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Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on September 15, 2014 at 4:27pm

There are multiple companies running bike & barge tours (e.g. http://www.eurobike.at/en/tour?tourTyp=3884 ), you just need to google around and find one that offers what you are looking for.  I'm not sure what you mean by "moderate effort" or what parts of Europe interest you.  Realize, if its a self-guided tour you can always add miles by taking your own route.

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Permalink Reply by David Altenburg on September 15, 2014 at 4:31pm

Hi Jeff, 

My wife and I went on this trip last spring (Amsterdam to Bruges): http://www.cycletours.com/tours/netherlands-belgium_amsterdam-to-br...

I can't tell you how it compares to others, but the impression I got is that most are similar. Here's what I can tell you:

The level of exertion *very* casual. I think our average speed was about 15 km/hr. There were some people on our tour who hadn't been on a bike in years. They rode nearly every day, but did take a day off.  Other than my wife and I, there were only two other couples who ride regularly (as in, multiple times/week). Holland is so flat that Chicago seems hilly by comparison, so rides in other countries may involve more effort.  The hardest parts were dealing with the elements (heavy rains one day. Only about half the group rode that day) and the terrible saddles on the rental bikes. (I recommend bringing your own, keeping in mind that their rental bikes will probably be pretty upright, placing most of your weight on your bottom).

Everyone other than my wife and I were retired. In our mid-30s, we were by far the youngest couple of the group, but we got along great with everyone else. 

One disappointment was that we didn't see much of the overnight towns. The smaller towns were often shut down by the time we arrived. After a day on the bike, it was nice to just sit on the deck of the barge and drink beer anyway (the boat was stocked with a nice selection of wines and Belgian beers). The dinners that were served on the barge were pretty good - much better than I had expected.  

Doing the bike/barge (as opposed to just biking from hotel to hotel) was really nice because we didn't have to pack up our gear each day - it's really nice to have everything just waiting for you when you get off the bike. 

Is there anything else you'd like to know? 

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