The best free bike to work day breakfast?

For those of you who live, bike or work in Santa Cruz County, Happy Autumn Bike to Work Day. I watched this group of Easton / Bell Sports / Giro employees biking up to their office in Scotts Valley from Santa Cruz this morning. They’re following me to the most awesome breakfast station in the county.


Giro employees bike to work in Scotts Valley, California

Those who participate in Bike to Work Day know that you’ll find a pastry or maybe sliced fruit along with a slug of cheap coffee at the typical Bike to Work Day breakfast station.

The first time I helped to organize a bike to work day event in Longmont, Colorado in 2005, we went a little crazy and had a full on pancake breakfast. The Columbine Lions Club provided the grill and the cooks, IHOP donated several gallons of pancake batter.

I also noticed Latinos in jeans riding past the Longmont Civic Center who watched with curiosity but didn’t know if they could participate or not with all of us Lycra-covered gringos. That’s when I first realized the issue of invisible cyclists and pushed DRCOG – the regional Bike to Work Day sponsor – to try some Spanish language outreach. It was a clumsy effort, I still suck at cross cultural outreach and I still ask embarrassing and insensitive questions, but I hope I’m trying to get better at it.


Giro employees on Autumn Bike to Work Day 2013

Two Bike to Work Days later I’m in California enjoying thousands of Calories worth of free coffee cake from Hobee’s California Restaurants, a major Bike to Work Day sponsor in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I work in the Bay Area but live in Santa Cruz, so a couple of years ago I start to check out the somewhat more laid back Santa Cruz BTWD scene. And that’s when I discovered Mollie’s Country Cafe. You show up on a bike, sit down in their outside patio with a dozen other smelly cyclists, and a huge plate of a freshly cooked egg, ham & cheese sandwich with a helping of country potatoes magically appears in front of you.


Andrew and Benny enjoy a free egg sandwich from Mollie's Country Cafe in Scotts Valley

That’s Andrew and Benny. Andrew owns Scotts Valley Cycle Sport on the other side of the parking lot from Mollie’s. Benny works as one of his mechanics. The breakfast was free, but we tipped the waitress because she works her apron strings off to feed us hungry cyclists.

Fox Racing Shox also made a sizable appearance at Mollie’s this morning. They manufacture their mountain bike shocks in Watsonville, but Fox’s office staff work in Scotts Valley.


Fox Racing Shox employees on Autumn Bike to Work Day 2013

What’s your best Bike to Work Day breakfast?

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.