RichardP

Hi Hodgies There's loads of great purpose made moutain biking parks and trails round Victoria. Lysterfield has a great network of trails including a couple of black runs for a bit of air time and is conveniently located in the south eastern suburbs. You Yangs has a nice mix from gentle trails to hairy enduro oriented black runs Redhill on the Mornington Peninsula is just stepping up its profile and has some nice trails and a good brewery nearby by the way Forrest just north of Lorne (Great Ocean Road south-west of Melbourne) has an impressive network of trails for all styles of MTB. Personal favourite is Mariners Run. To the north-east of Melbourne heading towards the Alpine region there are some impressive MTB venues. Buller has just opened a 40km trail called The Epic. Also Buxton has some lovely flowing trails. Personally I think Victoria alone has more MTB'g possibilities than I had available in the north of England plus the chance to enjoy the sport year round. Then there is Tassie which is just a short cheapo flight away with a huge growth in MTB trails both in the north and south of the island where you can hire decent bikes. Your boys won't be disappointed !

Are they really cities or towns ? I meant proper cities, y'know; with traffic jams, and electricity and stuff

Hey Daniel Small world... I work in Boronia but live in Berwick...... oh and born & raised in Scaaaabruh There's a Pommie blokes night out in the Berwick Inn on Saturday night 8pm if you can make it ?

Hi Stevey You're spoilt for choice really. I also like cars and moutain biking. We live in Berwick about 45mins east of Melbourne CBD and its ideal. I go MTB'g 3x a week at Lysterfield Lake Park (hosts a variety of MTB events including the Commonwealth Games MTB in 2006)- its excellent. You also have the You Yangs on the West side of the city for more extreme tracks, Mount Buller and alike about 2 or 3 hours north for full on downhill MTB'g. The weather here is ideal for MTB'g. Not humid. It does rain a bit in winter but that just keeps the trails from drying out to dust. In summer it can get seriously hot compared to other cities but just means you have to go earlier in the morning We have the Formula 1 obviously, two rounds of the V8 Supercars, MotoGP and World Superbikes at Philip Island (1.5 hours south). 4x4...... The entire continent is your playground. Melbourne is definitely a sport oriented city, so put it on your itinery. The beaches are good - in the bay there's no fear of sharks. The surf beaches are more attractive and of course the higher up Australia you go the warmer the water gets which is why the crocs & jelly fish like it so much. Your trade is brilliant and gives you the opportunity to chose any city that you like. Good luck with that choice. PM me if you come over and want to go for that bike ride

Hmmm Canberra; the only city in Australia (apart from Alice Springs) that doesn't have coastline. Hugely expensive real estate, colder than Melbourne and Tassie in winter due to altitude and built for politicians. Joking aside, every city in Australia has something to offer it just depends what your interests are and whether your profession is marketable in every city or biassed towards one in particular. Good luck whatever you decide on