With my urinary tract infection out of the way, my mouth decided it was time for its own, and along came a week of heavy pain relievers till I could get to my wife’s dentist (mine was – I hate to say it because she’s a lovely person – useless) and an emergency root canal. Now I’ve got a sawed-off molar, but at least I can ride my bike and suck cool air without giving myself a brain hemorrhage.
But I haven’t been on the bike because I’ve been in Paris. See for yourself.
When Shoko and I go anywhere ‘cultural’ there’s usually a trade-off. In this case her ‘John Paul II getting hit by a meteor’ was countered with my ‘cycling coffee shop’.
Steel Cyclewear and Coffeeshop is the first (and only, I think) ‘cycling cafe’ in Paris, which might seem a little astonishing since there are more than several cafes in this city and cycling has a bit of a history here, too, you might have heard.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect with Steel, but their name led me to believe they might be a kit maker, like Café du Cycliste in Nice. And as soon as we walked in and saw what they had to eat, it was clear that food wasn’t the main attraction, like La Fabrica in Girona. Intrigued, we ordered some (delicious) cake and coffees and studied some more.
As luck would have it, a group of slim Italians entered the coffee shop just after us and began a long conversation with the young owner/manager. I left my latte and wandered around the store, looking at their interesting and unique kit (did you know Katusha has their own branded cycling wear line?) and bike accessories. Then I overheard the magic word more than once – Steel was selling lots of stuff (including a magazine that they might be publishing themselves), but the main commodity was ‘lifestyle’, which is, I suppose, what brought us there in the first place.
You can also find helmets, shoes and everything in between, so if you’re ever in the 11th (you could combine your visit with a brew pub and make a day of it), stop in and have the only good coffee you’ll probably get in your time in Paris. Oh, and bring along your credit card – ‘lifestyle’ does not always come cheap.
The Vicious Cycle 
I am not classy enough to aspire to a lifestyle so I will have to stick to home made coffee and scones. I am glad that your medical inconveniences have been cured.
You could try a man-bun, at least. I think you had hair the last time I saw you.
I don’t fancy the single life that such a haircut would ensure.
What’s with the man-buns? God Bless it, that sucks.
A cycling lifestyle café in Paris? I expect the man-bun is an ‘essential’ on the job application form 😉
It will go away soon. I just hope the artisanal beer doesn’t go with them.
Good Lord I hope.
Not been to Paris for a few years, but I’ll make a mental note of this one. I may sit a few seats away from the skinny Italians. I bet they were good looking and tanned too. Pah!
All that, and well-dressed, too.
Gerry, next time check out Le Peleton in the 4th, and KM0.paris in the 17th (the latter is more a fancy bike shop/atelier/training center with a little cafe attached)!
https://www.facebook.com/lepelotoncafe
http://www.km0.paris/
Believe it or not, there more bike cafes in Paris. Next time, you can check out:
4th arr: https://www.facebook.com/lepelotoncafe – I know their coffee is excellent, have yet to try the waffles.
17th arr: http://www.km0.paris/ (more like uber-fancy bike shop with little cafe attached)
It’s good to have informed people reading this blog. It helps the uninformed writer greatly! Next time I’m up there (when the cats need sitting..?) we’ll be heading to these two places.
Did you have a chance to look at the Search & State kit that they carry? Been curious about them for some time now but haven’t had a chance to get there when in Paris…
Can you chew now?
I don’t think I saw that one when I was there, no. I kind of liked the look of Pas Normal Studios, though. Chewing now, mainly because he killed my tooth. Thanks for asking!