Private tour biking the rail trail

[Mom2B&Z]

I’m hoping someone has a recommendation for a private tour guide willing to take 4 adults and 2 teenagers on pedal bikes down the rail trail. We are an avid cycling family (I own 5 bikes…) and we would love to incorporate cycling into our vacation. However, NCL’s tour has a weight limit of 250# and we would likely want to travel faster than that group. I can’t seem to find a detailed map of the trail and have read many reports of how it is not continuous, can be difficult to find entry/exits etc. 
Right now my loose plan is to take a taxi from the Royal Dockyards and rent bikes out of Hamilton, bike the Hamilton to St George part of the trail and return to the ship by taxi.

We are on the Norwegian Gem, in Bermuda Sunday March 12. Advice and guidance appreciated. 

[Charles4515]

36 minutes ago, Mom2B&Z said:

I’m hoping someone has a recommendation for a private tour guide willing to take 4 adults and 2 teenagers on pedal bikes down the rail trail. We are an avid cycling family (I own 5 bikes…) and we would love to incorporate cycling into our vacation. However, NCL’s tour has a weight limit of 250# and we would likely want to travel faster than that group. I can’t seem to find a detailed map of the trail and have read many reports of how it is not continuous, can be difficult to find entry/exits etc. 
Right now my loose plan is to take a taxi from the Royal Dockyards and rent bikes out of Hamilton, bike the Hamilton to St George part of the trail and return to the ship by taxi.

We are on the Norwegian Gem, in Bermuda Sunday March 12. Advice and guidance appreciated. 

The Island Tour Centre offers a private tour but they also have a 250 pound weight restriction. Likely it is the same tour as NCL offers. Your only option may be to rent without a private tour but the bike rental without a tour might also have a weight restriction. What about electric bikes. There are private electric bike tours out of St. George. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Mom2B&Z said:

I’m hoping someone has a recommendation for a private tour guide willing to take 4 adults and 2 teenagers on pedal bikes down the rail trail. We are an avid cycling family (I own 5 bikes…) and we would love to incorporate cycling into our vacation. However, NCL’s tour has a weight limit of 250# and we would likely want to travel faster than that group. I can’t seem to find a detailed map of the trail and have read many reports of how it is not continuous, can be difficult to find entry/exits etc. 
Right now my loose plan is to take a taxi from the Royal Dockyards and rent bikes out of Hamilton, bike the Hamilton to St George part of the trail and return to the ship by taxi.

We are on the Norwegian Gem, in Bermuda Sunday March 12. Advice and guidance appreciated. 

FYI, the trail doesn't exist any longer in Hamilton proper so you'll have to find the right place outside of the city to start your tour. 

 

Have  you ascertained that the rental locations you're considering in both Hamilton and St. George's are open on Sunday? If you're considering renting from Oleander it appears that their Hamilton office may be closed on Sundays, and their St. George's office may not be open at all, at least in the off season.

 

The bicycle tour issues aside, I think you're going to have great difficulty returning from St. George's to the ship on Sunday. There's been a problem for several years with inadequate taxi availability in St. George's and that problem is likely to be even worse on a Sunday as most businesses will be closed .  If you find a taxi the fare will be well over $100 because of the 50% Sunday fare surcharge.

[Charles4515]

42 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

FYI, the trail doesn't exist any longer in Hamilton proper so you'll have to find the right place outside of the city to start your tour. 

 

Have  you ascertained that the rental locations you're considering in both Hamilton and St. George's are open on Sunday? If you're considering renting from Oleander it appears that their Hamilton office may be closed on Sundays, and their St. George's office may not be open at all, at least in the off season.

 

The bicycle tour issues aside, I think you're going to have great difficulty returning from St. George's to the ship on Sunday. There's been a problem for several years with inadequate taxi availability in St. George's and that problem is likely to be even worse on a Sunday as most businesses will be closed .  If you find a taxi the fare will be well over $100 because of the 50% Sunday fare surcharge.

Probably if they want to rent on Sunday they will have to rent from Oleander at the Dockyard and do a roundtrip back to the Dockyard. Most on cruisers who have rented bikes and posted about it have done that.

 

https://www.gotobermuda.com/inspiration/article/walk-run-or-cycle-bermuda-railway-trail-national-park

 

https://www.bermudarailway.net/trail/taking-trail/

 

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/bermuda/devonshire/railway-trail?u=i

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by Charles4515

[Mom2B&Z]

Thanks to those who have replied-Oleander isn’t open and I’m working with a bike shop in Hamilton which is open Sundays. We don’t want scooters or e-bikes, the whole point of this was to get out and enjoy our love of cycling while in Bermuda!  
Thank you for the info about taxis and retuning to the ship. This is a huge consideration and I appreciate the heads up. I think we may have to forego this idea unless we can find a organized bike-specific tour without weight limits…which I don’t get because the bikes don’t have weight limits. 
 

[1025cruise]

The bikes might not have weight limits, but the insurance companies do.

[Mom2B&Z]

55 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

The bikes might not have weight limits, but the insurance companies do.

This comment is not helpful and completely unwarranted. I know many avid and capable cyclists who exceed this arbitrary weight limit. 

[Charles4515]

4 hours ago, Mom2B&Z said:

which I don’t get because the bikes don’t have weight limits. 
 

Sorry to contradict you but bikes do have weight limits. A road bike might have a limit of 275 or 300 lbs. There are bikes with a higher limit for heavy riders,  but we don't know what brand or type of bikes the tour company is using.  Say for example their bikes have a limit of 275 lbs than they might be setting 250 lbs so there is some margin for  error. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, 1025cruise said:

The bikes might not have weight limits, but the insurance companies do.

Bikes do have weight limits. Depends on the type of bike and the frame material. I suspect OP won't be happy with me for posting this but it is what it is. There are bikes for heavy  bike riders but the tour companies might not own such bikes. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Charles4515

[Mom2B&Z]

8 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Bikes do have weight limits. Depends on the type of bike and the frame material. I suspect OP won't be happy with me for posting this but it is what it is. There are bikes for heavy  bike riders but the tour companies might not own such bikes. 

I’m aware bikes have weight limits, thanks. The bike rental companies I have contacted don’t list weight limits on their rental sites, nor have they asked when I’ve inquired about renting. 
I’m not here to debate weight limits on bikes, I’m asking for help finding a tour. 

[mackfam]

Also interested in renting bikes/doing a tour when we are there in November. Please report back with any options that you discover.

[powelweb]

Anyone try Pink yet? This is Bermuda's bike sharing program similar to those in many big cities (like the blue bikes here in Boston).

 

You can rent these electric bikes with helmets included for a $4 unlock fee + .25 per minute. You can also pause your rental for .15 per minute (to keep your bike assigned to you) while you grab lunch or visit a tourist attraction, and then continue your bike ride.

 

I'm really excited about this option and interested to hear if anyone has tried it yet. I downloaded the app, and it has a terrific map of the island which shows all the Pink locations you can access and return bikes.

 

https://www.royalgazette.com/local-business/business/article/20220928/scooter-mart-launches-electric-bike-sharing/

Edited January 31, 2023 by powelweb
corrected pricing from miles to minutes

[princeton123211]

3 hours ago, powelweb said:

Anyone try Pink yet? This is Bermuda's bike sharing program similar to those in many big cities (like the blue bikes here in Boston).

Just make sure they are actually electric-- those city bikes are massively heavy and it would be miserable biking with a non electric one of those in the swelteringly humid heat of mid summer in Bermuda. 

[powelweb]

16 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Just make sure they are actually electric-- those city bikes are massively heavy and it would be miserable biking with a non electric one of those in the swelteringly humid heat of mid summer in Bermuda. 

Looking on their App, you can see the bikes available at the various locations on the island, including how much charge they have in km. Seems like they are electric based on that information.

[Charles4515]

23 hours ago, powelweb said:

Anyone try Pink yet? This is Bermuda's bike sharing program similar to those in many big cities (like the blue bikes here in Boston).

 

You can rent these electric bikes with helmets included for a $4 unlock fee + .25 per minute. You can also pause your rental for .15 per minute (to keep your bike assigned to you) while you grab lunch or visit a tourist attraction, and then continue your bike ride.

 

Sounds good in theory but Bermuda is not Boston. I am not in Boston but we have bike share here and bike lanes. Looking out the window there is a barrier seperated bike line on each side of the road on my street. There is a bike rental station with both pedal and electric pedal assist.  (I think they were put in to slow traffic which they do, because I rarely see bike riders in the lanes, they are usually on the sidewalk...)

 

In Bermuda  there are no bike lanes, not even white lines, no shoulders and most roads have no sidewalks. The roads are not in great shape. In that situation I would find riding a bike stressful. Even here the way they drive I would usually only ride to the park and then on the trails there. I could see riding on the Railway Trail and around St. George because some parts of St. George don't have much traffic but in general I would not to visit most tourist attractions on one of those. 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Charles4515

[jean87510]

I'm going to follow this because we pretty much ride bikes everywhere and if the Pink does Electric, even better for hills.  I own an Electric bike and I get a great workout on it as verified by my garmin heart rate history.  Electric bikes are not vespas.  It's a pedal assist if needed up a hill.  

[Charles4515]

51 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

I'm going to follow this because we pretty much ride bikes everywhere and if the Pink does Electric, even better for hills.  I own an Electric bike and I get a great workout on it as verified by my garmin heart rate history.  Electric bikes are not vespas.  It's a pedal assist if needed up a hill.  

You can rent electric bikes at Pedego in St. George’s. Oleander at the Dockyard rents pedal bikes and possibly electric bikes too. 

 

https://pedegoelectricbikes.com/dealers/bermuda/

[jean87510]

On 2/14/2023 at 7:19 PM, Charles4515 said:

You can rent electric bikes at Pedego in St. George’s. Oleander at the Dockyard rents pedal bikes and possibly electric bikes too. 

 

https://pedegoelectricbikes.com/dealers/bermuda/

I actually just rented from Elbow.  Our port time is 1p 10/28 to 1p 10/29/2023.  We are picking up bikes at 3pm then will be able to keep them overnight at the port with locks.  Then will ride them back the next day.  Good thing is they can be taken on the ferry so we are in the process of planning a reasonable route of exploring.  We've have rented E bikes in Cozumel, St. Martin, Grand Cayman, Naples, Germany, Grand Canaria, Skagway, Van Couver...etc...  I'll report back how my day went. 

There are a couple of companies with bike tours plus a ship excursion as well.  It's early yet but I think we are going to aim for the area in between Hamilton and St. George ferry. And also look at the Railroad Trail as well.  

[CruisinKikster]

On 3/12/2023 at 3:24 PM, jean87510 said:

I actually just rented from Elbow.  Our port time is 1p 10/28 to 1p 10/29/2023.  We are picking up bikes at 3pm then will be able to keep them overnight at the port with locks.  Then will ride them back the next day.  Good thing is they can be taken on the ferry so we are in the process of planning a reasonable route of exploring.  We've have rented E bikes in Cozumel, St. Martin, Grand Cayman, Naples, Germany, Grand Canaria, Skagway, Van Couver...etc...  I'll report back how my day went. 

There are a couple of companies with bike tours plus a ship excursion as well.  It's early yet but I think we are going to aim for the area in between Hamilton and St. George ferry. And also look at the Railroad Trail as well.  

I am looking at Elbow and would love to know how your experience was! 

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, CruisinKikster said:

I am looking at Elbow and would love to know how your experience was! 

unfortunately due to weather conditions, we were rerouted to Port Canaveral and Freeport!

[JGmf]

Hope to keep this thread alive for some miracle bike tour, bike path that emerges soon.  Not interested in electric bikes, just real bikes.

[jean87510]

39 minutes ago, JGmf said:

Hope to keep this thread alive for some miracle bike tour, bike path that emerges soon.  Not interested in electric bikes, just real bikes.

E bikes are real bikes.  You don't have to use the electric part if you don't want to.  You can pedal the same way.

 

I own one and a big misconception is these bikes are like mini scooters or vespas.  They are not.