Kathysa

Does anyone know of a car rental agency in Denver that offers bike racks? The few major agencies I called (Hertz, Enterprise, Avis) are telling me they don't offer bike racks. I would think Colorado is popular for cycling so wonder how visitors get around with their bikes (need to get kids and luggage in the car too). We figure we'll be renting an SUV of some sort and our trip is in July. Any help would be appreciated.

fmpden

Kathysa, I am an avid cyclist living in the Denver area. Biked all over the country and have never found a car rental that offered bike racks. Ski racks in the winter are common but am guessing there would be some huge liability with bike racks. You might try googling Denver bike rentals and see if any of the rental shops have some suggestions. Do you just need to get somewhere with the bikes or are you traveling with the bikes?

Kathysa

Thanks. You've saved me some phone calls My husband is doing the Triple Bypass, so the kids and I are coming along and we're planning to head to the southwest corner of the state for a vacation after the ride. We'll have his bike and the case with us the entire time and would rather not have it taking up room in the back of the rental car. Can you recommend a good bike rental shop in Denver? My husband was going to call REI to see if they had suggestions. We have the bike cargo case from Performance Cycling that can be mounted on roof racks and are thinking that if a rental car is equipped for skis, it should have load bars that we can attach this case to.

fmpden

I thought you looked familar. We had some earlier discussions about distances. Since I don't rent in the Denver area, I do not have an experience with rental shops. However, I will ask around. Asking REI is good idea. There are many bike rentals in the mountain/ski towns but the focus is on MT bikes of medium quality.

If you rent a SUV or van it is possible that the vehcile will have a built-in luggage rack with load bars on tops. Lots of ski racks on rental cars are just cheap clamp on racks that are quickly taken off in the summer.

One of the reasons we shifted to Bike Fridays three years ago with just this hassle with bike cases and airlines. Some airlines are slapping on an $80 bike fee but carry golf clubs for free.

I will run down some rental shops for you.

wtm003

I'm on the south side of town, but there used to be a place that rented bike & ski racks. The name escapes me. I'll take a drive today and see if I can find the shop and I'll get back to you with a name.

You might want to give Bicycle Village a call. They have a several retail shops around the metro area and hopefully they can give you a suggestion for rentals.

www.bicyclevillage.com

Kathysa

fmpden, I didn't even look at your name to recognize it from my "distances" post. I really appreciate all the help I get from here. This trip has been difficult to plan logistically, but we've finally decided to fly in/out of Denver, do the ride early in the trip, and then head over to Telluride and Durango with a night in Aspen on the way. I see Hertz rents Subaru Outbacks or Ford Escapes with luggage racks. I'm hoping they they have the load bars for the bike cargo case. My husband has done Lotoja (in Utah/WY) the past 2 summers but the kids and I didn't go along so he didn't have this rental car issue.
wtm003, that would be great to have the name of a place that rents bike/ski racks. In the meantime, I'll check out Bicycle Village.
It's hard planning this type of trip from so far away, so we appreciate the help.

wtm003

The place I mentioned is now a Qdoba Mexican Grill. Sorry! I'll keep my eyes open and see if there are any other locations in the metro area.

Did Bicycle Village or REI give you any suggestions?

Kathysa

Thank you for looking. I called Bicycle Village and they don't rent racks, but suggested I try Sports Rack or Rack Attack. I called one earlier and got what sounded like a personal home answering machine so will call back on a weekday during business hours. I also found a place online called Denver Bike Rentals that rents trunk mount racks. I'm making progress.

wtm003

That's it - Sports Rack! Good luck!

fmpden

Kathysa, I sent a note to a couple of bike clubs asking about rentals. These are their collective recommendations:

The Aurora store of Bicycle Village was given high marks for road bike rentals. It is on the airport side of town. You indicated you have spoken with them earler, Also recommended was

cherrycreekbikerack.com
bicycledr.com

Also may want to check bikeaccess.net. Nothing to do with rentals but information about bike access and services at DIA.

I also have a couple of other suggestions that I don't want to put on a public board, so contact me off-line.

Good luck, Frank

Kathysa

Frank,
Thanks for the info. I don't know if called Bicycle Village in Aurura...I'm thinking it might have been Littleton. I'll try the other places you've mentioned. Thank you also for the web site for bike services at DIA. We're thinking we'll need to cart the cargo box around with us, but maybe they'll have some storage option.

fmpden

There is no Bicycle Village in Littleton. I am sure you spoke with Aurora. Again, I know of no storage at DIA for bike boxes. But I do have a suggestion for you.

Kathysa

Frank,
My husband has bookmarked the bikeaccess website (couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before ). My next step is to call Hertz (they seem to have the best choices) to see if they can guarantee me a car with crossbars. I'm also trying to reach a friend/coworker in Denver to see if she would be willing to have us ship one of our Thule bike racks to her house, we'd pick it up and put it on the rental car, leave the case in her garage for the week and do all of that in reverse for our return. I'm hoping to hear from her by the end of this week. If that doesn't work out, I may e-mail you directly. The other thing I noticed from bike access is that hotels might store the cargo case. We're hoping to stay 2 nights at the host hotel for the Triple Bypass and I'm thinking another option is to ask them.

fmpden

Kathysa, Make sure your Thule will fit any size and shape of cross bar. My Thule rack will only fit square bars and my Toyato Highland has wide, oval shaped cross bars. And there is no adaptor to make it fit. There is for the ski rack but not the bike rack. I think the common cross bar on new vehicles is a fairly flat, 2 inch wide or so, oval shaped bar.

Frank

fmpden

Just had an after thought. Has your husband registered for the Triple By Pass this year? If not, do it now. There is a voluntary cap of 3,500 rides this year. It is first come, first served, and about 2,500 have registered so far. Also are bring an oxygen bottle for him?

Kathysa

Frank,
You're right...our Thule racks fit on the square cross bars. Ugh...another wrench in things. I did find a place (Denver bike rentals) that rents a trunk-mount bike rack. I need to get a knowledgeable person from the DIA Hertz counter on the phone. They rent Subaru Outbacks, Ford Escapes, and Nissan X-Terras, which all look likely to have crossbars.
Have you done the Triple Bypass? My husband has registered and is getting some sort of oxygen tent for sleeping to use the month before the ride. Do you think he'll need supplemental along the ride too? I know the altitude is a big concern for him since we live in MA.

fmpden

This ride is not for the faint of heart or anything else. !20 miles with two miles of climbing over three passes of 11,000, 12,000, and 10,300. I have never done it because it is not my idea of fun. They don't call it Triple By Pass for nothing. It is demanding to the point of being an extreme ride. For someone without much acclamation, it can be a tough ride. Altitute sickness can strike quickly and unexpected. For this reason the majority of the riders are from Colorado. My comment about the oxygen bottle was more of a little joke. I live at 6,000 feet and when I ride in the Leadville area (about 12,000) I notice the difference. If is not a big problem for me but I do notice it.

Since this is an old and one of the premier rides in the area, I am sure the ride organizers can answer these questions. I would assume they have supplemental orxygen at the aid stations but you should ask.

I am sure that all of the vehicles your mentioned would have factory installed luggage racks. I am sure you could go by any dealership and check out racks in your area.

With all of your hassles, you now know why we shifted to Bike Fridays three years ago for our travels.

Good luck, Frank

Kathysa

Thanks again for all the information. It is interesting how the travel industry certainly doesn't make it easy to do bike vacations. Ski trips are a piece of cake compared to this. I was able to reach a very helpful person at the Rack Attack in Golden today, so I appreciate you providing the names of these places. I do plan to check out some of the cars I mentioned to see what the factory installed luggage racks are.
Is Bike Friday the folding bike? My husband has one of those, but for this intense of a ride, he wants to use his regular road bike that he trains on. He has been getting info from the ride organizers, but like you said, I don't think there are many riders who come from out-of-state, let alone try to plan a family vacation around it He has done Lotoja, which is a 1-day, 200 mile ride from Logan, UT to Jackson Hole the past 2 years and is anticipating this to be just as difficult, if not more so, because of the mountain passes.

fmpden

Lotoja is a loooonnnng ride but the passes are only about 6,000 which is about where you start in Colorado. But it sounds like your husband enjoys these kinds of rides, so he should be OK. I guessing that Lotoja's total climb is less than Colorado. Two miles is a lot of climbing in one day. The lack of oxygen will have an impact -- just how much is the question. Let me know if I can help in any other ways.

Frank

Barblab

If he is just going to use the bike for the ride have you thought of shipping it UPS direct to the race director or local bike shop - with their approval? If you do decide to do this then arrange the shipment yourself on the website as it is about 1/2 of what it is if you walk into one of their stores. I just arranged to ship one from Houston to Los Angeles for $52.