on average.

18 -- If you drink 2 cups of coffee a day, you will need 18 coffee trees devoted just to you. And it takes 5 years before a tree is fully mature and productive.

Not around these parts, it going to take more like 90 tree for the Caffeinated Cyclist's daily habit

Read more at Treehugger.com. But ignore the heresy about giving up the coffee habit to live a 'greener' life

A great USB device for your coffee as the days turn cooler...

As most 'caffeineophiles' have discovered, a cold cup of coffee, just doesn't make the grade... As we move from summer into the cooler days of fall, you might find yourself needing this little UBS device. Don’t you just hate it when you have to get up over and over again just to heat up your coffee?

Yeah, its one of my least favorite things to do and that’s why this USB Coffee Boiler called "Heat Me" makes so much sense. The universality of the USB connection allows you to redirect power into a mini heating rod that can simply be dipped into the coffee mug to get toasty warm beverages without ever leaving the chair!

Of course it would a be lot more easier to simply bring a coffee maker or a microwave oven to your workstation, but then again it won't really allow you to neglect work and watch the coffee heat away will it?

Finally, the reason for Cookie Monster's hyperactivity has been revealed!

Now they have done it... It is bad enough that I need vast quantities of coffee on a daily basis, but now there another disturbance in the Force... I am seeking some and as soon as they are delivered and devoured, I will gladly pass along a review.Buzz Strong's Caffeinated Cookies ($5). Made with Brazilian coffee, Tahitian vanilla, and Swiss dark and white chocolate chips, these cookies are all-natural and have a shelf life of nine months despite their lack of preservatives. And with four cookies offering the caffeine equivalent of drinking a full cup of coffee, you're sure to "buzz strong" for a while.

Coffee Joke, A Clean One -The 23rd Cup

Coffee Joke, A Clean One -The 23rd Cup- : "Coffee Joke, A Clean One -The 23rd Cup-
Found this one on CoffeeSage and thought it was worthy of posting here on the Caffeinated Cyclist...

I hope you get a kick from it. I did.

Caffeine is my shepherd;
I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures;
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz.
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I’ll fear no Equal for thou art with me;
Thy cream and thy flavorings they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of Juan Valdez.
Thou anointest my days with vigor; my mug runneth over.
Surely flavor and aroma shall follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the House of Maxwell forever.
Amen!

I couldn't resist letting you know about this blog....

I couldn't resist letting you know about this blog, if for no other reason than I really like the humor of the author, and the site's logo is calling my 'caffeinated soul'...

Sadly, it looks like she has moved on to other 'grounds' (Her last post was May 27th, 2008, but hopefully she will find it in her heart to allow me to join her for a 'cup of goodness' sometime soon...

Either way, you can check out her wit, and this gives me an reason to pass along her logo...

Let me know about your new stomping 'grounds' Hot Coffee Girl. I'll keep it a secret if need be...

Science Vault: Coffee As Treatment For the Plague

Its been nothing but roses lately for us coffee drinkers needing a scientific reason to validate our habit.

The past couple weeks have yielded no less than four separate studies on the beneficial health effects of drinking coffee: reducing the risk of liver cancer, protection from age-related memory decline, cutting the risk of colon cancer in half, and caffeine + exercise might contribute to lower risk of skin cancer.

With all these "real" benefits coming to light, it is amusing to discover that coffee (while once maligned as a bad habit) was once touted as a ground-breaking treatment for the Plague in 18th century Europe. Guess what? It didn't work.

(Continued by following the link...)

Post-exercise Caffeine Helps Muscles Refuel!

ScienceDaily (July 2, 2008) — Recipe to recover more quickly from exercise: Finish workout, eat pasta, and wash down with five or six cups of strong coffee.





Glycogen, the muscle's primary fuel source during exercise, is replenished more rapidly when athletes ingest both carbohydrate and caffeine following exhaustive exercise, new research shows. Athletes who ingested caffeine with carbohydrate had 66% more glycogen in their muscles four hours after finishing intense, glycogen-depleting exercise, compared to when they consumed carbohydrate alone, according to the study.



American Physiological Society (2008, July 2). Post-exercise Caffeine Helps Muscles Refuel. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/07/080701083456.htm

Roasting in Virginia (Charlottesville), who would have thought of it....

Shenandoah Joe Coffee Roasters - Tried a few cups of the local roaster's Blue Light Blend, Gotta Have More! Heard of them on the radio, but never tried their cofffee until now... I recommend you try them out...

In addition to regular varietals and blends, they also offer a wide variety of organic (shade-grown and fair-trade), and decaffeinated coffees (both chemically decaffeinated and water processed). They roast on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; they will roast and grind your coffee to order, and ship it out to you within 24 hours.

Shenandoah Joe Coffee Roasters

A Caffeine Boost for Smucker?

Smucker announced the largest acquisition in its history earlier this month. It will acquire the Folgers coffee business from Procter & Gamble

Coffee will move from zilch to account for 42% of Smucker's sales, thus eclipsing the legacy jam, baking, peanut butter, and milk businesses...

With a name like Smucker, will the coffee be any good?

Coffee Joke, A Clean One -The 23rd Cup- by Coffee Sage

Coffee Joke, A Clean One -The 23rd Cup- by Coffee Sage: "
I hope you get a kick from it. I did.

"Caffeine is my shepherd;
I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures;
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz.
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I’ll fear no Equal for thou art with me;
Thy cream and thy flavorings they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of Juan Valdez.
Thou anointest my days with vigor; my mug runneth over.
Surely flavor and aroma shall follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the House of Maxwell forever.
Amen!"

Coffeetime Coffeemaker Satisfies Anal Retentive Coffee Chemists

Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide: When I want a perfect cup of coffee, a trip to my local Dunkin' Donuts generally does the trick. But when you attempt to make the perfect cup at home using a precise blend of coffee, cream and sugar, the results can be hit or miss.

A new concept called 'Coffeetime' hopes to change all that with a system that allows users to choose precise amounts of the three elements at the push of a button. The controls are color coordinated, so if you want a darker cup of coffee, it is a simple matter of choosing the right shade.

I think the color system is a bit off and the design could use three nozzles instead of one—but the concept has some potential.

[Product Design Forums via The Design Blog]

Free Folgers Gourmet Coffee...

Click to sign-up for a free sample of coffee!

Folgers Promotional Offers

I know a how a little thing like a good cup of coffee can make a big difference on any day.