washingtonpost.com: Entertainment Guide
| Roll With It By Anne Kenderdine washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Wednesday, April 30, 2003 | ||
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 Having a wheel-y good time in Rock Creek Park. (Photo by Larry Morris/The Washington Post) | |||||||||||||
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Bike Rentals: Washington | Maryland | Virginia
Bike Rentals Across the Region
The local chain Big Wheel Bikes has four stores adjacent to major trails. The oldest, in Georgetown, and the Bethesda store both lie on the Capital Crescent Trail. The Old Town Alexandria store is visible from the Mount Vernon Trail, and the biggest of them all, in Arlington, puts you right on the Custis Trail. All stores have the same rental policies, though hours vary and the Arlington store has the biggest selection. Mountain, hybrid, road and tandem bikes are available, as well as a few kid-size bikes, baby joggers, bike trailers (the tent-like enclosures) for small kids and trailer-bikes (one-wheel attachments to an adult's bike so a child can pedal when he wants). Basic rates are $5/hour (three-hour minimum) or $25 per business day. Helmets for children under 14 are included.
The virtual store Better Bikes offers online reservations and delivery 24 hours a day. Ideal for groups, the service works with area hotels and has provided bikes to John Cusack and Jimmy Buffett. Rental includes delivery, helmet, backpack, lock, a map of trails and roadside assistance. Rates for a full 24 hours are $38 for mountain bikes, $48 for hybrids and $25 for kids bikes. Extra delivery charges apply for bikes delivered between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. Trailers and trailer-bikes are also available. Reservations are recommended: 202-293-2080; www.betterbikesinc.com.
Washington
Based at the Old Post Office Pavilion, tour operator Bike the Sites offers bike rental with or without a tour. Without the tour, mountain bike rentals are $7/hour (three-hour minimum) or $45 per day, including helmet, lock and map. Tandems, trailer-bikes, kid-size bikes and trailers for kids are available. Reservations are recommended: 202-842-2453.
Clustered at the west end of M Street, the bike stores in Georgetown are among the oldest in the area. From any of them, you can ride west along the Capital Crescent Trail, east to hook up with Rock Creek Park or head south across Key Bridge to join the Mount Vernon Trail. Big Wheel Bikes has a location here.
For traveling cyclists in training, Revolution Cycles (202-965-3601) offers racing bikes for $90 per day, helmet included.
The Bicycle Pro Shop (202-337-0311) rents from March through October, offering mountain bikes and the Specialized Expedition brand, a "comfort" bike with wider tires and upright handle bars for $20 (including helmet) per business day.
Thompson Boat Center at the Georgetown Harbor also rents seasonally, from March through August, on a first-come, first-served basis. One-speed bikes are $4/hour or $15/business day; hybrids are $8/hour or $25/business day, locks included.
Maryland
A few miles along the Capital Crescent Trail is Fletcher's Boat House, where single-speed bikes are rented for use on the C&O Canal Towpath only. Caution: It's tough to pedal on the gravelly path. Bikes are rented on a first-come, first-served basis, $4/hour or $12/business day. The boathouse is generally open 9 to 6 daily, depending on weather. Call 202-244-0461 before you go.
The Baltimore and Annapolis Trail is 10 feet out the back door of Pedal Pushers (410-544-2323), and downtown Annapolis is seven miles away. Hybrid, tandem and kids trailers are available; basic rates are $7.50/hour or $30/day.
Virginia
Less than two blocks from the W&OD Trail in Virginia, Bikes@Vienna offers hybrid, recumbent, tandem and trailer-bikes, as well as trailers for children. On the weekends, rates for hybrids are $17 for two hours or $47 for a full day, helmets included. Reservations are recommended: 703-938-8900.
At Wheel Nuts, boasts mechanic Teddy Holtec, "you can ride right out of the store." One block from the Mount Vernon Trail, the shop offers hybrid, tandem and trailer-bikes, and kids trailers. Rates are $17 for three hours and $42 for all day Saturday and Sunday, helmet and lock included.
On the Mount Vernon Trail Between National Airport and Old Town Alexandria, Washington Sailing Marina rents 15-speed hybrids and one-speed cruisers April through October. Rates are $6/hour or $22/business day for hybrids; $4/hour and $16.50/day for cruisers.
Inline Skate Rentals
Unless otherwise noted, all these stores repair inline skates, offer skates in children's sizes and include a helmet and wrist, knee and elbow pads in the cost of the rental. Reservations are not needed, just allow time to be sized for skates. Skate rental is generally available April through August. Except for the Hockey Stop, these stores focus on skiing and snowboarding gear and equipment in the winter.
You can skate to the W&OD Trail from two Virginia stores, Pro-Fit Ski & Skate in Leesburg and the Alpine Ski Shop in Sterling. The Sterling location (there's one in Oakton, too) is a block from the trail, and the store hosts beginner skating lessons in the parking lot, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays in May. Rates are $5/hour and $15/day.
Pro-Fit Ski & Skate (703-777-7547) is a two-minute skate from the W&OD Trail. Rates are $15/day or $25/week.
These shops are within a two-mile drive of a trail. From the Hockey Stop in Rockville near White Flint, you can Metro to the Grovesnor stop and pick up the Rock Creek Park Trail. Rates are $15/day; a helmet and pads are $3 extra.
Ski Chalet's Arlington shop (others in Chantilly, Tysons Corner and Gaithersburg) is a short drive from the W&OD and Mount Vernon trails. Rates are $15/day and $6 per additional day. Clinics are offered Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. through a company called Skatersquest. There are no skates in kids' sizes.
Caravan Skates is located in a warehouse district off Route 1, not far from Lake Artemesia, Greenbelt Park and the Northeast Branch Trail. Rates are $15/day, $25/week and don't include helmets. Skaters wanting helmets can bring their own or buy one at the store (prices start at $20.) The store hosts a skating clinic on Saturdays.
Set in a residential neighborhood in Northwest Washington, Ski Center is a few miles from the Capital Crescent and Rock Creek Park trails. Rates are $15/day. Don't be confused by the recorded message: In summer the store also sells patio furniture, but skate rental is available all year round, as long as it's not raining or dangerously sloppy outside.
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