The central hub to it all, of course is the scone. Fruit or plain, buttered or jammy, crumbly or dense, hot or cold.
Then there are the cakes and sandwiches and the soups, teas and coffees.
They are served up in busy high streets, tucked-away rural retreats, garden centres and even galleries.
Most are lovely – honest – but just occasionally something will put a spoke in it and you just feel like getting on your bike.
Did I mention that Siempre bills itself as a bicycle café?
And it definitely doesn’t fall into the latter category of wanting to flee.
It has just about everything and anything to do with bikes – maintenance classes, clothing, accessories, servicing. And the café.
Not surprisingly cycle lovers make up a chunk of the clientele but if even you’ve not parked yourself on a saddle since childhood you’re just as welcome.
We hear that there are special weekday offers for mums and toddlers, for instance, as well as there being themed nights and more.
And you needn’t arrive on two wheels. Four is good, two feet are fine and, as it’s literally right next to the entrance for Kelvinhall station in Glasgow’s West End, the subway’s OK too.
When we pop in on a busy weekend lunchtime The Beatles’ Penny Lane is playing which is always a good start.
There are a couple of areas; regular tables by the café at the back and benches towards the front where every second person seems to be tapping away on a laptop.
The fare on offer is organic where possible and freshly-made to order.
And a quick glance at the counter reveals one thing – the fresh baking is never going to win any prizes for neatness on the Great British Bake Off.
But boy does it look scrummy.
The scones are pretty much anything but round. They are misshapen beasts but very tempting nonetheless, so we decide we have to check out both a fruit and a plain.
The millionaire’s shortbread looks like it’s been squished by a road roller but, like the scones, irresistible.
The chocolate fudge cake, though, is indeed neat and cake-shaped so we treat ourselves to a slice of that as well.
We pick one of the benches by the purple, pink and black-painted walls of the bike section.
Cycles hang off those walls as well as impossibly tight-looking Lycra outfits, pumps and helmets.
It’s all very random and quirky but frankly it works.
The coffee comes with a bit of tablet on the saucer and the scones are nicely warmed and served with little random jars of jam as well as butter.
Both are tasty and light but a little too crumbly.
The millionaire’s shortbread is equally messy but really tasty as is the chocolate cake.
Fun, funky and at £13 for the lot this cycle café won’t put you on the road to ruin.
162 Dumbarton Rd, Glasgow, Strathclyde G11 6XE
WARM WELCOME 9/10 LOCATION, LOCATION 9/10 SCONE SCORE 8/10
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