The Best Way to See San Antonio!

Prior to moving to San Antonio, my husband and I literally never went on a bike ride together. This is quite an accomplishment as we've been married almost 3 years and have been together since high school. This all changed when we moved down here, though. We have now been on two long (well long for me!) bike rides and have lived here less than 2 months. It's not surprising either. San Antonio is built for biking.

While there are bike routes in Chicago and in the suburbs, it's not an activity you can do year round so it doesn't make sense for the city or neighboring suburbs to invest a lot of money on bike routes. The difference in San Antonio is that it doesn't get cold and there are bike routes all over this city. It's my personal mission to see all of these trails so I'm sure I'll be writing to you more on this in the future. Once the weather cools down we have plans to do a 30 mile bike ride through the city to see all of the Missions with some friends so keep a look out for that blog in the fall.

For now, I wanted to talk about B. Cycle, which is the San Antonio bike sharing company. Guys, this is the best company ever! Since we don't own our own bikes, we have used this company twice. They have bike stations literally ALL over the city. Their website claims they have over 60 bike stations and I believe it. I have seen about 6 just close to my apartment (i.e., the Mission road station, Mission Park Pavilions, Concepcion Park, Confluence Park, Roosevelt Park and Blue Star) and that's just within a 2 mile radius! I should mention I'm extremely lucky and live off the riverwalk in the Missions which is a highly visited area. Mission Concepcion is a half mile up the street and Mission San Jose is 1.5 miles in the opposite direction- give or take a little if you take the riverwalk. How's that for a beautiful view?

B. Cycle has hundreds of regular and electric bikes available throughout the city. And they're in great condition! I was not expecting that. The bikes have three resistance levels and let me tell y'all that you need those. The riverwalk has some crazy little hills that will leave your thighs screaming for a break. Now, since we're in the times of COVID, my husband and I have carried disinfectant wipes with us and thoroughly wiped down our bikes every time we have gone. This is probably an over reaction since the bikes sit outside in the San Antonio sun all day, which would naturally kill the virus ( but if I cleaned a hotel bathroom you better believe I was going to clean a bike). The bike company also disinfects the bikes every day using a bacterial and viral spray.

A day pass is only $12 and they're open from 6 am to 11pm! That's a steal in my opinion. I would highly recommend a day pass over a single pass as a single pass is only a 30 min bike ride for $3.25. Economically, it just makes more sense and like I said this really is the best way to see San Antonio.

Some things to note: Even if you use the day pass, you still have to dock your bike at a station at least once every hour. Now, don't worry about this. Like I said, there are stations every where and if you're touring the city, you'll naturally want to stop and look around. Dock your bike and go look at a beautiful mission or walk around Southtown and grab a delicious gelato at South Alamode. If you don't dock it, you do get a late fee to your credit card so make sure to watch the clock.

B. Cycle also has a great app. You can pay for your day pass on here, find the closest station with directions, and choose/unlock a bike. The best part is you don't have to touch the public pay station. This is a bonus during these germy times we live in.

Have you used B. Cycle before? Do you think biking is the best way to see the city? Do you want to hear about more biking routes in San Antonio? Let me know! Sending you all of my love and take a bike ride through a new part of your town today, read a good book or listen to Taylor Swift's new album (which is so very good!) and drink all the rosé! Until next time!

-Pau💜

P.S. I'm working my way through the Twilight series and Midnight Sun is released tomorrow so those blogs are on their way. And yes, as a 27 year old woman I am taking this Twilight review very seriously.