There is of course an official round the bay bike ride, which thousands join each year and which starts and finishes in Melbourne, after circumnavigating Port Philip Bay, all inside one day. Or you could do what I’ve done a couple of times: skip out the boring bits by using the train, and spread it out over 2 or 3 days. It’s well worth it, as there’s plenty to see.
My recommended route takes you clockwise from Melbourne, but you can just as easily do it in reverse. Doing it clockwise way has the benefit of a nice easy cycling route on your last day on the largely flat bike path from Queenscliff to Geelong.
The Train Cheat!
The boring bits are for road bikers only and involve cycling from the CBD to Frankston if you go clockwise, or to Geelong, if you go anticlockwise. You can miss out both these by taking the train!
Bittern to Sorrento (55km cycling)
Day 1 involves taking the train to a small village called Bittern, sixty five kilometres south east of Melbourne, on the rarely visited Western Port Bay. This is actually 2 different trains, including one for the train spotters – the last remaining suburban diesel route in Australia. First Take the regular metro train to Frankston, then change to the Stony Point line for Bittern. The journey lasts around two and a quarter hours, runs like clockwork, plenty of room for your bike and all for the princely sum of $8, which is pretty amazing value.
This is the hardest days cycling, with fifty kilometres pedaling through the green hills of wine country, so give yourself plenty of time to cover it. In fact if you arrive in Bittern early in the morning, you will also have time to make a minor detour to Balnarring Beach for breakfast. And what a treat it is, with an endless panaroma of white sand and calm seas lapping the shore, which you’ll have all to yourself. [NOTE: The Balnarring Beach side trip will add another 10km to your day, and it’s uphill coming back to rejoin the main route.]
This is the calm before the uphill storm. The next few hours are filled with a few steep climbs. The vineyard vistas will certainly help you through it! After the climb to Red Hill South, the next 10km meanders through the most English-like country side you’ll see in Victoria.
As you carry on, the landscape changes to a drier coastal feel, with the houses growing in size and stature the closer you get to Sorrento, which is one of Melbourne’s prettiest and most exclusive bayside resorts. You finally arrive in the town centre with its fine hotels, cafes and boutique stores. Book your overnight accommodation up front, as it can get busy in peak season, and then enjoy an evening by the seaside.
Sorrento to Point Nepean & return (30km cycling)
How long you choose to spend in Sorrento is entirely up to you. I chose to stay 2 nights in a small guesthouse, which gave me a full day to explore Point Nepean National Park by bike.
This is the most southern point of The Rip, the notoriously dangerous entry channel to Port Phillip Bay, and a Park that has been used as a Quarantine station, a Military Fort and a even a refugee camp as recently as 1999. It also covers a gorgeous stretch of the coast right on the tip of the peninsula, with stunning views all around. It’s also great for cycling, as cars are not allowed past the main car park! There are three means of transport inside the park: on foot, by bike or by taking the tourist bus.
First stop off is just five minutes along the main road, where you’ll find the former Quarantine Station. Only the scale of the station, its location and the newly installed storyboards give away its torrid past of shipwrecks and disease ridden passengers, as it now sits peacefully abandoned by the bay.
The Coles Track leads from here along delightful beaches to the fort at the end, a distance of around 6km. It’s a perfectly engineered bike path, weaving in and out of the woods, up and down gentle slopes, and revealing different ocean vistas with every turn. You might be fortunate to find a Ring tailed Possum or two. Eventually the bike path rejoins the main road, and ends at the entrance to Fort Pearce. It’s strictly on foot from here, with a gorgeous path cutting through the middle of the narrow peninsula with the sea on both sides and views of the Bellarine Peninsula straight ahead.
Rambling around the Fort is great fun, with its hidden tunnels, engine rooms, look outs and gun turrets. It was a Fort more built on paranoia than anything and never really fired a shot in anger. The Brits had made the entrance to Melbourne the second most heavily protected port in the world, only just behind that of Gibraltar, and all for an enemy that never came. That’s what having the then world’s biggest gold reserves will do to you.
It’s a 10km cycle back to Portsea, where you might want to stop off at the Portsea Hotel. This is one of the finest pubs outside of the Melbourne, and has a rather delightful beer garden.
Day 3 Sorrento to Geelong (64km cycling)
After a pleasant breakfast in Sorrento, it’s good to start Day 3 early. You’ll need to catch the 40 minute ferry over to Queenscliff, with the first one leaving at 7am. The early morning is a perfect time to sail, with only a handful of fellow passengers, and a great way to see the sun rise over the bay. The Victorian resort of Queenscliff is also a pretty seaside town, and quite a contrast to Sorrento. You can happily spend a few hours exploring here, or join the Rail Trail immediately on the right as you leave the ferry port.
The 64km bike ride from here to Geelong is almost exclusively along the Bellarine Rail Trail which follows the route of the former South Geelong Railway. It’s an excellent bike path with only two busy roads to cross along its entire route. You pass through gentle hills, the coastline, saltwater reserves, farmland and country villages.
The Train Cheat Back!
You should arrive at South Geelong train station by lunchtime. You can’t miss it as the bike path ends here. You can connect here with the V-Line train back to Melbourne! The bike ride back from here to Melbourne involves at least 30km cycling the hard shoulder of the freeway, so I think you’ll agree, the train is a better and safer option!
9to5explorer 