Melbourne Ride Guide – Le Col

Palm tree lined road with a river alongside and city skyline behind

Melbourne Ride Guide: On the Road with Alex Kerslake

Meet Alex Kerslake. Originally from the West Country, UK, where his early sporting life revolved around rugby and hockey. After university, recurring injury setbacks and the pandemic led him to relocate to Hampshire with his girlfriend’s family, where he picked up an old road bike and started cycling casually with his girlfriend’s dad. It didn’t take long before the competitive spark took over, and riding became his new passion.Now based in Melbourne and building a career in digital marketing, Alex rides for the freedom it brings, and the constant chase for improvement.In this Melbourne Ride Guide, we catch up with Alex to hear what it’s really like to ride in Australia’s second biggest city and where to find the best Melbourne coffee along the way.

Three image collage, two streets of Melbourne and cyclist ready to go

Hey Alex, can you start by telling us a bit about yourself. Why do you ride, and why Melbourne?

I’m in Melbourne for work, pursuing a career in SEO. But more importantly, I’m here to explore the world, experience new things, new cultures and learn from putting myself in uncomfortable situations. And cycling has become a big part of that.

What does progression mean to you when it comes to cycling?

Progression is anything but linear. There are setbacks - crashes, illness, work, life. Ultimately for me, if you can still get out with your mates, have a laugh, and enjoy riding, that’s more important than progression in performance.

How would you sum up riding in Melbourne? Any highlights or challenges?

Melbourne has a reputation for being a famous cycling city. There are endless bike paths, varied terrain, and interesting route options in every direction. Pretty much every day of the week there’s an organised ride, normally starting between 5:00 and 6:00 AM. These come in varying flavours, from chilled social to chewing your stem before work. For those interested in the latter, there is the infamous Hellride, North Road Ride, and Tour de Burbs to name but a few.

Alex cycling in a race, four competitors grouped close together

And the coffee scene, what’s that like?

Melburnians are famously protective of their coffee standards. Before moving here, coffee was coffee and a flat white was a flat white. But now I get it and it hits home when I go back to the UK. The standards in Melbourne are next level. Because of that, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to pre, during, and post-ride coffee stops. I’ve only had one bad coffee since I’ve been here; I won’t name any names, but the tart I had more than made up for it.

What’s a typical training day look like for you? Got a favourite loop?

Early starts are the norm here. I get all my weekday training done before work, usually a mix of group rides and specific interval sessions. In the summer, I’ll do intervals around Albert Park (the F1 circuit) or down Beach Road. Now that winter is settling in here, I’m favouring the turbo. I’ve acclimatised to the Australian summer temperatures far too comfortably.

If you had 3-4+ hours to ride, where would you go?

Definitely Kinglake. From Melbourne’s inner suburbs, it’s about a 4 to 4.5-hour loop, depending on your route and pace. It’s around 125 km with 1,800 metres of elevation.

You spend the first 90–100 minutes rolling out of the city, then you hit the Kinglake climb, which takes about 15–25 minutes. After a fast descent, it’s mostly rolling terrain back home. It’s a solid ride with a great mix of terrain.