Moderate

11 miles (18km)
400 ft (122m)
About 4 hrs

San Francisco City Hall, where political power can intoxicate and lead to devastating events.
Rooted in San Francisco’s free love movement, feature-length adult films were spawned in this theatre. But that’s only the beginning of the story.
When you think of San Francisco entrepreneurs, you may not think of Jim & Artie Mitchell. You should.
Learning about SF’s underbelly requires riding along the city’s beautiful bay waterfront.
We all have our own personal vices. If wine is one of yours, you’re in luck. What vice tour would be complete without a little indulgence?
This has got to be the most scenic Vice tour on the planet. Mission Creek houseboats.
Modern-day vices can emerge before our eyes, without us even noticing. Do you have a handheld addiction? If so, the people inside this building are partially to blame.

Tours scheduled by request. Please contact us if you have a specific date in mind.

This tour is for ages 21+

Vice, as defined by Mirriam-Webster Dictionary:
a : moral depravity or corruption
b : a moral fault or failing
c : a habitual and usually trivial defect or shortcoming

What You’ll Explore

No matter how you define it, San Francisco has been shaped by lifestyles not necessarily perceived as upstanding or normal by the majority. From sexual freedom to mind- and body-altering substances, San Francisco has always been a city that celebrates ways of life sometimes vilified elsewhere.

On the Vice bike tour, we’ll explore all kinds of things considered vice, either now or in the past. Some you might agree are still illicit. Others you might wonder how they were ever perceived as such.

We’ll dig into the underbelly of the city’s origins, when rule of law was merely theoretical. We’ll tell the tale of how two brothers, steeped in the 1960’s sexual revolution and drugs, struck it rich and while opening mainstream America’s eyes to adult films. We’ll stand at the epicenter of one of the biggest American sports controversies in history, and ask you, what would you have done? We’ll appease our brain’s pleasure centers with some wine tasting in SoMa, where wine production was once as important to the neighborhood as tech is today. And speaking of tech, we’ll explore some (newly) historic places that are launching humanity’s latest vice.

This tour includes themes not suitable for kids, including sex and drugs. We have a strict age policy of 21+. Please keep an open mind when on the tour.

But what about the hills? We’ve minimized the hills and use the gentlest ascents possible. The route is designed for anyone comfortable on a bike with a modest level of fitness.

We don’t stop for lunch on this tour, but we do include a snack stop.

Neighborhoods & Areas Visited

Hayes Valley: Our start and finish. A local’s favorite with boutique shops, cafes, and a busy park on sunny days.
City Hall: A magnificent building, where power can alter the mind more than a tab of LSD.
Polk St.: Commercial corridor bordering Pacific Heights and the Tenderloin.
Municipal Pier: Aquatic Park pier with stunning views of Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.
Embarcadero: Long stretch of road bordering the Bay Waterfront.
Giants’ Ballpark: On the water and next to a McCovey Cove, which sent baseball fans into a tizzy during the steroid era.
Mission Creek: Waterway with SF’s only houseboats.
SoMa: Historic epicenter of SF tech scene. Previously epicenter of SF wine production.
Mid-Market: Home to some of the most famous tech companies in the world.

Bike Type

City Bike with 7-8 speeds & upright sitting position. Regular and “step-through” frame styles available. Brands include Public, Specialized, Breezer, and Civia in a variety of colors.

Need to Know

Prices include bicycle and helmet. Gratuities not included – please consider tipping your guide.
Booking for one person? Great – we love solo travelers! Please note we require 2 or more participants to run a tour. If you are the only one booked the day before a tour, we may ask you to move to a different tour or give you a full refund.

Difficulty
This is our easiest “regular” bike tour, however, you are still riding a bike and going up some minor hills. We ride at a casual pace and make frequent stops.

Safety
We take safety very seriously. Our tours take you on San Francisco’s safest bike lanes, bike routes, and quiet streets. We provide safety instructions before each tour. Helmets (provided) are mandatory.

Before and After Your Tour
Need to grab a coffee or a bite to eat before or after your tour? Check out our recommendations.

Continue your Bicycle Adventure
We offer bike tour participants a 30% discount on bike rentals at our sister company CityRide Bike Rentals. We include a rental discount code in your bike tour confirmation email. Make sure to enter this code when reserving your bike rental online at the CityRide website. Please contact us if you don’t find it or have any questions.