Biking in Napa?
 

My fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon. We would like to rent bikes and do our own "bicycle tour" of some of the wineries in Napa for two days of our stay. Is this possible? Where have you rented bicycles from? We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, so, we will be fairly close to downtown Napa.

We drove through Napa yesterday and saw lots of bikers, all ages! Can't help with rental, but something must be out there if you search.

Biking is hugely popular in Napa. The only problem is the traffic. Also, if you head towards Healdsburg, there are lots of bike routes (and in my opinion, more off the beaten track roads... ergo, less traffic). Don't know about Napa, but I know there's a bike shop that rents just off the square in Healdsburg.

sdw, What month are you going?
We were regular riders in NV until this year when I had nagging "knee stuff" develop in March/April.

Here's a site with some good info of biking in the NV.
http://www.eaglecyclingclub.org/

If you go in August, I highly recommend the Tour of Napa Valley. These people put on a good ride and a nice BBQ/Music/Swimming etc is waiting at the finish line.

I bet these people can fill you in on rentals too.
When we go on our own, we take a "criss cross route" thru the area.
We usually use Yountville as a home base and then kind of go back and forth between Hwy 29 and the Siverado Trail
on roads like Oakville Cross Rd, Yountville Cross Rd, Oak Knoll Rd etc.

A lot of wineries to pedal by.

I thin kthe Hilton Garden is next to the NV Marriott off of Trancas/Redwood exit.
If so, you can pedal up the frontage road until you hit Oak Knoll.

I'd also suggest you stop by your neighborhood bookstore and pick up "MapEasy's GuideMap to Napa/Sonoma Valleys". Lists a lot of wineries, restaurants, shopping, sights and hotels, etc.
http://www.mapeasy.com/

F2, Yer killin' me, girl! A bike ride in NV would have been just what the doctor ordered yesterday. That and some ice cold beer on the deck at Pacific Blues Cafe during our "cool down" period.

G'hopper, Agree about traffic. Most places on Hwy 29 and Silverado Trail have a nice bike lane/shoulder. But in some places, it's narrow enough that's it's pretty scary.

Good luck...it's fun. Take a camera.
bicycKal ((#))B-)

Doesn't the California Highway Patrol have signs posted in Napa Valley that say: "Don't drink and bike at the same time"? :D

No wonder we don't go up to Napa any more! All those drunken, weaving bikers! X( X( X(

j-eights, Please don't count us in that group!
People sometimes forget that it's wine "tasting" not drinking or guzzling.
Nothing worse than having to dodge drunken weaving drivers in a 2000lb piece of metal.

On one of our first bike rides in NV, we stopped by the Yountville C of C to see if they had a map of the roads/wineries/stores....the very helpful volunteer proceeded to circle all of the wineries that had free wine tasting as we were sitting in the bike saddles!
Told him "Sir, we don't drink and pedal"!

BTW, a lot of the local police enforce the bike laws in NV so when you see a stop sign, you may want to stop.C:)
biycKal

Kal, I'm impressed.....both with your temperance and the emoticon!

G'Hop...actually we're very cheap. Once we saw a breakdown of all the associated costs of a DUI.

We now do the DDriver thing or one of us stops after 1-2 drinks, depending on the drinks.

Can't begin to tell you how good this past weekend's bike rides felt..ahhhh the wind rustling thru my scalp...the sound of my lungs bursting, the pain of my quads cramping and all of the dust and dirt still in my eyes....DAMN! I missed it!:`(

Bravo, Kal! Really like your "Don't drink and pedal" philosophy!

Grasshopper is right - that is the perfect emoticon!

Across the freewayfrom where youare staying is a bike rental shop. I am sure they would have all the info you need for Valley bike rides.
The frontage road (Solano) , which your hotel is located on, goes due north to Yountville along the vineyards and is a nice and safe route. Although try to avoid during AM school traffic!!! 7:30 - 8:45
Kal's advice is very good!!! Of course the weekends are super busy and therefore more traffic.....

j-three-eights,
Never say never, tho!
We've been known to "pedal locally" for a few hours and then wind up at our favorite golf course/sports bar for a brief, refreshing "carbo load" then pedal back home.
But the roads up here have some bike lanes that you have to shift once when you drive across them.

But, we ALWAYS wear helmets...no matter how funny our noggin's look when you take them off.

It's still better than getting "Gumby head" if you fall without a helmet.#-O

Trav4-Can you tell Mrs Kal I actually gave someone good advice? ;)