Pedal. Drink. Repeat.

As you get older, it becomes harder to find time to hang out with your friends and family. Everyone is busy with work and responsibilities and honestly just being tired from said work and responsibilities. Now try and throw in the word exercise and you bet everyone will be pulling out their best excuses to get out of agreeing to plans with you.

Nevertheless, here I am about to convince you that a group bike ride is one of the most entertaining activities you can suggest. And the trick to convincing your friends to exert themselves for fun? Offer them the chance to drink while they do it. Believe me, I've done it three times already and no one has left disappointed. 

Now I am sure when you read "group bike ride" your mind probably went straight to an image of a bunch of people riding bikes together along a path or in a park somewhere. And I agree, that does not sound like an exciting way to spend your Saturday night. So forget that idea. That is NOT the bike riding I am about to tell you about. What I am about to sell you on is the idea of pedal parties.

Close your eyes (and then quickly open them again so you can continue reading this blog!). Now picture a long bar height table. Add some stools or high chairs around it. Imagine your friends sitting around the table with drinks in hand, laughing and having a good time. Ok now swap out the stools and chairs for bike seats with pedals. And voila. You have yourself a party bike. It is basically a bar on wheels that you and your friends can ride around on, drinking as you make your way to different bars and restaurants.

The best part of this whole concept is that you don't need to actually know how to ride a bike in order to partake in the adventure. All you have to do is sit and pedal. Or if you are like some of my friends, sit and relax and let the other passengers pedal for you. 

Savannah Slow Ride

The first time I came across the concept of Party Bike Tours was when planning my friend Jenna's bachelorette party. We were heading down to Savannah to celebrate and in my research I turned up a company called Savannah Slow Ride. We were a larger group of girls, who were looking to have a fun time just drinking and enjoying each others company and this seemed like an exciting way to do it.  

They offered different themed tour options, but we opted for the Slow Ride Pub Crawl. There was a driver for the tour, which directed the bike to the various areas stops as everyone pedaled and enjoyed their drinks. It was a nice mix of time on the bike and in the bars, so no one tired out too quickly. We were also able to connect to the speaker system and play any music we wanted as we made our way around the city. We laughed, sang, waved at strangers and, of course, drank to our hearts content.

The experience was so much fun that I planned an entire second weekend in Savannah just to do it again (and to show Craig the city). We decided to fly down for a quick trip one January with our friends Andrew and Dara and I made sure we jumped on the Party Bike. This time we rode with strangers, but still had an amazing time.

Cycleboat LI / Paddle Pub Patchogue

It's a lot easier to find Party Bikes outside of New York in cities where it's legal to drink on the streets - and where they have a lot less traffic. But not all hope is lost. If you do want to do something local, Long Island has Party Pedal Boats to fill the void. 

Basically it's the same concept as a Party Bike but instead of pedaling to move wheels, you are riding to propel the boat. The one we did was in Freeport on Nautical Mile, but unfortunately it has since shut down. It was called Cycleboat LI and I have to say I was extremely disappointed to find out it went out of business. 

When we went, we were able to rent out the entire pedal boat. We had a great group mixed of family and friends and we rode through the water around Freeport. We brought drinks, sandwiches and snacks along for the ride and had perfect weather. We were able to change seats throughout the adventure so everyone had time to talk, hang out and take a break pedaling when needed. Although I suspect some people didn't pedal most of the time anyway (you know who you are!)

I know, I know - it's mean to tell you about this amazing company and adventure when you no longer have the opportunity to take the tour. Do not fret though, there is at least one other company that runs similar tours in Patchogue. It's called Paddle Pub Long Island and although I can't speak for this tour specifically, if you like the idea then it might be worth checking out. Their boats seem to be a little bit bigger than the bikes and the boat we went on in Freeport, but the overall concept is the same.  So there you go. Exercise and drinks combined in a way that is safe, fun and unique. I have seen similar Party Bikes and Boats in other cities we've visited across the country, so I highly suggest looking into it wherever life takes you - whether in your home town or while on vacation. You won't be disappointed.