Since I live in the city I was fortunate enough to just bring my own bike to the river and ferry it across to Bang krachao. There isn’t a huge advantage to getting a bike on the other side of the river, so if you’re traveling you might as well just get one from the several renters at the pier. I also went on a weekday, which offers the benefit of being less crowded and peaceful while riding; there are, however, far fewer food and other vendors during the week. There are tons of other things to do once you enter Bangkok’s “green lungs” like kayaking, paddleboating and visiting the local floating market.