Coffee Brake Mug a Cool Bit of Swag
We get all manner of emails promoting various gimmicky, head-scratching and sometimes simply bizarre products ostensibly aimed at cyclists. So when a message from a coffeebrakemug.com address 
arrived a couple days ago, I was dubious at best. Turns out, the product they’re pushing kind of touches all the bases for me (and likely for any roadie who is also a coffee drinker). It’s a stainless steel, insulated coffee mug with a cool name and logo, and a handle milled to look like a brake lever. The company is raising funds via Kickstarter for the next generation Coffee Brake Mug (the 4th iteration of the mug).
Founder Ben Clark and his wife, Lisa, are former owners of a bike shop in Minnesota. It was there, according to Ben, that he got the inspiration for the mug:
“Our accidentally-genius stainless steel mug was born out of tragedy. I wiped out on an icy street. Sure, that hurt. But way worse: I lost my coffee! I was a bike shop owner in Minneapolis and did the first thing that came to mind. I replaced the cheap plastic parts of my mug with a spare bike brake lever.”
So, if you’re a roadie who loves coffee almost as much as riding, check out the company’s Kickstarter page, which features a humorous video re-enacting that seminal moment of inspiration.
—John Marsh
Marinoni Film Opens in Select U.S. Cities
According to filmmaker Tony Girardin, “When people ask me how long it took to make this film, I often say one year to film, one year to edit, and before all that,
three years to convince Giuseppe Marinoni to participate in the project. It was like luring a mythical creature from its den, and having a camera on hand to capture it. Well worth all the effort.”
The film, “Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame,” is now playing in select U.S. cities. Click http://firstrunfeatures.com/marinoni_playdates.html for a list.
The film tells the story of cycling icon Giuseppe Marinoni, who found his calling when he transitioned from champion racer to master bike craftsman.
Born in Italy in 1937, Marinoni was a champion cyclist as a young man. In 1965, he was invited to Canada to participate in a race, and after meeting the love of his life, decided to stay in Canada for good, where he dominated competitive cycling for years.
When his racing career came to a natural end, Marinoni started tailoring fine steel bicycle frames from his shop in Montreal, where he has been perfecting his craft for over 40 years, earning him cult status in the world of cycling.
The Italian-Canadian has a cult following among roadies for his handmade bicycles (among that cult, count RBR’s own The Wheel Builder columnist Mike Tierney).
Two Deaths in the WorldTour Highlight Safety, Health
Last week saw the deaths of two riders in the UCI WorldTour.
25-year old Belgian rider Antoine Demoitié (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) died March 27 after crashing during the Gent-Wevelgem race and being run over by a race motorcycle. The day before, 22-year-old Belgian rider Daan Myngheer suffered a heart attack during the Criterium International race in Corsica; he died two days later.
Both the International Association of Professional Cyclists (CPA) and the UCI have called for an inquirty into Demoitié’s death and into safety in the pro peloton, in general.
“In this moment of grief and sorrow we do not want a debate, but we do feel a lot of frustration,” said CPA president Gianni Bugno. “We have always maintained that the cyclists’ safety must be first in the discussions of the different key players in cycling. We do not want to accuse anyone, but to reflect on the responsibilities of everyone to ensure that attention, awareness and control over safety standards are maintained to a very high level.”
It’s not the first time an incident like this has happened in a pro race, and there have also been a spate of incidents over the past year where pro riders have been struck by automobiles while training or racing.
It is a sobering reminder to all roadies that safety is a paramount concern on the roads. Even the pros are not immune to safety issues that affect all of us.
And the death of Daan Myngheer, an otherwise healthy 22-year-old, of a heart attack is yet another reminder that heart health is simply not something we can take for granted just because of our cycling “fitness.” (See our recent Heart Health Issue.)
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