Grampians Mountain Sweep

A 346 km loop

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Why this ride

Scenery first, traffic last, with checkpoints that make sense on a bike. A 346 km loop that starts and ends near Diamond Creek, about 6 h 18 of riding. It goes by way of Romsey, near Bacchus Marsh, Saint Leonards and Hampton. The climb of the day is in Narre Warren. Long stretches are under trees.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Diamond Creek fuel

   Diamond Creek is a leafy outer suburb in Nillumbik, north-east of Melbourne, where the city begins to dissolve into hills, bush and small farms. The creek itself runs through the town, and the area has a long association with goldmining, artists and people seeking a bit of space. Neighbouring Eltham is known for its mud-brick houses and the Montsalvat artists' colony.

   As a start and fuel stop, this is a practical choice. There are filling stations in town and in nearby Greensborough and Hurstbridge, and once you head north towards Kinglake or east towards the Yarra Valley, services become fewer and further apart. Top up here, grab a coffee, and you are ready for some of the best riding near the city.

   The roads radiating from Diamond Creek are a big part of the appeal. Heading north through Hurstbridge, the route to Kinglake climbs into the ranges with flowing bends and increasingly forested surrounds. The Kinglake area was devastated by the Black Saturday fires of February 2009, and you can still see the scars and the regrowth in the forest. Riding through, it is impossible not to feel the weight of what happened there.

   Traffic around Diamond Creek can be busy at commuter times, with narrow roads and a single-line railway crossing that can hold you up. Wildlife is a real hazard further out, and in summer bushfire risk can close roads or make the ranges an unwise destination on extreme days. Check conditions before you go, then enjoy the quick transition from suburb to genuine country.

2. Near Romsey, on the way back swim

   The Macedon Ranges rise abruptly from the plains north-west of Melbourne, a cluster of old volcanic hills covered in forests, gardens and farmland, and this stop is on their north-eastern side, near the small town of Romsey. Just to the west stands Hanging Rock, a jagged volcanic formation made famous by Joan Lindsay's novel Picnic at Hanging Rock and Peter Weir's 1975 film, about a group of schoolgirls who vanish during a picnic on Valentine's Day in 1900. The story is fiction, but the rock has an eerie atmosphere, and the walk to the top is worth it.

   Mount Macedon, the highest point of the ranges, is crowned by a large memorial cross, and the slopes below are dotted with grand old gardens, laid out by wealthy Melbourne families in the late nineteenth century as summer retreats from the heat of the city. In autumn, the European trees in these gardens turn red and gold, a sight that draws visitors from all over Victoria. The region is also known for its cool-climate wines, especially sparkling wines and Pinot Noir.

   Honesty about the swimming: this is not a land of beaches, and swimming spots are limited. There are reservoirs, but many are water supply catchments where swimming is not allowed. Some towns have public pools, and in summer the creeks have the odd pool, though they can be shallow and muddy. If you need a swim on a hot day, ask locally or consider a detour to a town pool.

   On the way back to Melbourne from the Grampians, the roads through the Macedon Ranges are a pleasant alternative to the Calder Freeway, winding through forests and farmland, with good views. They can be narrow, with tight bends and wildlife, especially kangaroos at dawn and dusk. Romsey, Lancefield and Woodend have fuel, cafés and bakeries. The ranges are cooler and wetter than the plains, so bring a layer, even in summer.

3. Food stop near Bacchus Marsh food

   Coming into Bacchus Marsh from the east, you ride through an arch of tall elms: the Avenue of Honour, planted after the First World War with a tree for each local man who enlisted. It is a moving entrance to a town that sits in a deep, fertile bowl where the Werribee and Lerderderg rivers meet, ringed by dry hills. The flats along the rivers have been orchards and market gardens since the nineteenth century, and roadside stalls still sell apples, pears and vegetables straight from the farms.

   The landscape around the town is more dramatic than most of Melbourne's surroundings. To the west, the Werribee Gorge has been cut deep through ancient sedimentary rock, and to the north the Lerderderg Gorge winds into a rugged state park of eucalyptus forest. Kangaroos, wallabies and wedge-tailed eagles are common, and the gorges glow orange in the evening light.

   For riders, the most interesting road is the climb west over the Pentland Hills towards Ballarat, where the Western Freeway rises steeply out of the bowl, offering wide views back over the town and the plains. The older roads through Myrniong and the hills to the north are slower and more fun, with tighter corners and quieter traffic. Summer brings heat and bushfire risk, and on days of total fire ban the hills can feel tense. Wind is a constant companion on the open ridges.

   Bacchus Marsh has plenty of fuel stations, supermarkets, bakeries and cafés, so it is an easy and pleasant place to stop. A coffee on the main street, a bag of local apples and a short walk under the elms make a satisfying break before heading west into the Grampians, a long ride away across the volcanic plains of western Victoria.

4. Saint Leonards photo

   Matthew Flinders, mapping Port Phillip in 1802, came ashore near Indented Head, a few kilometres up the coast from here, and climbed the hills to look over the bay. St Leonards is a quiet seaside town at the eastern tip of the Bellarine Peninsula, with a long pier, a sheltered beach and views across the water to the Mornington Peninsula and the distant towers of Melbourne.

   The pier is the classic photo spot. At sunrise, the light comes across the bay and catches the old timber posts, and on clear days you can see the You Yangs to the north-west and Arthurs Seat across the water. The beach is calm and shallow, ideal for a paddle or a swim on a hot day.

   The Bellarine is a pleasant landscape of rolling farmland, vineyards and coastal villages. Portarlington, up the coast, is famous for its mussels, grown on ropes in the bay, and has a festival in their honour. Queenscliff, at the tip of the peninsula, is a historic town with a fort, old hotels and a ferry across the Rip to Sorrento.

   The riding on the Bellarine is gentle, with roads winding through farmland and along the coast. Traffic can be heavy on summer weekends, and the roads into Geelong are busy. The wind off the bay can be strong.

   There is a store and a café or two in town, enough for a quick coffee; for a full tank and more choice, Drysdale and Clifton Springs are a short ride inland. If the timing suits, keep the mussels for Portarlington, where they come out of the bay a few hundred metres from the plate.

5. Near Hampton finish

   Port Phillip Bay is so large that from its northern shore you cannot see the other side, and the stop is right on that shore, along the beaches between Elwood and Brighton, a few kilometres south of Melbourne's centre. As a base for setting out and coming home it works well: the city is close, but the bay gives a sense of space, and on a summer evening, with the light going gold over the water and people swimming and walking their dogs along the sand, it is hard to feel stressed.

   Brighton is famous for its bathing boxes, a row of small wooden huts on the beach, each painted in bright colours and stripes, many of them decades old and changing hands for astonishing sums. They are one of the most photographed sights in Melbourne, especially at sunset. A little to the north, St Kilda has a long pier where, at dusk, a colony of little penguins comes ashore among the rocks of the breakwater.

   Beach Road, which runs along the shore, is a favourite with cyclists, especially on weekend mornings, when large groups ride along it in tight formations. Be patient and give them space. The road is otherwise easy, with traffic lights, roundabouts and views of the bay. From here, the rides lead north-east to the Yarra Valley and the Black Spur, a winding road through towering mountain ash forest, and west to the Grampians, a range of sandstone mountains rising abruptly from the plains of western Victoria.

   There are fuel stations, cafés and restaurants all along the bayside suburbs, so getting coffee and breakfast before setting off is easy. Melbourne's weather is famously changeable, sometimes described as four seasons in one day, and a hot northerly wind can be followed by a sudden cool change from the south-west, with a dramatic drop in temperature and gusty winds. Always carry an extra layer. At the end of the day, if the weather is warm, a swim in the bay is a fine way to cool off.

6. High point in Narre Warren pass

   Narre Warren is a big suburban hub in Melbourne's south-east, but look north and the land begins to lift. Narre Warren North and the Harkaway hills rise behind the town, a rolling patchwork of paddocks, horse properties and pockets of bush that climbs towards Lysterfield and the southern foot of the Dandenong Ranges.

   That rise is what makes this a high point on the ride. The roads north of the Princes Highway, through Harkaway and towards Belgrave, quickly shed their suburban character. Narrow, bumpy lanes snake over ridges, with views back south across the flat country to Western Port on a clear day. Some of these roads are tight and patched, with blind crests and loose edges, so treat them with respect. Cyclists love the climbs here, and you will share the road with plenty of them on weekend mornings.

   The area has a long history of orchards and grazing before the suburbs spread east, and Lysterfield Lake, a former reservoir now part of a park, is close by. Mountain bike trails built for the 2006 Commonwealth Games run through the hills there. The bush is home to kangaroos, wombats and plenty of birdlife, so dawn and dusk demand caution.

   For the practical side, Narre Warren has every service: fuel, cafés, big supermarkets and fast food along the highway. It is also a good place to gather a group before the run towards the Grampians or the ranges. Head north and within ten minutes the traffic lights are behind you and the gum trees close in.

7. Scenic stretch near Bayswater North scenic

   Bayswater North sits at the very foot of the Dandenong Ranges, on the eastern rim of Melbourne's suburbs. The streets are quiet and leafy, and from many of them you can see the dark blue wall of the ranges rising just beyond, with Mount Dandenong and its towers on top. Dandenong Creek meanders through parkland on the western side, and the EastLink tollway carves a wide corridor nearby.

   As a finishing stretch, this is where the hills hand you back to the city. Riders coming down from the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road or out of Kalorama and Montrose drop into the suburbs here, and the change is sudden: one moment you are in tall mountain ash forest with tree ferns crowding the roadside, the next you are at a set of traffic lights beside a petrol station. It is a reminder of how close Melbourne's great riding playground is to its back door.

   The ranges themselves are worth knowing well. Their roads are tight, steep and often damp under the canopy, with leaf litter and moss in the shaded corners and a constant stream of tourist traffic visiting the gardens, cafés and the Puffing Billy railway around Belgrave. Weekdays are calmer. Rain can arrive quickly, and the hills can be several degrees cooler than the plain.

   Fuel and food are easy in Bayswater, Boronia and Croydon, all a few minutes away. EastLink has tolls and is the fast way home; the arterials are free but slower. Either way, pause for a moment and look back up at the ridge you have just ridden.

8. Back to Grampians finish

   Hurstbridge sits on the northeastern edge of Melbourne, at the end of a suburban railway line, where the outskirts blur into bushland and low hills. With Wattle Glen beside it, the area belongs to what planners call the Green Wedge, a strip of farms, orchards and eucalypt forest that keeps the city from sprawling all the way to the Kinglake Ranges. The dot sits here because this is a way home from the Grampians, which lie more than two hundred kilometres to the west, and this is the quiet end of the loop.

   The Grampians, known to the Aboriginal people as Gariwerd, are a series of sandstone ridges rising abruptly from the flat plains of western Victoria, with rock art sites, waterfalls and thick spring wildflowers. Halls Gap, in the heart of the range, is a small tourist town where kangaroos graze on the oval at dusk, and the roads over the ranges have a mix of climbs, bends and long views.

   By comparison, the Hurstbridge area is gentle riding, though with its own character. The roads wind through the hills in tight, shaded curves, past old farms, orchards and bush blocks, and there are good coffee stops. The nearby artists' colony of Montsalvat, in Eltham, was established in the 1930s and is a curious cluster of stone and mud-brick buildings, now used for weddings and exhibitions. The region also carries the scars of the Black Saturday fires of February 2009, which devastated parts of the Kinglake area, and the regrowth of the forest tells a quiet story of recovery.

   Fuel can be found in Diamond Creek and Eltham, and Hurstbridge has a bakery, a pub and several cafes along its main street. It is a very friendly place for a stop, and locals will often stop to ask about your bike.

   Summers in this area can be hot and fire danger is real, so check conditions on days of high fire risk. In autumn and spring the light through the gum trees is soft, the road is dry and the air smells of eucalyptus, a good way to end a long day.

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