I am with you, Ann. I love my coffee. The best part of the weekly long bike ride is planning which coffee shop to have the mid-ride refuelling stop. A coffee and a big fat muffin does wonders for the 2nd half performance. And really its no more expensive than all those gels and powerbars everyone is advocating. Also you are supporting an important part of the economy through the economic downturn. If that doesn't make you feel noble nothing will.

11:45 am, my rubbish bin shows evidence that I've thrown away four coffee stirring sticks to this point in the day.

I love coffee, but I hate getting it in paper cups. Some cafes need to get this sorted! And please - provide bike mags to read while drinking the heavenly brew. Coffee Culture in chch does - but not too many others. come on guys...

By your own admission (so I cannot be accused of not playing nicely) your role in most races appears to be that of 'tail end Charlie'. On that basis you should possibly be reconsidering your choice of performing enhancing drug du jour. I suspect, but have no statistics to prove it, that frequent loo stops during the race reduce it beneficial effects.

I am of course no expert in such matters but I am sure there are members of this community who can advise on legal ways of enhancing your performance. Have you tried a slug of Avgas and a match? Senna pods can also put a spring in the stride.

I had to give up caffiene. Allergic to it.

I very rarely have coffee now... it seems to have way too much effect on me.

I used to work in a cafe when I was in highschool, and have espresso shots every day, and it wouldn't affect me at all - then somewhere during university I developed this wicked sensitivity to it, so now the humble cappuccino causes me to become a hyperactive, wired, constantly shaking mess for the next 8 hours. Which is a bit sad, because I really like the taste.

Personal favourite is chocolate coated coffee beans - yum, but oh so dangerous.

Coffee. For some reason it doesn't agree with me. It sends me absolutely manic for half an hour or so. Everything seems bright and fascinating and interesting. Just as I'm starting to really enjoy feeling so fantastic the nausea hits. If it's a really strong cup then the nausea will be accompanied by a nice bit of anxiety.

Having said that, I did manage to consume the occasional caffeine-enhanced gel during marathon training without my stomach exploding. I'm not quite sure how I got away with it. Perhaps it's something in the coffee specifically which sets me off.

In a rare moment of introspection I realise that I am probably responsible for the wave of apathy affecting your blog. I have p****d off so many of your regulars that it is only the ones left with Rhino hides who remain.

I shall therefore head for Moata's blog idle site, aand try and empty her blog of contributors whilst you try to repair the wreckage left behind.

It's OK David and Amy, you can come out now!

I do love coffee, but it has a... um... "diuretic" effect on me... The first time I did the Taupo bike race I made the mistake of having coffee with breakfast. The following unscheduled pit stop less than an hour into the race was embarrassing:-)

Ann when you add up your yearly $ spent on the stuff it's scary, but I'm guessing it works out to only one cup a day? My boss & I used to have a regular Fuel coffee fix 2 or even 3 times a day, and at $3.50 for a regular sized coffee it mounts up FAST. His solution was to fins a blend of plunger coffee that he liked, and keep a plunger at his desk. Mine was discovering that the (free!) coffee machine in our staff kitchen could actually make a drinkable brew. Not great, but OK. It helped that the quality at our local Fuel cart went downhill badly, it gave us an incentive to look elsewhere.

Love the aroma, but unfortunately coffee disagrees with me too! And I could do with all the help I can get with training. Whew! Ben has lifted his game in the last couple of blogs :-) - seems like the fish aren't biting at the moment......