So I’m sure you’ve all heard me talk about my passion for cycling. No? No you haven’t. Though I do tune in for much of the Tour de France, most of my athletics are of the watching variety and I haven’t been on a bike for greater than a decade. But my latest vacation planning coincided with members of my family not being able to take a bike/barge trip with some friends of theirs and they generously offered me their spot.

The trip was organized by a 75th birthday celebrant and he and his wife were on a greater cycling endeavor benefiting Tradart Foundation. They chartered the trip for our group of about 25 through Cycletours and the route was seven days of cycling from Bruges to Amsterdam with daily cycles averaging out to around 43k a day. The barge would house us for the duration of the trip meeting us at each finish point and offering a place to decamp for the week, as well as enjoy breakfast and dinner, plus fixin’s for packing a lunch to eat on the road.

Bruges to Amsterdam here I come! Wait, bike trip? Now while one could, and some did, take the trip via barge sans bike, it was clearly set up as a bike trip and I wanted to see if I could embrace experiencing the sites on two wheels. After much training (a couple weeks at the gym and one outdoor bike ride of about 22 minutes) I was planning to do the first short day and then perhaps not cycle again.

Fortunately for me the trip was not only mostly flat but much of it was on dedicated bike paths (or other less trafficked options) with multiple breaks for regrouping, resting, snacking, and scenery. And most importantly the ebike was my savior. Ebike you say? Much as I wanted it to be a scooter you had to pedal the whole time (no pedal no movement) but each pedal was made a touch easier and more productive than without. Cheating some called it, but those of us who took the option were thrilled that it allowed us to enjoy what otherwise we wouldn’t have experienced.

I accomplished many things on my bike. Biking on cobblestones. Biking in the rain. Biking on cobblestones in the rain. From pavement to bricks to dirt to gravel to grass, cities, traffic, train tracks, roundabouts, bike roundabouts, 180 degree turns, drafting (not a good idea if you’re not tour level), stair ramps (not great with the extra heavy ebike)… to name a few. I am not yet ready to ride with no hands and to do things like texting on my bike, ah kids today, but I was overall feeling more comfortable with my bike skills.

By the end of the trip my thighs were sore, my left knee was achy, and my tooshie was done. Was the seat comfortable? Probably, and no, not at all. I was told that the third day would be the worst but the fourth it would get better and not sure better was good enough. Padded shorts are a necessity but can’t solve the issue that a person is not meant to sit on a bike seat for hours and days on end.

And while I don’t know that I’ll do another one there’re a few logistics to consider, I’ve talked to a friend who does other cycling tours and they’re all obviously set up very differently. We all rode together in a group which could get challenging for pace, communication, and sheer number of riders. But sticking with our guide and having a daily sweeper assigned ensured none of us got lost along the way (which totally would have happened even with maps). Plus a group of cyclists with our bright yellow panniers was sort of a warning sign to others which in a couple of traffic situations came in handy.

There were a couple of points where some folks were encouraged to go and ride ahead (I chose to stretch my legs with the quick team) and one day where past a point there were two route options to get back (I chose the short route where you could take a ferry to tour a castle). No SAG wagon meant we brought our gear in our panniers and once committed were committed to the whole ride (thankfully no serious injuries). And being in a chartered group of friends and family meant it wasn’t all folks who would normally sign up for a cycling tour so we had a wide range of cyclist skills and interests. For me, our logistics and the terrain made it a perfect first tour.

All in all, I was glad I traded a little discomfort for what was a wonderful new experience. You see the variety of cities and landscapes in a way you never would if you flew or trained straight from Bruges to Amsterdam, and it was beautiful. It was also a lovely group of people who all encouraged and entertained one another. And as each day was completed it was a joy to be greeted by our barge and fellow travelers moving from happy hour to dinner to share our tales, enjoy what turned out to be delicious food, and hear about the next day’s adventure. Our tour guide even invited us on his unofficial but informative post meal evening constitutional through town each evening.

For more adventures tune back in for my post on Bruges, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen which I’ll get around to as soon as I finish unpacking. Update: Finally unpacked, I guess, so check out the post here.

A friend has a friend in town and as we started to talk about all the things that we think a visitor should do, we also started admitting some of the things we hadn’t done ourselves. San Francisco is a great city, but it can also be an expensive city to live in, and in order to justify that I think one should take advantage.

We agreed that we would each come up with a list of ten things that we had done that we think should be done in the city. My list is neither comprehensive nor necessarily the list I would make any visitor do, that should be customized based on their interests, but ten things I would do (or to be honest ten categories of things I would do).

So whether you’re entertaining, you’re planning a staycation, or just trying to get out (in no particular order):

• Eat out: This could be my list one through ten but good food in unique neighborhoods is one of the best ways to experience the city, depending on where you’re from you’re most likely not experiencing good Mexican, good sushi or crazy fresh produce. Check out the SFGate Top 100 for reference.
• Drinks outside: Ok this is a touchy SF recommendation because you can’t do it on most days, and it’s probably more enjoyable to locals than to anyone else because of the constant chill and few great opportunities, that said there are some great places to experience; if you’re on a particularly cold day you should still go to one of the bars where you might find a quality mixologist (same can be said for our fancy coffee, I tend to lean Blue Bottle if I have the choice). Maybe try Yelp for some options.
• Golden Gate Park: The options are endless, but honestly for me nothing is better than seeing bison mid park, except perhaps the view of tulips and a windmill as you come to the beach.
• Window shopping on Hayes Street: A few other streets would do, Fillmore, Mission, etc., but visiting a neighborhood with non-chain boutiques will have a little something for everyone, it’s worth shopping but when the prices are prohibitive a good window shop will do, and then perhaps some food or a drink (and if it’s nice outside!).
• Museums: I’m a member at SFMOMA and normally recommend that for a pop by even if there’s no major exhibit in play, Blue Bottle coffee on the rooftop sculpture garden is a lovely way to take a break, the food at the cafe is tasty, and the museum gift shop is always stocked with a good selection of jewelry and paper goods as well as books aplenty; that said SFMOMA is shutty for now (though you can catch a modified gift shop nearby and misc art around town) so take a look at what’s showing at de Young which just so happens to be in Golden Gate Park.
• Take a ferry: It is the Bay Area and what no better way to experience the bay than taking one of the ferries to Sausalito or Tiburon or wherever, get a bite, get a drink, enjoy the view.
• Ferry Plaza and weekend Farmers Market: The Ferry Plaza was redone some time ago and is a bounty of boutique foods, and the Farmers Market takes it to a whole new level so come hungry and with cash, and perhaps coordinate with a Ferry trip.
• Crissy Field stroll to the foot of Golden Gate Bridge: I don’t do this a ton but I can’t argue that this stroll isn’t worth it for the view, bonus points if you’re walking a pooch who appreciates the sand and water.
• Walking tour: Mission Murals, downtown open spaces, you can find a tour on anything you want or didn’t know you wanted do a quick search and it’s worth a good afternoon.
• Events: San Francisco Lit Quake/Crawl, City Arts and Lectures, Open Studios, and Porchlight are only a few of the opportunities awaiting you, it’s a city of interesting people and culture and there is always something going on somewhere.

I’m sure I could come up with any number of options but these won’t do you wrong. What are would you do?