Dandenong Ranges Coffee Loop

A 73 km loop

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Why this ride

Scenery first, traffic last, with checkpoints that make sense on a bike. Out of Melbourne and back again: 73 km, roughly 1 h 20 in the saddle. Long stretches are under trees.

Roadbook

1. Melbourne start

   Melbourne rewards anyone who stops long enough to get lost in it. The grid of the central city, laid out in the 1830s on the north bank of the Yarra River, hides a maze of laneways full of cafes, street art and tiny bars, and the coffee here is taken more seriously than almost anywhere on earth. Around the centre spread leafy inner suburbs, parks and the great sweep of Port Phillip Bay, and the city's character owes much to waves of migration from Greece, Italy, Vietnam and beyond.

   The land is the country of the Wurundjeri and other peoples of the Kulin nation, who lived around the bay and the river for tens of thousands of years before the British arrived. The gold rushes of the 1850s made Melbourne rich almost overnight, and for a time it was one of the wealthiest cities in the world, which is why its Victorian architecture, arcades and boulevards are so grand. Sport is close to a religion: the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australian rules football, the Australian Open and the Formula One Grand Prix around Albert Park all draw huge crowds.

   Riding in the city has its own rules. Trams run through the centre and the inner suburbs, and their tracks are slippery in the wet and can catch a narrow tyre. At some intersections in the central business district, drivers turning right must make a hook turn, moving to the far left and waiting until the lights change before turning across, a local quirk that confuses visitors. Lane filtering is legal for motorcyclists in Victoria under conditions, but the traffic can be dense and impatient.

   The Phillip Island rides head south and east around the bay, past the suburbs and through farmland, across the bridge at San Remo and onto the island, home of the Grand Prix circuit where MotoGP races each year, and of the famous little penguins that waddle ashore at dusk. The coast roads are lovely, with views across Western Port and Bass Strait, but often windy, and the weather can turn quickly.

   Melbourne is known for four seasons in one day: a hot morning can become a cold, wet afternoon as a southerly change blows through. Pack layers whatever the forecast says. Fuel, food and coffee are everywhere, and it would be a waste not to end the ride in a laneway cafe or one of the city's many excellent restaurants.

2. Dandenong food
3. Melbourne finish

Where this sits

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