Blog posts

Origin story

It’s possible that Pannekoek has been 22 years in the making. Having ‘discovered’ (personally at least) coffee in 2002 and enjoyed a range of single origin coffees from Whittards my coffee habits have developed through cafetieres, to Mokka pots, V60s, an aeropress and an array of third wave beans.

Almost in tandem with this (pun very much intended), I purchased my first road bike (since you ask, a 2000 Cannondale Caad 3 with a quill headset and Tiagra groupset) in order to investigate the, at the time, novel concept of cross training.

Cycling soon overtook running as my primary sport and, with the intertwining nature of coffee and cycling, I soon found myself immersed in both scenes. Through on-going coffee research (read, drinking coffee in different locations) and a continued interest (possible obsession) with bike set ups and fits, a possible new career option revealed itself, and when the opportunity to set up a mobile cafe in Oxford came up, it was just the nudge that was required….

Background

As mentioned previously, I have spent the last 20 years riding and racing an array of bikes. Initially I raced on the road, progressing through Regional and National races and even the occasional Premier Calendar. Having heard about the mysteries of mainland European racing, I also ventured into the Belgian Kermesse scene and even managed to win a couple of Primes before fighting for minor placings in windswept, technical circuit races.

Beyond the road scene I have completed the Mallorca 312, the 5 day Pyrenean Haute Route, the Amstel Gold 245k sportive and a ridiculously hard, and hot traverse across the country.

In order to diversify my experiences I also qualified for the GB age-group Duathlon team drawing on all my riding history as well as my first endurance sport love, running…..

Why Bike Fitting?

As previously mentioned, I’ve ridden road bikes (predominantly, although mountain, cyclocross and fixed bikes have also featured) for the past 20 years. Over this time my understanding of how and why a bike fits has moved from being put in a decent position by a knowledgeable and legit friend to undertaking courses in bike fitting courses in addition to (over?) analysing modern trends and concepts. At seemingly random intervals I have also had bike fits and always found them to be incredibly beneficial both in terms of the actual changes and the discussions around bike fitting in general and potential future alterations.

As much as there are guidelines and rules, the bike fitting concept revolves around dialogue, discussion, ideas and experimentation, and it is this part that I feel adds the most benefit. Having the opportunity to inform people about alterations, enable them to understand why changes have been made and weighing up the potential benefits is hugely rewarding. I truly value the relationships built up with people and the on-going discussions that ensue. Bike fitting is very much a process rather than a finite event, and allowing people to realise their potential, in whatever form that may take, is the ultimate aim.