What a Ride! Caffeine Cruise (Season Opener)

It's been a long time since we hosted a Caffeine Cruise. 

Of course, 2020 wasn't anyone's favorite year when it came to being social. An attempt to host a Cruise in February this year had to be cancelled at the very last minute due to fog, and with increased restrictions we decided to play it safe and wait for better weather after summer. 

That time has finally come around and we couldn't wait any longer! A date was set, posters were printed and arrangements were made. We were optimistic about attendance, but tempered our expectations. 

It turns out that you've been waiting for the return of the Caffeine Cruise even more than we have, because this morning's ride was the biggest in Cafe Rider history! 

The Cafe was open at 5:30 a.m. sharp and our baristas waited to see how many riders would show. Lo and behold, the first bike showed up at 6 sharp. By 6:30, we had a healthy number of attendees looking forward to the first ride of the season. Then the IMRG (Indian Motorcycle Riders Group) showed up with more than 40 motorcycles! 

A quick briefing later, we were ready to go. Let's ride! 

Through the city we went, led by Fahim. Avoiding traffic lights and tight spots, we traced an arc through Dubai before heading onto Sheikh Zayed Road. It was a truly special moment, seeing close to 80 motorcycles riding in a group followed a by a few attendees in cars. 

Eventually we rolled into Motor City and proceeded to wake the entire neighborhood (sorry!) before heading into the Dubai Autodrome. Our destination was the newly-opened CARS Cafe, where a familiar face greeted us - our good friend Anwar! 

Coffees were had and friends were caught up with (both old and new) before we decided to call it a day and head back to Cafe Rider. 

A big "Thank You" to all who attended! Special thanks also to Eddie from IMRG and to Rami and Marwan from the Knights UAE for their invaluable assistance in keeping everything well-coordinated. As the weather continues to improve, you can be sure that we'll be planning more Cruises very soon, with a farther-out destination in mind. 

Stay tuned!