Fifteen minutes' cycle south of the Melbourne CBD the traffic thins and the date palms that line the road to Port Phillip Bay are replaced by leafy plane trees.

A spacious bike lane lets you relax into a lazy peddle and admire the quaint brick terrace cottages along the way.

Follow the road all the way and you reach the wide, windswept bay – Victoria's largest – with its white sand and palm-fringed boulevard.

Melbourne's picturesque city to bay ride is short enough to knock over in an afternoon but long enough to give you an appetite.

When my partner and I visit on a cool Friday afternoon in spring the bay is mostly deserted, except for a lone wetsuit-clad swimmer.

In search of a drink, we follow a bike path west towards the hulking Spirit of Tasmania that waits to ferry cars across the Bass Strait.

Across the road from the beach a corner pub beckons and we sip cold cider at an outdoor table as the freight trucks lumber past en route to the Port Melbourne dock.

Australia's second-largest city might be known as its cultural capital but there's plenty to lure cyclists.

There's a network of paths and bicycle-only lanes that crisscross the mostly flat landscape and everyone seems to ride; in some places it's hard to find a spare rack to lean your wheels.

Even our hotel doorman, a stately middle aged man who wears a top hat and cape, confides he cycles to work every day and seems pleased to learn we're using two wheels to explore his home city.

On a sunny Saturday we tackle the popular Capital City Trail, a 30km route that hugs the Yarra River through urban landscapes, parks, bushland, an old convent, and even a farm.

After weaving through the crowds at Southbank's esplanade we're soon peddling through lush green parkland and admiring the tall deciduous trees lining the bank of the muddy Yarra River.

The area is busy with high school rowers and their loudspeaker-wielding coaches, as well as walkers, joggers and other cyclists taking advantage of the good weather.

We refuel with caffeine at a bustling cafe perched above the river and push on to the Abbotsford Convent and adjacent Collingwood Children's Farm, where farmers' markets are held two Saturdays a month.

The path winds through paddocks where sheep and horses graze in the shadow of the old convent in a scene that could come straight from Victorian England.

Fortified with beef jerky and hot chai tea, we continue on a sun-dappled path through thick scrub before emerging into suburbia.

At Carlton North we shun the pub and its early afternoon barflies and munch on sourdough pizza from an organic bakery while watching the trams glide past.

The final leg of the trail follows an old railway track past a golf course and the turnoff to Melbourne Zoo before entering a rather ugly industrial estate.

Here we have the path to ourselves until we enter the home stretch at Docklands, where the colourful facades of new terraced apartments overlook a sheltered, yacht-filled harbour.

Back in the hotel lobby I feel self-consciously sweaty and unkempt alongside the other guests but can't help feeling slightly smug as I share a knowing smile with the doorman in the top hat.

Although I might be in need of a shower and a hairbrush, I feel like I've seen more of Melbourne – the real Melbourne – than if we'd stuck to the well-trodden footpaths.

IF YOU GO:

GETTING THERE: Melbourne is a 1.5-hour flight from Sydney and Adelaide, 2.5 hours from Brisbane and about four hours from Perth.

STAYING THERE: There's several hotels which cater for casual cyclists. The Langham hires out men's and women's bicycles (including a vintage model in pink) at $15 for four hours (www.melbourne.langhamhotels.com.au).

Other options include the Olsen at South Yarra (www.artserieshotels.com.au/olsen) and the Hilton on the Park (www.hiltonmelbourne.com.au)

CYCLING: The Casual Cyclist's Guide Melbourne (Hardie Grant Books 2014) has information on several routes. Tour guides include Real Melbourne Bike Tours (www.rentabike.net.au/biketours) and Melbourne by Bike (www.melbournebybike.com).

Independent riders can also hire bikes from the city's bike share scheme.

*The writer travelled as a guest of The Langham Melbourne.