Introduction
After much delay and anticipation (well, at least my anticipation), I am finally following up with the results of the Bakery Bike Tour!
On a beautiful Saturday morning in September, me and another scientific evaluator began our carb-filled biking journey in Mountain View, CA with the goal of biking to a total of four bakeries, ending the tour in San Mateo, CA (approximately 15 miles, give or take a wrong turn or two).
For each bakery, we completed a ranking sheet evaluating two baked goods along with the overall bakery experience. This post serves as a follow-up to my original research proposal (ok ok, blog post) published in June 2025. I am continuing this important research on the theoretical framework of combining cardiovascular exercise with pastry consumption.
References
For your reference below are the evaluation tools utilized to analyze the baked goods and venues of each bakery:
Abstract
Four bakeries were evaluated across three cities. Metrics included croissant quality, specialty bakery items, venue seating, setting, and bike accessibility. While the study did not produce a statistically significant “Best Bakery,” it did produce an over consumption of carbs and a deeper appreciation for cities that invest in biking pathways.
Evaluations
STOP ONE: Midwife and the Baker (Mountain View, CA)
Items Consumed:
- Croissant
- Average Evaluator Score: 63%
- Flakey outside, fluffy inside.
- Speculated that baker used sourdough as base.
- Tasted slightly over-baked/burnt.
- Apple + Oat Streusel (Specialty Item)
- Average Evaluator Score: 68%
- Pastry dough with semi-sweet apple filling.
- Oat was missing from the product, only sprinkled on top.
- Good taste, but did not feel notable.
Venue Evaluation:
- Seating
- Outdoor only, limited tables, weather dependent.
- Setting
- Busy, lively bakery in an industrial complex.
- Bike Racks
- None.
Overall Bakery Experience:
Average Evaluator Score: 75%
Midwife and the Baker served as the opening site for the study, and therefore set the baseline for evaluator optimism and stomach capacity. The bakery was very busy, but we successfully secured outdoor seating after a brief and strategic “hover near departing patrons” method.
The seating was entirely outdoors and somewhat limited. This normally would not be cause for concern in sunny California, but this location would provide no viable shelter on the off chance there was rain. Thus, the strictly outdoor venue may impact patron attendance during the winter months. The bakery itself did not serve coffee directly, instead relying on a coffee truck parked nearby. Due to prioritization of pastry consumption, the coffee truck was not evaluated.
The variety of baked goods was decent, though the specialty item, while enjoyable, did not produce a measurable “wow” response.
Additionally, no bike racks were present, requiring us to park our bikes against a fence and maintain periodic visual surveillance.
STOP TWO: Mademoiselle Colette (Palo Alto, CA)
Items Consumed:
- Croissant
- Average Evaluator Score: 78%
- Highest score of all four croissants.
- Aesthetically appealing exterior, balanced with lots of buttery and airy interior layers and flakey exterior.
- Carrot Cake (Specialty Item)
- Average Evaluator Score: 66%
- Very moist, topped with pumpkin seeds which added a nice contrast in texture.
- Not too sweet and can see the carrot in the cake.
Venue Evaluation:
- Seating
- Small venue, limited indoor space and decent outdoor seating.
- Setting
- Boutique, French-inspired, aesthetically charming.
- Bike Racks
- Shared racks available nearby.
Overall Bakery Experience:
Average Evaluator Score: 77.5%
Mademoiselle Colette clearly aims to deliver a boutique French bakery experience, and aesthetically, it succeeds. The interior space was very small, with approximately three to four tables, supplemented by additional outdoor seating.
The pastry selection leaned toward elegant and visually refined, with a stronger focus on cakes and delicate desserts compared to traditional bakery staples. The carrot cake was objectively good, but did not create a strong enough emotional response to justify a special trip solely for its consumption.
Bike accessibility improved slightly at this location, with a few shared bike racks available within the surrounding complex. However, car parking was limited to street parking, reinforcing the hypothesis that pastry acquisition here favors pedestrians and cyclists.
STOP THREE: The Baker Next Door (Redwood City, CA)
Items Consumed:
- Croissant
- Average Evaluator Score: 71%
- Incredibly layered and fluffy interior. Good balance of flakey exterior with a airy and buttery interior.
- Exterior aesthetic was unbalanced. Did not affect taste, just appearance.
- Pan Suisse (Specialty Item)
- Average Evaluator Score: 83%
- Highest rated speciality item by evaluators.
- Unique item; Buttery, flakey, and layered exterior. Moist and sweet interior filling. Pleasant and satisfying texture. Would return to purchase again.
Venue Evaluation:
- Seating
- Spacious, comfortable indoor seating. Minimal, but present, outdoor seating.
- Setting
- Modern, minimalist.
- Bike Racks
- Yes, conveniently located right out front of building.
Overall Bakery Experience:
Average Evaluator Score: 66%
The Baker Next Door represented a noticeable shift in bakery design philosophy. The space was modern, minimalist, and significantly larger than previous locations. Strong millennial energy was detected, further supported by an excellent early-2000s music playlist, which may or may not have improved pastry perception.
This bakery offered the most comfortable seating of the study, with ample indoor space and a conveniently located bike rack directly in front, a major win for cyclist morale. The baked goods were exceptional. The quality suggested small batch production with careful attention to ingredients and technique. The Pan Suisse stood out as one of the most memorable items of the day.
STOP FOUR: Lolita Artisanal Bakery (San Mateo, CA)
Items Consumed:
- Croissant
- Average Evaluator Score: 66%
- Dense, more like a bread then a pastry item.
- Citrus flavor and sweet glaze, notably different than other
- Ricotta Cheese Pie with Orange Zest (Specialty Item)
- Average Evaluator Score: 79%
- Texture similar to a cheese cake.
- Dense and creamy with notable citrus flavor.
Venue Evaluation:
- Seating
- Comfortable, welcoming atmosphere. Plenty of interior seating. No exterior seating.
- Setting
- Argentine-inspired decor. Located directly off the El Camino, very busy and loud street. Parking in back of building.
- Bike Racks
- None.
Overall Bakery Experience:
Average Evaluator Score: 65%
Lolita was the most unique bakery of the study, offering Argentine-inspired baked goods including empanadas and alfajores (which looked excellent but were excluded due to study scope and evaluator stomach limitations).
It should be noted that since the evaluators came towards the end of the day, so the majority of the baked goods had been sold and there was a minimal selection to choose from for the specialty item.
Reaching this bakery introduced the most challenging biking conditions of the entire tour. The route from Redwood City to San Mateo lacked consistent bike lanes, forcing evaluators onto busy multi-lane roads, including stretches of El Camino Real. Obstacles included fast-moving traffic, broken pavement, debris, and the psychological stress of feeling extremely vulnerable to being hit by traffic.
This stood in stark contrast to Palo Alto’s protected “Bike Boulevard,” reinforcing the conclusion that cities investing in bike infrastructure dramatically improve the biking experience and likely increase ridership.
Lolita itself had no bike rack, forcing us to lock our bikes to nearby trees, the only point in the study where bike theft became a legitimate concern. Despite this, the bakery atmosphere was warm and inviting. Staff were exceptionally kind, and notably, pastries were served on real plates rather than disposable packaging, elevating the overall experience.
Summary of Scores:
Limitations of Study:
Several structural issues were identified in the evaluation sheet. Most notably, the croissant category contained more detailed scoring criteria than the specialty item and overall bakery experience, unintentionally weighting croissants more heavily in the final analysis. In hindsight, the scores should have been curved to provide a more accurate ranking between locations and items.
Secondly, since each speciality item is notably different from the next, it is nearly impossible to create an impartial evaluation tool that weighs each speciality item equitably. (i.e. comparing apples to oranges).
Additionally, evaluator stomach capacity declined steadily over the course of the study, which may have impacted late-stage scoring accuracy. Future studies should consider pacing strategies and/or sample size reduction.
Reflection:
Was this study free from bias? Absolutely not.
Evaluators frequently checked in with each other during scoring, introducing potential group-think effects. I can confirm with high confidence that individual scores were influenced by the presence, opinions, and pastry enthusiasm of the other evaluator.
Despite methodological flaws, I would return to each bakery for different reasons. Each offered something unique, whether it be the atmosphere, pastry quality, pastry variety, or venue ambiance. There is no bakery in this study that I would not recommend.
Additionally, throughout the study a clear geographic pattern emerged: once past Palo Alto, designated bike infrastructure declined sharply. The contrast was striking, one moment biking peacefully through protected residential “Bike Boulevard” streets, the next navigating traffic behind a Target while dodging debris and questionable sidewalk conditions. At one point, we were forced into the flow of El Camino traffic, which can best be described as “motivational but unsafe.”
This supports the broader urban planning hypothesis, that when cities invest in protected bike lanes, people are more likely to bike. When they do not, people continue to utilize vehicle transportation.
I hope this study inspires others to go and support their local bakeries and explore how to navigate their communities using bike transportation!
The Dagmar Perspective 
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