Down But Not Out

Fear not!  Beer Cruise shall continue, despite my sudden and unannounced chasmic lack of content.

Well well, I've been busy.  Busy cruising, busy enjoying terrific beer...but sadly not mixing the two.  I know, right?  Just what kind of writer for the esteemed and renowned blog of Beer Cruise am I?  Truth be told, there's been more than just beer and cruising going on, but just because the two have not collided during that time doesn't mean I have nothing to say on either.

That's right, I bring you discussion on beer and cruising.  Indeed, these CAN be separate entities.  Once the initial shock of this revelation has passed, and you have picked yourself up off the floor, you may proceed to read on for this particular blog entry.

An excellent summary for the West Coast experience as a whole.

So just where was I?  In terms of where I was cruising, that would be Tofino, BC, right on the west coast of Vancouver Island.  Perhaps, per capita, the most cruiser-friendly place *queue best Jeremy Clarkson impression*...in the world!  Well, certainly in my experience it is.  Good lord, the amount of cruisers was jaw dropping.  Even the resort I was staying at had a good 20 or so delectable Electra cruisers available for renting.  In the town proper, cruisers seem to be the primary mode of transportation.  Understandable, for a tiny town that revolves almost entirely around tourism, fishing and surfing.  Perhaps the only drawback to this is the fact that you just don't stand out while riding your cruiser.  Worse is that I have a basic model, so there were people in droves outdoing me on the flash end of things.  Fenders and baskets and paint jobs oh my!  Still, it's nice to feel at home.

This is practically pornography.

And that only covers the little town of Tofino.  The big picture is that this is the Pacific Rim National Park.  The cruising options are endless.  However, without a doubt, the biggest cruising draw is the beaches.  Vast, seemingly endless fields and oceans of incredibly smooth sand.  And the views range from excellent to spectacular, depending on the weather.  Riding your cruiser down a stretch of sandy glory, dabbling into the surf and dodging the waves, you may want to brace yourself for an epiphany or three.

Indeed, it's difficult to think of more captivating cruising locales than the west coast of Vancouver Island, but while we're on the subject of cruisers and cruising locations, let us bring our attention to Vancouver proper.  Perhaps I just hadn't noticed it last time I was there, or perhaps the revolution has only just begun, but my my, Vancouver itself is quite the cruiser friendly town now.  I've always liked Vancouver and the surrounding area, but indeed this little observation has knocked it up a few more rungs.  There's not many big cities I could feel at home in, but without a doubt Vancouver solidifies itself perhaps as the number one choice.

Tomorrow, I shall discuss the many delicious malts I discovered in my time on the west coast.  I could indeed delve into it right now, but I feel like the Cruise portion of Beer Cruise deserves a little more love and exclusivity than the nothing it's had up until this point.

Neither cruiser nor beer graces this photograph.  Still not half bad though.