THE HUB, REDBOURN

Visit this bijou cycling cafe in the green and pleasant Chiltern Hills for great coffee and banter

“Lovely cycling themed decor and friendly and polite staff. The coffee is excellent too!” Peter Kerridge

“Great homemade cakes and good coffee, I limit myself to one visit a week just for weight purposes” Steven H

“Lindy’s chocolate cake – oh my!” Blonde_Rach

Compact, laney and green, the Chiltern Hills are the day-ride haunt of many a Home Counties cyclist. At its north end in the well-to-do triangle of St Albans–Hemel Hempstead– Harpenden, is a cosy bike cafe with the core skills: classy coffee, exquisite cakes, front-room vibe.

Owner Simon set it up in 2012, frustrated that he couldn’t find enough decent bikefriendly coffee opportunities on his own rides. Sibling shop, the Bike Loft, opened a few doors away in 2015. Simon divides his time between the two, while wife-to-be Lindy oversees the cafe.

His email signature describes him as ‘King of Banter’, and you won’t go short on lively conversation when Simon’s about – he had an eventful career involved in international road and track racing, as well as 10 years working in Africa and the Middle East.

The cafe’s half a dozen trained baristas are particularly proud of the coffee – the machine is a La Marzocco, which costs as much as a high-end road bike – and all the cakes are homemade.

Comfy sofas, books and magazines are there for browsing with bike memorabilia at the front, and basic spares and mechanical assistance are available.

At any time there’ll be a range of cyclists and bikes from e-assist to town trundlers, but many a machine that costs almost as much as a Marzocco. hubcoffeebikes.com

SIGNATURE DISH

Carrot cake, or coffee & walnut cake, with coffee; £5

SHOWSTOPPER

Cheese toastie, when available!

I’M A COFFEE SNOB, HOW’S THEIR FLAT WHITE?

Even Aussie and Kiwi visitors are impressed: Redchurch blend from Allpress Coffee; £2.60

KEY STRAVA SEGMENT

Pedley Hill, 1.32 miles, average grade 3.2%, elevation gain 226ft, 76,305 attempts by 14,844 people KOM Euan Woodliffe 3.28, 20/08/2020 QOM Anna Henderson 4.44, 17/02/2019