A passport to the greatest cycling cafés!

Refuelling in Sweden

Fika is a Swedish word that doesn't really have a direct English translation. The closest is probably coffee or tea break, but fika usually also contains some small sweet things like chocolate balls or cinnamon buns! Anyway, we digress.

We can all agree that Fika is a great idea in every way, and why not combine that great idea with a great sport like... you guessed it.... cycling.

But how do you find these perfect cycling cafés on your route?

Cycling + coffee = a match made in heaven

Well that brings us to our friend Simon who rides with Cykelintresset, a local Umeå cycling club.

He combined Fika and cycling into something beautiful. He named it “The Fika Passport”

We asked Simon to tell us a bit more how it works:

“The fika passport is an initiative from the cycling club ”Cykel Intresset” in Umeå, Sweden. When Covid arrived and restrictions were introduced, we attempted to create a small community around the socially distanced rides that many took part in during this special (infamous?) summer.

It become so popular, we decided to do it this year too, even though restrictions have eased.”

“The fika passport is a simple map with suggestions for good cycling routes that pass by many of the good cafes in Umeå and the surrounding area. We have tried to find coffee stops located along or nearby country roads that are well suited for cycling. When you visit a place on the map, you mark it on your map and at the end of Summer, you send it in and can win prizes.

The more places you have marked on the map, the more tickets in our lottery.”

“Maps for the fika passport are available to buy 2021 in Umeå at the following shops: Team Sportia, ByBike and Bike & Ski for 100 Swedish Crowns.”

“You can also download the maps on Strava. Here is the link: https://www.cykelintresset.se/fikapasset/ ”

“Of course, you are free to visit the sam place more than once. If you discover any roadworks or want to share tips or information, feel free to send an email to cykelintresset@gmail.com and we will update the page.

We plan to be able to run some coffee sessions as club rides this summer since covid has calmed down and the restrictions have been eased.”

Thank you Simon for this great inspiration. And we wonder do you, our fantasic #sigrfiends have something similar to share from your area? How do you find the best cafés when cycling?