This morning I took one of my singlespeed bikes out to enjoy the Brisbane River Loop. I stopped at the Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar to get a mid-ride caffeine fix and sample their coffee brew.
Long black coffee and my singlespeed at the Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar
Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar is located at the northern end of the Go Between Bridge along the Bicentennial Bikeway, under the western side of the Coronation Drive overpass.
The Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar is in the middle of the Bicentennial Bikeway, with the Brisbane CBD to the east and Milton, Toowong and St Lucia to the west.
The popular cycling Brisbane River Loop crosses the Go Between Bridge and drops you at the café’s door approaching from the east, while there is an underpass under Coronation Drive only metres to the west of the bar. Basically, the Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar is at the apex of many of Brisbane’s most popular cycle routes.
Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar baristas Will and Helen
As I approached, I was greeted by baristas Will and Helen. Helen said my bike looked ‘fast’. This is probably a line she uses on all incoming cyclists, but it gave me a smile that someone who sees thousands of bikes every day would still bother to notice my $200 parts bin singlespeed built around a frame from Cell Bikes.
The coffee at the Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar is decent. Would I ride 30 km just to drink the coffee? Probably not. Would I ride 30 km to drink the coffee while being at the apex of Brisbane’s cycling culture? Hell yeah! With great views across the Brisbane River and a never ending stream of bike candy passing only metres away, there is a lot to like here.
Bikes of all shapes and sizes stopped at the Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar
In the short time I took to drink my long black coffee, I saw a constant stream of multi-geared drop bar road bikes, some amazing high end bikes, el-cheapo beaters, mountain bikes, fixies/singlespeeds, a couple on recliner trikes, kids’ bikes, and multi-gear flat bar bikes.
As I sat sipping my coffee at the Bikeway Coffee & Juice Bar, basking like a lizard in the early morning warm spring sunshine, I could not help but smile and soak in Brisbane’s cycling culture. Bicycling in Brisbane seems like it is finally coming of age.