Bike Tour and Oktoberfest

This morning we took the S2 S-Bahn (surface rail) into the city center, Marienplatz. A short walk got us to the old city gate tower where we met our tour guide, Tony, from Mike's Bike Tours. Every tour guide I've ever had fro Mike's has been great and Tony was no exception. He was so "up" and enthused about showing us "his" city that I wondered what was in his coffee cup!

Our tour guide - in a good mood!

First we marched down to the bike shop and took care of "business" ( water in and water out). Their shop is right behind the Hofbrauhaus so we had easy access to rest rooms. Then we were outfitted with bikes. For some of us it had been many years since we had been on one, but Tony assured us that if we had done it in the past it was, well, " just like riding a bike!" Bob was designated as tail end Charlie, or in Mike's Bike Tour parlance, "ass man". He was to make sure no one fell behind and if there was a problem to stay with the individual until Tony returned.
Our first stop on the tour was not what you might expect. Tony showed us one his favorite Bavarian delicacies, roasted pork shoulders, which were displayed on a rotisserie in a shop window. His description sounded so good that several folks had them when we stopped for lunch later in the tour. From there we visited several important historical sites from Bavaria's past. But the best part was his version of the historical facts which he embellished and put into modern day vernacular so we better "get it". Man, there were a lot of cool dudes back then!

Roasted Pork Shoulders

The high light of the tour was biking through the English Garden. After a brief history of this huge park, Tony warned us about the "Nudist Meadow", some of the exhibitionists that lurked there just waiting to shock unsuspecting tourists who dare to look their way! Being it was probably to be one of the last really nice days this fall the meadow, which we had to ride by, had several people lounging about "au natural". Sorry no pictures! Believe me, nothing you really wanted to see!
Near the center of the garden is a Biergarten where we had lunch. The food was good and the beer cold. Enjoying both in the warmth of the sun made one not want to leave.
One last potty stop and we were on the bikes again headed towards the final stop on the tour. A small stream meanders through the garden, but at one particular location a short segment of it is constricted to form a rapids with a standing wave upon which people surf. It's amazing to see them surf and perform tricks in such a small confined space. Back at the bike shop we thanked Tony and Bob was awarded his "Ass Man" medal in the form of a frisbee.

At this point we headed over to the large park where Oktoberfest was being held. We expected to see a lot of beer tents but all the amusement rides were a surprise. The place was mobbed with people coming and leaving continuously but there did not seem to be any roudiness. Folks were pretty friendly and just having a good time. There are always some who drink more than they should but they only caused problems for themselves. By the way we learned during our bike ride that you can be ticketed for DUI on a bike and the police can take your driver's license as a result.
We had heard that it was difficult to get a table in a beer tent if you did not either arrive very early or made a reservation, which could be very expensive. In at least a couple of the places some of us were seated at reserved tables as long as we promised to vacate them before the time they were reserved for.
We all met outside the entrance to the fest area at 4:30 to decide what to do. A few stayed but most of us went back to Marienplatz to shop and find a place to eat or proceeded back to the hotel.