triciafromoz

Hi previous posts mentioned the Fat Tire bike tours of Paris and London. I checked the website and they look great but I was just wondering about fitness levels. I have recently had a knee replacement anad while working hard on my fitness so that I can walk everywhere, I am just wondering how hard this tour is? If it seems that I am unable to do it do you think it would be safe if I let my 18 year old, first time traveller, daughter go on the tour alone if I met her at the end? Sorry if this seems over protective but we have not been to Paris before so I need to be sure. Thanks.

tuscanlifeedit

I don't know how your knee is, but you might be able to do it. I had some clients that took their teenage grandchildren on the tour.

Also, I think your 18 year old can do it alone. They travel around in a group. You might want to reassure yourself by corresponding with Fat Tire.

teacherCanada

triciafromoz - What a great question. I can see it would be important for you to clarify just what happens on the Fat Tire Bike tours. I escorted a group of 40 teenagers to Paris in March 2008 and we all did the bike tour. Many of them said it was the highlight of the tour.

How hard is it? Well, it certainly isn't the tour de France. The bikes themselve are like California touring bikes. Wide handlebars, wide, spring loaded seats, fat tires (this goes without saying) and a 3 gear shifter. The ride avoids hills and the guide stops every km or so to point out some site of interest (such as les invalides, the Rodin museum, the Louvre, etc.). The tour takes about 2 hours.

Can your 18 year old daughter go? ABSOLUTELY! As long as she has ridden a 2 wheeler before.

As for you, tricia, if you feel you can ride a bicycle around your neighbourhood on a summers day I think you could handle this - especially if it is a few months post-surgery. The alternative for you (and your daughter, I suppose) is to take the Segway tour of Paris. Fat Tire Bike also rents Segways. Once you master the balance aspect (which really takes only a few minutes) they are great. We did a 3 hour Segway tour of the Chicago waterfront 2 summers ago and it was a fantastic load of fun. Oh, by the way, Segways are more expensive to rent.

Wishing you both all the best fun in Paris.

tC

Pittsburgher

My 60+ husband did the Paris Fat Tire tour a couple of years ago while I did a cooking class. We joke that he's required to wear an ankle monitor, but it was the perfect outing for him. He's much more athletic than I am, and we both had a perfect day. I shared your post with him and he said it would be a great way for your daughter to see the sites with a fun group. You might like the cooking class?

Surfergirl

I went on the night tour last September, and it's a breeze. No hills to speak of, a little incline over a bridge (and I do mean little). My friend had recently had two foot surgeries and had been in a cast for over a month, and although she was probably the last person in the pack, it wasn't hard for he either. For my part, I don't get much exercise, but I do like to bike. But even if you haven't been on a bike for several years, so long as you aren't in your 90's and don't have balance problems (which sometimes happens with age), this will be very therapeutic for your knee. Consider it wonderful physical therapy and get your insurance to pay for it!

bilboburgler

basically both cities are set in flat river valleys around a river. There is therefore very little up (or down). Only issue then is length; the fact is that Fat Tires is focused at visitors to a foreign city so they will not let you get lost.

ParisAmsterdam

You might want to look at Paris Charms and Secrets tours as an alternative.

http://www.parischarmssecrets.com/main_en.html

Their bicycles are electric and take less pedal power than a normal bike.
I hadn't biked for 40 years and I could have done a second tour after our 4 hours were up. My daughter was 15 at the time and found the bikes a breeze.

I haven't done Fat Tire bike tour but have done Segway tours with the same company. I found our guide with Charms and Secrets much more knowledgeable as she was a native Parisian rather than an American college student doing a summer job.

Rob

kkukura

Ask your doctor what he thinks your knee can handle. I have taken bike tours in New York, Paris, Berlin, Munich, and Montreal. The tours are a fun way to get around the cities and to hear a highlight of what there is to do in each city. We like to schedule them the first day so we can decide what we want to go back to see more of. There is a lot of stopping and getting down off the bike and then getting back on the bike after listening to the guide describe the site, so I don't know how your knee will be with that.

susanna

I've done this a few times, it's a great way to see the city, which is extremely flat(I'm from SF which is extremely hilly) I would think you could do it.

As for your daughter doing it alone, absolutely without question. It is well organized, they speak english, they all stay together and everyone has always been friendly. It would be a great experience for her, I think it's great for kids to do something on their own, it empowers them.

amwosu

I've done three Fat Tire tours- in Paris and at Versailles. Like others have said, if you have no balance issues you are likely to be fine on this trip. You do little more that cruise on flat sidewalks and paths getting off or at least stopping and leaning on your seat with your feet on the ground at various sights. One time I was on the trip with a guy who said he hadn't been on a bike since he was 8.

I like the Fat Tire tours because it gives you a sense of perspective that you don't get when taking the Metro from place to place. You kind of get the layout of the land when riding from point to point. I suggest doing the tour early in your trip.

If you feel unable to do the bike trip definitely encourage your daughter to go without you. My 14 yr old son used the Metro to negotioate central Paris on his own a few years back and loved it. I definitely would have had him go on the Fat Tire trip alone.
Ann Marie

nytraveler

Only you can know if your knee will be up to biking for a significant length of time. I would try shortly before you leave to make sure that it's right for you.

As for an 18 year old doing a bike tour alone - many spend weeks in europe alone - I can;t imagine joining a group tour would be any sort of challenge. And doesn't she organize her own life at college without someone at her shoulder?

(When we did London and Paris with my stepdaughters the second time - they were 17 and 14. they did a bunch of stuff alone - together - while the beau and I did some galleries that we really wanted to see. they had no problems, in fact, loved doing exactly what they wanted for the day - and even 2 evenings. Caveat: they were NY kids, independent and used to using the subway and both had studied French.)

november_moon

Bike tours are my absolute favorite way to tour - we haven't done any tours with Fat Tire, but we've done a bunch of other ones and loved them. Even when I was pretty out of shape, I did a tour in Munich - and I was able to keep up even after eating a bunch of sausages and drinking a liter of beer.

My only recommendation is that if either of you aren't very good at bike riding, practice up before taking a tour in an urban area. I've been on some tours with people who were absolute menances on bikes - wobbly wobbly when starting, difficultly riding in a straight line, so focused on trying to stay upright that they neglected to pay attention to traffic signals, etc. One woman on our tour wobbled into oncoming bike traffic going around a curve and went head on with another cyclist. So make sure you've got basic bike riding skills before signing up for a tour.

triciafromoz

THank you so much for all your help. I think I will book my daughter on the Paris bike tour, we could probably do with some time apart, and I will try the segway tour. My main worry is that I will manage the actual tour OK but by that night will be in serious pain and then I will spend the next week paying for it. I don't want to risk anything spoiling this trip.I wouldn't have found this tour without Fodors, so thank you very much.

amwosu

The day tour of Paris requires no advanced reservation. Just go to the south leg (oilier sud)of the Eiffel Tower and look for the Fat Tire sign. The guide will walk you to the office where you pay and get your bike. http://fattirebiketours.com/paris/tours/paris-day-bike

amwosu

pilier sud, not oilier sud. oops.