Bike The Waterfront Burg With Wine, Murals and History Tours

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The entrepreneur behind St. Pete Biking Tours saw how veterans could recover from severe injuries with physical and intellectual activities. Her business now provides excursions to the public that feature a taste of wines, city history lessons, art views and brewery finds for its exploration rides.

Owner Jennifer Duchnick launched St. Pete Biking Tours in January after years of working in neuropsychology helping veterans recover from traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries at James A. Haley Veterans Affairs in Tampa. Duchnick sees the benefits veterans experience while engaged in healthy mental and physical activities, and she wanted to offer the same kind of support to the community with biking, education and sightseeing.

You can choose among four different themed tours to experience the off beaten path of St. Pete: St. Pete Brewery Tour, History and Heritage Tour, St. Pete Mural Tour and St. Pete Food and Wine Tour. Specialty tours are also provided. Each tour lasts for about four hours.

"I wanted to find a way to introduce tourists to the area, to access parts of St. Pete that they maybe wouldn't otherwise find," Duchnick said in a Patch interview. "That's why I've chosen to include our community partners. Even on the mural tours, we'll stop and have a coffee at one place, and a lunch at another."

Duchnick also wants to introduce visitors to some of the locals' favorites such as Bavaro's, which is on her food and wine tour offered every Thursday.

"Bavaro's has some really interesting Italian wines that you don't find at other places," Duchnick said. "After Bavaro's, we go to Hawthorne Bottle Shop a little ways up Central. The owners are amazingly knowledgeable about wines and beers. They also offer a small menu with homemade pimento cheese. We then go to Renzo's St. Pete, an Argentinian steakhouse, where they do wine pairings with meat options."

Vegetarian options are offered at every stop along the tour.

You can book tours at St. Pete Biking Tours website. Bookings can be scheduled weeks in advance and up to two hours before a tour. Ten people are allowed on each tour. Coronavirus safety precautions are in place for each stop and ride. Visit its website to see the safety policies, and for more information about the tours.