The Bicycle Nomad Café attached to The Velo, bike shop, offers a variety of coffees and teas. They support Arizona-Based business by stocking, Press Coffee Roasters and Maya Tea Company. The shop is located in the heart of the Downtown Phoenix Arts District on Roosevelt Row. The shop being attached to The Velo creates a unique mix of coffee and biking. The Velo also features a rotation of local artist and photographers.
Pedal after Pedal: The Foundation of Bicycle Nomad Cafe By Alison Cutler
PHOENIX — Five years ago, Bicycle Nomad Cafe Owner Erick Cedeno was just that: a nomad. Cedeno traveled all over America and beyond on his bike using nothing but maps to guide him. He doesn’t travel with music, either. “I only travel with my thoughts,” he said. Some of his biggest trips include his journey from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico. He also decided to bike the path of the Underground Railroad from New Orleans to Niagara Falls, Canada. Somewhere in the vast expanse of miles, came the idea to open the Bicycle Nomad Cafe. In October 2015, Cedeno put on the breaks right in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Bicycle Nomad Cafe was born tucked into the Velo Bike Shop. “I was looking for a place I could call home,” Cedeno said. “I didn’t have a community as a nomad, I was part of everything.” The signature quality of the Bicycle Nomad Cafe is their eccentric drink menu. “The name nomad brings ideas from different places,” he said. Their house drink is the ‘Cocospresso’, where espresso is made with Thai coconut water and served cold inside a coconut. Unlike other types of espresso, this drink is rich and sweet, taking the edge off the shot. Cedeno discovered the Cocospresso in Jamaica, when he noticed a man drinking out of a coconut and asked him what it was. “I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I tried it and I fell in love with it.” Even though it’s so close to the Arizona State University campus, The Bicycle Nomad Cafe doesn’t have as much traffic from college students. Cedeno figured it’s just because there are so many other coffee shops in the area, and theres a lot of competition for coffee shops. He would love more college students to become part of the customer population at the Nomad, but isn’t upset about the competition. “Competition is good,” he explained. “As long as people come in and we leave them happy, that is all we can do.” He did think there was something students could learn from slowing down and being in the moment, which is a big message in the Bicycle Nomad Cafe. He pointed out the three words painted on the floor of the cafe, “Be here now.” He compared biking to being a freshman in college, and looking ahead to the next four years, and how it can be overwhelming if people look at the whole picture at once. “Its the same thing with traveling by bicycle, you just go step by step.” He wanted to create a community within the bike shop and run a cafe where not just coffee is brewed, but conversations, too. “Coffee and the bicycle go way back,” he said, describing the Tour de France in the early 1900s, where bikers would stop to refuel and converse with other participants before continuing in the race. Cedeno said starting a business and beginning this new chapter in his life has showed him how strong he can be. He is elated to have had the Bicycle Nomad open for three years and counting, and looks forward to building the community in the future.