With a few days to spare between the Festival of the Plastic Tree and the my return to the salt mines, the prospect of getting out for a recreational ride or two beckons. So the cover story on the December–January edition of Ride On magazine really caught my eye: Café de Wheels
—a guide to bike friendly cafés in Melbourne. I'm always up for a good coffee, but I'll not admit that almost all of our recreational rides are planned around the coffee stop (I'll not admit it, no matter how true). Anyway, the cafés on the Ride On list are:
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Cog Bike Café on the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail in Mt Evelyn,
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Café Racer in St Kilda,
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The Belgian Beer Café on St Kilda Rd,
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The Hidden Café at the rear of Boyer's Nursery in Glen Iris,
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kanteen on the River in South Yarra, and not ignoring Lygon St,
It's a good list, but it's naturally limited by the space available in the magazine. To this end, I'd like to offer up a few more suggestions. But first, I've got to ask myself what makes a good café for cyclists? And I find myself making the following criteria:
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Being near where people want to ride (kind of obvious really),
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Having good coffee (again, rather obvious),
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Al fresco seating (so it's OK to sit around in sweaty gear and you can watch over the bikes), and
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Secure bike parking (you can either park your bike near your table or there are good secure fixtures for locking-up).
And that's about it really. So, in no particular order, here are another six (or seven) possible destinations coffee stops:
Maribyrnong Park Boathouse
Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Ponds [Melways 28 D8]
The Boathouse is an ideal stopping point right on the Maribyrnong River Trail, with views over a lazy bend in the Maribyrnong River from either a large indoor dining area and a large or the sunny terrace. Lean your bike against the fence and enjoy.
Studley Park Boathouse
Studley Park, Kew [Melways 2D F8]
Right on the Yarra Boulevard and a minor detour from the Capital City Trail / Main Yarra Trail, the Studley Park Boathouse stands in a peaceful oasis of bushland that could be hundreds of miles from the city. Well, it's peaceful as long as the people in the hire boats aren't too rowdy!
Hahndorf's Fine Chocolates
Bulleen Rd, North Balwyn [Melways 32 C12]
Riversdale Rd, Surrey Hills [Melways 60 K2]
Actually there are Hahndorf's outlets all over the place (including Black Rock, Caulfield South, Croydon South, Doncaster East, Elwood, Newport, Malvern East, and Montrose) but I'm only familiar—for now—with the ones at North Balwyn (just off the Koonung Creek Trail) and Surrey Hills (a major but worthwhile detour from the Gardiners Creek Trail).
It's not entirely true that the only reason we go to Hahndorf's is because they bring around a sample tray of chocolates with the coffee—it also helps that their coffee is good and they're friendly to cyclists. So friendly that the Surrey Hills branch has been known to open its side gate to allow larger groups of riders to bring their bikes around to the rear courtyard.
Jells Park Teahouse
Jells Park, Wheelers Hill [Melways 71 K7]
Pretty much smack in the middle of Jells Park, the Teahouse (recently rebranded "Madeline's") boasts an uninterrupted view across rolling parkland to the Dandenong Ranges, from both indoor and outdoor tables. The Dandenong Creek Trail runs through the park, and Scotchmans Creek Trail also ends there.
Phoenix Park Café
Phoenix Park, Malvern East [Melways 69 D2]
Right beside the Scotchmans Creek Trail, the Phoenix Park Café is a bit of an undiscovered gem offering good coffee delivered with friendly service. Adults can settle back behind large noth-facing windows or outside under umbrellas while junior cyclists and passengers enjoy the enormous adventure playground.
CERES Community Environment Park
Lee St, Brunswick East [Melways 30 B7]
There are many good reasons for taking the picturesque Merri Creek Trail, not least of which is the prospect of coffee at the CERES Café. It's a very popular spot in good weather and even with plenty of seating on a wide verandah and in the large, shady rear garden, you should plan to arrive early to get a good seat—waiting times can be long-ish as lunch approaches! Your best bet it to park your bike against the bluestone wall out the front and nab a spot on the verandah. BrunsBUG's bike recycling workshop is located directly opposite.
That's probably enough for now. Hopefully there's at least one new (or renewed) idea there to suit your next ride. (Incidentally, most of these appear in the new Sip-N-Cycle section of the Bike Paths Guide.) And if you've got any suggestions for good coffee haunts, please don't keep 'em to yourself—the comments section is open…
Lots of places to go but assuming you are staying in central Melbourne:
East along the Yarra River Trail (north side of river) to the north end of the Anniversary Trail. South along Anniversary Trail to Gardiners Creek Trail. Head west along Gardiners Creek Trail back to the Yarra River trail - take south side back into town. About 50km all up. Take careful notes before you head out as it's easy to get lost.
For something less suburban, take a train to Lilydale station and head over to the Warburton Trail. Out to Warburton and back is about 80 Km. But you can stay over night there.
To get right out of town, take a train to Wangaratta and ride the Murray to the Mountains Trail. It goes nowhere near the Murray but it's hoped one day it will. Lots of good places to stay and some wine tastings along the way are possible. Would need about three days to do it justice - may be possible in two?
You can get a bike next to the Yarra River just down from Federation Square.
I know nothing about the company or their bikes. I'm sure there are plenty of others around renting bikes and some do bike riding tours.
Hi, I am a newcomer to your blog and have been enjoying it tremendously! Particularly those sections about routes and trails in and around Melbourne - cycle friendly coffee houses sound about right to me!
Sorry for the cheeky question, but would you be able to advise me - I am visiting Melbourne (from the UK) in March (13th - 18th) and am trying to decide how best to explore Melbourne and surrounding areas, and I am quite sure that a day's bike ride would be fantastic! Would you be willing to recommend routes and possibly bike rental shops?
Comments
Yes, I agree: there are plenty of options. My suggestions are:
See this entry for more details.