Bike Copenhagen with Mike

We will be visiting Copenhagen in August and will have the day free before boarding our cruise ship and are interested in seeing some of the major highlights by bicycle. Has anyone done the %26quot;Bike Copenhagen with Mike%26quot; tour? If so, was it enjoyable and worth the time? Also, my husband and I are both in our late 50%26#39;s and don%26#39;t want to do anything too strenuous but are certainly capable of biking 10-15 miles over fairly flat terrain.

I certainly appreciate anyone%26#39;s input.

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Well, I don%26#39;t know anything about mike, but I can tell you that Copenhagen is about the flattest capital you can find. You%26#39;ll be hard pressed to find a bump in the road.

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We are from the States also and planning a trip to Copenhagen in early September. We had looked into this bike tour with Mike also. (We are in the same age range as you also.) If you do decide to venture out on bikes with Mike, would you mind posting a follow-up to this thread when you return to give us an idea as to whether it%26#39;s a good sightseeing option. Thanks very much ahead of time!

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Biking with Mike is decidedly the best way for any kind of traveler to see this fabulous city. I’m a veteran two-wheeling tourist, and much too independent – and impatient – to do tours. Happily I made the exception here because I had little time and wanted to get the lay of the land quickly so I could explore on my own more efficiently later. The one drawback of sightseeing while cycling is that you have to stop to look at the map, and some areas of Copenhagen can be rather confusing. So, having someone give me a crash course (not literally) on how to get around was great.

I found the tour was a rare bargain in this expensive city, and very convenient. No need for a reservation that would tie me down, I could just show up at the central train station at 10 any day of the week rain or shine and he’d be there. The standard tour is about three hours and takes in all the must-sees, with just the right number of stops and short talks about the history, etc. Mike also threw in a bit of social commentary I found interesting and insightful, but he also cordially invited me to tell him to shut up anytime I found the “guidance” boring or annoying. But he’s so well-traveled (and multi-lingual) and delightful that I didn’t have to employ that option and actually pried him for even more info and insights.

Mike also offers an “alternative” tour, which my group opted for, that includes some of the grittier neighborhoods and some off-the-beaten track sights, such as a little enclave of tiny bungalows with lovely gardens. They were built early last century to give urban families a retreat from the grind of the inner-city, where some of the poorer neighborhoods became death traps during an epidemic. The alternative tour is also just a nice ride and, though it added an hour to the tour, there was no extra charge.

Copenhagen is mostly flat and Mike’s ride is quite slow and very safe. I was lucky my group was small even though the summer rush had already started, but you can tell Mike can manage a crowd the way he nimbly herds any stagglers. My group included a mutinous 7-year-old who cried through the first half of the trip, then threw his bike down and just started walking away. His family (I was surprised to see because they were Americans who typically coddler their kids) said something like “Just let him go, he always does this.” But Mike retrieved him and whatever he said on their walk back jollied the little fella enough to get him to hang on through the remaining two hours with no more tears!

I’m always trying to convince people whatever their fitness level that bikes are the best way to sightsee. It’s just too slow and hard on the feet -- or the wallet -- to do otherwise, especially if you don’t have a lot of time. Copenhagen is particularly the case for this: It isn’t called the world’s best biking city for nothing! There are bike lanes on every major road and many of the smaller streets, and the paths along the many waterways and parks are wonderful. But still, though it is so user friendly, even for hard-core bikers like me, getting all the must-sees in without getting lost or having constantly to consult the map gave me plenty of time to explore on my own later, and Mike is great for giving tips on how to do just that – and just about anything else you want to know about the city.

Obviously, I can’t say enough about how great this tour is. I hope all will try it. And once you’re hooked on the touring on two-wheels thing, start lobbying your city to get better bike paths!