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Mike's Bike Tours

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karameister
karameister
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
3
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5
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Editor Pick

We're No Lance Armstrong, but We Held Our Own

  • April 27, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Carmen from Fairfax, Virginia
We're No Lance Armstrong, but We Held Our Own

Bikes are a part of the daily Amsterdam life, and there are probably more bikes in the city than people! If you have grown used to the "ring ring" of the bike bells telling you to get the heck out of their way; if you think you can understand which roads are bike paths (all of them) and can understand the traffic lights just for the two wheelers, then head on over to Mike’s Bikes and immerse yourself in the local transport!

There are several options at Mike’s Bikes. You can just rent a bike for a day (be sure to lock both the wheels and the body) or you can join a bike tour. New for 2009 is a city tour of Amsterdam, or there is the countryside tour. We chose to venture a bit outside the city limits on the countryside tour, which takes you to a windmill and a cheese and wooden shoe farm. The Internet says the bike tour isn’t strenuous, but unless you can bike non-stop for an hour, I’d look into a bus version of the same thing. I bike some at home, and my butt was quite sore at the end of the day!

The countryside tour is led by a guide, and ours was really well-informed, if only slightly haughty in his professorship of us. Most of the time was spent riding, however, and it was a great way to see, well, the countryside!

My complaints about the tour would be these:
1. I think the size of the group was too large. We had about 15 bikers, and when you’ve got that many people in a single file line, the chances of all 15 making it across a busy intersection before the light changes is not good. I found myself in that situation quite a few times, where half of the group was light-years ahead and the other half stopped by a light. I was concerned that we would lose the guide and be stranded where we didn’t know where we were. He did stop and wait for us each time, but I still would’ve preferred a smaller group.

2. I would’ve preferred a bit more casual ride, with more stops to take pictures. As it was, I was afraid that if I stopped, I’d be left.

The cheese shop (and the free samples) were amazing, and of course, I bought a pair of wooden shoes. We took a group photo at the windmill, and because it was a sunny Amsterdam day, we biked the long way home. We came back through Beatrix Park as well as Vondel Park, which was beyond crowded thanks to the nice weather. Make sure you know what the people in your group look like, or you may end up following another biker another place!

All in all, I would say that this is one of my top Amsterdam activities. I think that was helped along by the beautiful sunshine (rare for Amsterdam, I’m told) and the breezes in my hair as I biked along the outskirts of the city.

From journal Amster-DAM That Was Fun!

Editor Pick

Best of Amsterdam: Mike's Bike Tours

  • July 11, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by nas from Poughkeepsie, New York
I'm not big on group tours, but I make an exception for Mike's Bikes. It is easily the best way to get introduced to a European city (available in Amsterdam and Munich, and has been re-named to Fat Tire Bike Tours in Barcelona, Berlin, and Paris).

The idea is simple. Get on a bike and take a tour of the entire city, getting a feel for the major tourist sites as well as some local flavor. Take a break in a local cafe/bar for an hour, where you get to socialize with your tour group. All for 22 euros!

The bike riding portion is not the least bit strenuous, so don't worry about your riding ability. It is a very leisurely pace, and takes 4 hours, including the break and several stops along the way. The tour guides, as a rule, are never natives of the city, so they are very good at relating to tourists. They are typically young people who are seasoned travellers and who have been living in the city for a while. Also, all tours are given in English, by fluent (if not native-speaking) tour guides.

In Amsterdam, we rode around the city, where we learned about the history and major sites. We then left the city to visit a cheese farm and a clog factory. It was the perfect blend of interesting sites in a short amount of time.

For more information and schedules, go to http://www.mikesbiketoursamsterdam.com/. You don't need a reservation. You can just show up at the daily meeting spot at Kerkstraat 134.

From journal Cliche Post-College Graduation Europe Tour

Editor Pick

Mike's Bike Tours

  • June 23, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by karameister from Saint Paul, Minnesota

My traveling partner and I decided to do a bike tour in Amsterdam, since the city is made for bicycling! We had already done a tour with Mike's Bikes in Munich and loved it, so we thought we'd try again in Amsterdam.

Mike's tour is just as much fun in Amsterdam! It's a relatively slow-paced ride, they say if you can ride a bike, you can keep up with the tour. You get a battered old one-speed cruiser bike to ride on, which is the most popular bike in Amsterdam, anyway.

The tour guide takes you through most of the city center, doling out small tidbits along the way. Did you know that prostitutes in the windows of the Red Light District have their own union? Along the way, you get to go up Amsterdam's "one" hill - it's about 50 feet long.

After the city center, we were taken out into the countryside, which was a pleasant 10- or 15-minute cruise. The tour stops at a windmill, which isn't very exciting, and then moves on to a cheese and clog factory. You are shown how both are made, and given the chance to sample and buy cheese and other goods.

Overall, Mike's Bike Tour is a pleasant journey, although I wish it would have lasted a bit longer!

From journal Amsterdam: College Student's Heaven

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