Bike Rental in Seattle?

[CruisingLover]

Hi

 

We will be in Seattle the day before our cruise leaves (we are flying in on a Friday night and cruise leaves on Sunday). We would like to rent bikes and tour Seattle on our own. I was wondering if anyone has any good bike rental places they could recommend? We will be staying at Homewood Suites Hilton Seattle Downtown -206 Western Avenue West, Seattle, Washington, 98119 so would like one within walking distance from our hotel.

 

Thanks :)

Tracy

[Casagordita]

You will have to be very fit athletes with a lot of stamina to tour much of Seattle on a bicycle! It's a VERY hilly city. I was actually a little surprised to see that there is a bike rental shop downtown, which is one of the most hilly parts: The Bicycle Repair Shop on Alaska Way. It may or may not be within walking distance from your hotel, depending on how you define that--but if you intend to tour much of the city under pedal power, I rather think that it had better be!

 

That said, a nice bike ride isn't out of the question. There is a bike path, the Burke-Gilman Trail, that runs from the beach in Ballard, along the Ship Canal, over the top of Lake Washington, and out to Woodinville--27 miles in all. It's close enough to being flat to be accessible to the average cyclist. I know of a couple of shops near the Burke-Gilman that rent bicycles: Dutch Bike Company and Recycled Cycles. Another option would be to go over to West Seattle and rent a bike along Alki Beach from Wheel Fun Rentals or Alki Bike and Board.

 

There are bike lanes all over the city, and a lot of locals do get around that way on a regular basis. You could make some nice excursions from these bike shops--exploring Ballard or Fremont, tour and sample at the Theo Chocolate Factory, lunch and a kayak ride at Aqua Verde Paddle Club on Lake Union, a little wine tasting or a tour of the Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville, or take a ride along Alki Beach--that wouldn't be all that challenging. And most Metro buses have bike racks on the front, if you want to cheat on the worst hills, or you just poop out! But unless you are a serious cyclist used to steep hills, I would stick to the flatter areas and do the extensive touring by car or bus!

[CruisingLover]

You will have to be very fit athletes with a lot of stamina to tour much of Seattle on a bicycle! It's a VERY hilly city. I was actually a little surprised to see that there is a bike rental shop downtown, which is one of the most hilly parts: The Bicycle Repair Shop on Alaska Way. It may or may not be within walking distance from your hotel, depending on how you define that--but if you intend to tour much of the city under pedal power, I rather think that it had better be!

 

That said, a nice bike ride isn't out of the question. There is a bike path, the Burke-Gilman Trail, that runs from the beach in Ballard, along the Ship Canal, over the top of Lake Washington, and out to Woodinville--27 miles in all. It's close enough to being flat to be accessible to the average cyclist. I know of a couple of shops near the Burke-Gilman that rent bicycles: Dutch Bike Company and Recycled Cycles. Another option would be to go over to West Seattle and rent a bike along Alki Beach from Wheel Fun Rentals or Alki Bike and Board.

 

There are bike lanes all over the city, and a lot of locals do get around that way on a regular basis. You could make some nice excursions from these bike shops--exploring Ballard or Fremont, tour and sample at the Theo Chocolate Factory, lunch and a kayak ride at Aqua Verde Paddle Club on Lake Union, a little wine tasting or a tour of the Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville, or take a ride along Alki Beach--that wouldn't be all that challenging. And most Metro buses have bike racks on the front, if you want to cheat on the worst hills, or you just poop out! But unless you are a serious cyclist used to steep hills, I would stick to the flatter areas and do the extensive touring by car or bus!

 

Thanks for the info :)

 

Hopefully I can convince my hubby to do the "nice" bike ride, as opposed to the hilly one!

[Casagordita]

Thanks for the info :)

 

Hopefully I can convince my hubby to do the "nice" bike ride, as opposed to the hilly one!

 

The Burke-Gilman is really pretty. Much of it goes through the city, but it's along the water a lot of the way, across the edge of the University of Washington campus, and through some interesting neighborhoods. Then it gets more altogether out in nature. And it's long enough to satisfy an exercise junkie, if your husband is trying to burn off some calories before the cruise foodfest!

[CruisingLover]

The Burke-Gilman is really pretty. Much of it goes through the city, but it's along the water a lot of the way, across the edge of the University of Washington campus, and through some interesting neighborhoods. Then it gets more altogether out in nature. And it's long enough to satisfy an exercise junkie, if your husband is trying to burn off some calories before the cruise foodfest!

 

Thanks! I will definitely look into this.

 

I'll have to see where the Bike Repair Shop (to rent bikes) is in relation to our hotel. But does that trail start around the bike rental place?

[Casagordita]

Thanks! I will definitely look into this.

 

I'll have to see where the Bike Repair Shop (to rent bikes) is in relation to our hotel. But does that trail start around the bike rental place?

 

There is a bike path north from Alaska Way, along Elliott Bay on one side and the Sculpture Garden and Myrtle Edwards Park on the other--not sure what happens past those, but I've known people who commute that way from the north end. Otherwise, you would need to take a cab or a bus from downtown to the other areas where the Burke-Gilman Trail and the other bike shops are. They're all in neighborhoods of Seattle, not suburbs--shouldn't be too hard to get there by bus, and the cab fare wouldn't be too bad.

[CruisingLover]

Are there bike rental places near the trail? If we want to do that Burke-Gilman trail it looks like we'll need to catch a bus or cab to get to there first as it is about 9 miles away from where the bike rental place is near our hotel (if I calculated correctly :o). Then we could just rent our bikes there and go on the trail right away without having to bike 9 miles first :D

 

Or, are there nice trails near our hotel that we should try?

 

Thanks for your help! Not being from there, and only looking at small maps, makes it hard to determine what's nice etc and what's near our hotel.

[mapleleaves]

The easiest place to pick up the Burke Gilman is at the University of Washington.... ride your bike from downtown along east side of Lake Union and when you get to the north end of the lake, you'll come across the trail.

Another option to consider ... bike along the waterfront to the coleman dock, where you can catch the water taxi to Alki Beach in West Seattle. Fabulous views of the seattle skyline. Ride out to the point for views across the sound. Watch for the resident bald eagles and sometimes you can spot seals in the water. Interesting little restaurants to visit.

There are bike paths in the seattle web site http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaps.htm

 

Also ... consider renting kayaks on Lake Union. It's fun to poke around the houseboats and watch the traffic on the lake .. scheduled float plane service, sailboats, motorboats, kayaks. When you get to the north end of the lake you can go under the bridge, into the Montlake Cut where the Univeristy if located and then you're in Lake Washington. Near the bridge pull into Ivars for takeout fish & chips .. they have a dock and outside seating so hard to miss the place.

[Casagordita]

Are there bike rental places near the trail? If we want to do that Burke-Gilman trail it looks like we'll need to catch a bus or cab to get to there first as it is about 9 miles away from where the bike rental place is near our hotel (if I calculated correctly :o). Then we could just rent our bikes there and go on the trail right away without having to bike 9 miles first :D

 

Dutch Bike Company and Recycled Cycles are both very close to the Burke-Gilman Trail. Dutch Bike is in the Ballard neighborhood, and Recycled Cycles is in the University District.

[Dan G]

actually there is a bike rental and tour company a block or two from your hotel on Pike street.

 

look at

 

seattlecyclingtours.com

 

its really close and a good company