Vancouver - help from locals please

looks like a trip to Vancouver next week, not been before and am looking to pack in as much as I can. So if the locals can give me some advice please on the following please (or anyone else who has experience/advice)

eating places
drinking places
places to see
must do things
hire car
mtb prepared to get in a hire car and travel to do the best bits, might not get a chance again, might even consider a bit of camping if some mileage involved
mtb hire - looks expensive, would best be taking our own bikes?

any help appreciated either on thread or pm

thanks in advance

Can't offer any advice but I'm pretty jealous if that helps any :mrgreen:

BC right?
-Ride the North shore. You can do that for 3-4 days. There are several bike shops and the out door Co-op right there.
-Squamish
-Ride the valley of Whistler. You dont even have to go to the down hill park (Comfortably Numb is a 6 hour ride)
-Two hours up from Whistler is Tyax. You fly in on a float plane and ride back out 6-10 hours.
-Take your own bike. Did it 15 times. (Just check airline size restrictions)
http://www.tyax.com/tyax-mountain-biking-tours

drinking places
st. augustine's
alibi room

Hi there i live in Van and i can honestly say you are coming to the land of milk and honey and bud. Probably the best city in the world to eat sushi {some of the best sushi masters are here for our availably of crab & salmon. If you don't like sushi there's great Ti,Indian,Chinese,Mexican. Lots of honest restrant review websites on web. Places to ride are unlimited. On the shore try and start or hang out in Lynn Valley {top of Mountain Hwy} From there you can access Seymour mt XC or Fromme mt DH. Or my fav Cypress mt XC+DH the brothers creek climb is top 3 best mtb climbs on the shore and once your up there there is some amazing single track. Ok and that's just the north shore. to the east along the inlet {you can ride the trans canada trail} there is Burnaby mt,Belcarra, Buntzen lake,Eagle Ridge, Burke mt. Those last three have a lot of new trail builders working as i write. Ok so thats pretty much the prime for Van area. The aeroport is a 40min drive to downtown try to stay in North Van or the core then you ride to any of the above area's. Ditch the car and only use to travel to the other what we call "off shore" areas. These other area's are epic in depth and skill. The sea to sky hwy is a beautiful drive to get to Squamish, Whistler,Pemberton. Don't forget to buy maps that are detailed and support NSMBA,SORCA,WORCA, they are like 5 bucks and available in bike shops in their areas. If you want to see more you can take ferry's to the Sunshine Coast {roberts creek, and the sunshine coast trail} or Vancouver Island which is a country to its own. E mail me when you get to town maybe ride? ciao R

As cities go, Vancouver is pretty good. That said, I live only a few minutes from Downtown and never go there. If you like looking at condos and Hummers driving around then you'll probably like it more. Personally I'd spend as much time out of Van as possible and explore BC. The riding spots have been covered pretty well, although unless you are pretty good, I'd be tempted to miss the North Shore and spend more time in Squamish. The drive out there is great and there are a much broader variety of trails there. If you want an long XC ride then as above, get the ferry to the Sunshine Coast, but ride from the ferry to Roberts Creek. Don't get lost though!

Having advised against riding the Shore unless you are pretty good, riding Ladies Only is highly recommended if you want a taste of the Shore. Digger does amazing work and unlike many popular Shore trails, you don't feel like you are riding down a broken up Roman road.... Treat the trails with respect though. An experienced rider died on Fromme the other day so check any stunts before you ride them and expect the unexpected.

There is a sort of unwritten rule about the NS trails: the first 100 yards will show you the level of difficulty. If you poop your pants and crash right away turn back. Also black and double black trails are just that. They are not like Euro ski trails that seem to mark things willy nilly.