for fun I used to tell people I was a (Calgary) Flames fan… best way to make vancouverites mad/disappointed (unless they are from there and that you can usually work out from the cowboy hat and slack jaw)!
wait, Nikcee used to live in Vancouver?
Your close… the only things missing is your pet Beaver, a Toque, and a Kokanee in the other hand!
^ I imagine his pet beaver took the photo…
Kokanee… BLERGH! Granville Island Winter Ale was the drop of choice.
I had a funny moment in a shop asking for a beanie. They didn’t know what I meant.
“It is like a knitted thing that goes on your head to keep your head warm”
“Ohhhhh a Toque”
“Naaah, a beanie”
Oh you don’t actually drink the Kokanee, its just makes for the whole stereotypical “Canadian” look . There are about 300 local microbrews i would much rather have… More of an IPA guy myself.
Speaking of beer (wow this forum got sidetracked fast) whats the word on local stuff? I used to drink a bit of Coopers + Little Creatures when i was there last, but that was a while ago and im sure things have changed since then.
yep, that happens a lot around here.
I really don’t have an australian beer that I crave to be honest. I guess the better beers are the Matilda Bay, but some of their beers are hit and miss. Fat yak is no good in my opinion. Beez Kneez is okay.
James Squire is another one that has a good range of beers.
You’ve come to the right place.
You’re on the right track with Coopers and Little Creatures. Victoria (and Australia generally) has a number of microbreweries producing some fantastic beer, you may have to look a little harder for it, but most pubs and bottle shops have a few craft beer options: Mountain Goat, Temple, 2 Brothers, 3 Ravens, Holgate to name a few…
Welcome, good to see more North American’s occupying Oz, they need the social coaching. 
MTB trails in VIC: Welcome to the Bancoora MTB website.
Guess a “Brewery Ride v.Trails” is in order then.
Ride. Pffft… Rides more like it.
Wombat track > Woodend: Holgate (Mt Macedon Ale)
Buxton/Lake Mountain > Healesville: White Rabbit
Forrest > Forrest: Forrest
Beechworth > Beechworth: Beechworth
Secret Squirrel > Coldstream: Coldstream
MTB and craft beer are like hand in glove.
Pity I’m not gonna be around for long, I’d love to show you round the haunts. If you’re wanting to ride some fast, tight and technical singletrack I can put you in touch with some kiwi boys who are always up for a showing a newb some hidden gems.
Also Kooinda APA is the dogsbollocks and a suitably local ale (Heidelberg) for Yarra Trails… Oh and there’s always Mountain Goat too.
Best Aussie IPAs / APAs IMHO
Red Duck Pale Rider
Kooinda APA
4 Pines Pale Ale
Holgate Mt Macedon Ale
Mountain Goat Coffee IPA
Boatrocker Alpha Queen
Hawthorn IPA
enjoy.
Looks like I will have a fair bit of exploring to do when I get there! Starting to second guess what bike I take with me on the plane and what ones I ship by boat now… Leaning towards the cross bike though cause I am seriously thinking of doing the dirty gran fondo.
You can’t go wrong with a CX bike in MEL, there is plenty of gravel and roads, most MTB trails are a 45+ minute drive from the city.
Wombat → Holgate ESB
Beechworth → Bridge Road Bling IPA (Best IPA in Australia)
Castlemaine- Woodbrook/Baco/Kens trails → Holgate Millenium Falcon
Forrest → Prickly Moses Red Ale
What’s great is that you can bring either bike and still do the Dirty Gran Fondo! Less than 2 weeks to go…
I am looking forward to it, registered a few weeks ago! Landed in Melbourne on Friday and unpacked and built up my cross bike yesterday. I think I need to do a training ride of some sort before this race cause I may have underestimated the vertical involved… I was under the impression Australia was flat…2000m of climbing does not sound flat to me!!!