Author Archives: Allyson Dishong

Bike Appétit Tours Coming Soon!

Bike and Roll Chicago is very proud to announce that coming next month (June) 2012, we will be introducing Bike Appétit Chicago Food Tours by Bicycle!

There will be 3 different tours offered multiple times per week:

Big Shoulders Food Tour features Chicago favorites such as deep-dish pizza, Italian beef sandwiches, and Chicago-style hot dogs.

Chicago Bikes, Blues, & BBQ Tour includes top blues clubs, BBQ joints, and other food favorites all in Historic Hyde Park and Kenwood.

Sweet Home Chicago Food Tour the Sweet Home Chicago tour is a sweet-tooth’s dream with samples of top pastries, candies, gelatos, and more!

For more information on pricing, departure dates & times, and more – please visit: http://bikechicago.com/chicago-tours/food

See you out in Chicago for some great eats and great sites soon!

Bike to Work Week is June 9 – 15!

June 9th through 15th is Chicago’s Bike to Work Week!

Our sister company Bike & Park Chicago offers bicycle commuter services from Millennium Park and the 53rd St. Bicycle Center http://bikeandpark.com/city/chicago

A day pass costs just $5 and includes: secure bike parking, lockers, showers*, towel service*, mechanic service on-site, and more!  *Millennium Park location only.

There’s still time to sign-up for the Bike Commuter Challenge produced by the Active Transportation Alliance: http://bikecommuterchallenge.org/

Here’s a listing of the fun events and happenings put on by the City of Chicago http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/supporting_narrative/events___special_events/special_events/mose/bike_chicago.html including a bike to work week rally on Friday 6/15 (with FREE t-shirts – see design below!), short film contest, and a screening of “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.”

 

We look forward to seeing you soon!

 

Bike & Roll Sister Company wins People’s Choice Award

Bike and Rolll Chicago’s sister company focused on bicycle commuting, Bike & Park, recently participated in the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open http://sustainablebrands.com/events/sb12/innovation-open   “…this event showcases highly innovative, socially conscious entrepreneurs with a product orB2B solution that is focused on helping companies achieve their goals towards creating more sustainable brands.”

After successfully passing several rounds of judginghttp://sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/blog/meet-sbio-semi-finalists  We are very proud to announce that our sister company Bike & Park was named the People’s Choice Award winner of theSustainalbe Brands Innovation Open.  http://sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/blog/sb12-innovation-open-results

Friend’s of the Parks L.A.T.E. Ride

Saturday night June 30th / Sunday morning July 1st is the L.A.T.E. Ride Chicago – Presented by the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute & benefiting Friends of the Parks

Bike and Roll Chicago is proud to be a recurring sponsor of the L.A.T.E. Ride and this year we will once again be offering special rental deals with a portion of the proceeds going to Friends of the Parks. You can reserve your bicycle rental for the LATE Ride here:LATE Ride Rentals

Our Millennium Park location (239 E. Randolph St.) will be open until midnight on Saturday night for rental pick-ups and will open at 4:30am on Sunday morning for rental drop-offs.

Info on the L.A.T.E. Ride as well as event registration can be found here

See you Saturday!

Lollapalooza Bike Rental Specials!

The best way to get to and from the Lollapalooza Music Festival and all of the official aftershows is by bike. Jump on your bike, ride down to the festival, park it at the complimentary bicycle valet at the Southeast Corner of Lakeshore and Monroe courtesy of our friends from the Active Transportation Alliance. This year we’ve put together an extra special bike rental deal for all Lollapalooza attendees!

5 day bike rental = $65 (67% OFF)

3 day bike rental = $45 (62% OFF)

1 day bike rental = $20 (49% OFF)

ALL bike rentals are all-inclusive and include: bicycle lock, riding map, & a helmet. As an added bonus ALL Lollapalooza attendees receive $10 OFF anysegway tour, bicycle tour, or food tour by bike. Bikes are going quick so please reserve your bike rental today at info@bikechicago.com please indicate that you’re a Lollapalooza attendee.

For additional info, please check out our website Lollapalooza Page here

Tour Guide Justin on “What it’s Like to Be a Tour Guide in Chicago”

We asked our tour guides “What is it like to be a tour guide in Chicago?” and this is the first of many candid responses we received:

“Being a tour guide is like a recurring show-and-tell for adults. I get to re-live that excitement I had bringing my favorite rock or favorite song to elementary school and having my 2 minutes of sharing glory. As a tour guide, it’s a pretty similar experience: I get to show people all of my favorite parts of Chicago on our mini adventure. As a super-fan of the city and an amateur history buff, being a tour guide is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.

No matter who is on the tour, it’s great to see the reactions on people’s faces change as they start to fall more in love with the city as the tour continues. Many people enjoy our tours from all areas of the globe and also from our own backyard. Groups can range from a mini-United Nations to people that I grew up close to in the suburbs. When we first go out, I make sure we take time to introduce ourselves and where we are from. This creates a friendship between everyone so we all don’t feel like strangers riding around together.

I am a performer, and recently at the end of some of my tours I took time to advertise a cabaret show I had coming up with my girlfriend at a great spot in the city. On the last night of a two-day run of the show I actually had a family from a tour the week before in the audience. It was quite a joy see them there! Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye because you feel like hanging out with your new friends more, so it was nice to have a little reunion at the cabaret.

If I had known how much I would enjoy being a tour guide, I feel like I would have done it years ago. Taking tours in Chicago is a great way to become acquainted with the city, enjoy being outside on something familiar (a bike) or something probably new (segway), and get an insider connection with great places to eat or attractions to go see.”

Justin A

Bike Sharing Fares – Pricier than Bike & Roll

The city of Chicago bike sharing program launched today at several stations around the downtown area.

There has been a lot of confusion regarding the costs for non-members to use the bikes.

The kiosk says  “$7 for 24 hours*” the “*” is the key point of this as the $7 only covers the first 30 minutes of each trip. $7 may seem like a reasonable deal at first glance, what you’ll quickly realize is that for longer, recreational rides, Bike and Roll Chicago is your top choice for price, bicycle selection, locks (so you can stop and check out the sites), helmets, kids seats, advanced reservations and more.

Check out this convenient chart we put together to compare the costs of the Chicago bike share kiosk bike rental vs. a bicycle rental with Bike and Roll Chicago.  As you can see a full-day (8 hour) bicycle rental from the bike sharing kiosk will cost you $119, whereas with Bike and Roll Chicago that same full-day bike rental will cost you only $32 – that’s a savings of $77!

Ride More, Pay Less – Bike and Roll vs Bike Sharing Kiosks

Bike Sharing Comparison

For more information or reservations please visit us online at bikechicago.com our online reservations portal here or give us a call at 312-729-1000

New Belgium Tour de Fat this Saturday!

TDF Logo

New Belgium Brewing Company’s annual Tour de Fat benefiting West Town Bikes roll’s into Chicago’s Palmer Square this Saturday, July 13th!

Want to participate in the bike parade, but need a bicycle? We have a very special bike rental offer just for the Tour de FatClick here for reservations for the Tour de Fat bike rental special

For questions please visit  Bike and Roll Chicago or call 312-729-1000

Event and Music Schedule as follows:

10am: Parade Registration
11am: Danger Zone Parade Launch
12pm: Scot Nery Show
12:30pm: Honeymoon Caberet
1:15pm: Slow Ride
1:30pm: Mucca Pazza
2:15pm: Stunt Pepper Dance Contest
2:40pm: Yo-Yo People
3:30pm: Car for Bike Trade
4:00pm: Reggie Watts

Refreshments to be served

(Be responsible: please don’t drink and bicycle)

1554Fat Tire

Tour Guide Insights into Skyscraper Architecture Segway Tour

I will never forget the first time I was on a Segway Tour, zipping around Buckingham Fountain at night. The yellow, red and blue lights lit up various nuances of the fountain as I had an in-motion panoramic view. It won’t take long for one to realize the amazing qualities of a Segway, and while they may look silly (and I’ve Segway’d by my fair share of chuckles and grimaces), there is so much ground that can be covered and they’re incredibly fun! The Skyscraper Architectural Segway Tour of Chicago is one that particularly covers a lot of ground, not just geographically, but historically and culturally too.

We begin on the Chicago River, and while learning about incredible buildings like Marina City and the Intercontinental, we are also able to see the subtle things that make Chicago great– our beautiful river walk, various kinds of public art, little juice or coffee huts, kayaks along the river. The list goes on. Chicago is as beautiful as it ever has been, and with a venue like that we are able to delve into its rich history and culture. We then connect with Lake Michigan, where we are smack dab in between the vast body of water and some of the tallest, most beautiful buildings in not just the country, but worldwide.

The rest equates to ‘seeing is believing.’ Chicago has so much to offer and the Skyscraper Tour will seriously show you that. I am on tours daily and the city still manages to amaze me with its beauty and back story. And every day that I am on a tour, I can see that it’s not just me, others from all over the globe are amazed as well. So if you have giggled or shrugged your brows perplexed seeing a line ofSegways pass by you, it is only until you hop on one, and I promise you will be amazed too!

This entry was written by Bike and Roll Chicago Tour Guide extraordinaire Chris.

Lollapalooza – Getting There, Riding Bikes, Aftershows, Tours, and More!

Lollapalooza Bike Rental SpecialsPlus Special Offers on Tours!

 

The easiest & fastest way to get to and from the Lollapalooza Music Festival and all of the officialaftershows and hotels is by bike. Jump on your bike, ride down to the festival, & then head out to your next destination after the show.

This year we’ve put together an extra special bike rental deal for all Lollapalooza attendees! Click here for reservations.

 

5 day bike rental = $75 (70% OFF)

3 day bike rental = $55 (60% OFF)

1 day bike rental = $25 (49% OFF)

ALL bike rentals are all-inclusive and include: bicycle lock, riding map, & a helmet. This year you can use the U-Lock included with all Bike and Roll Chicago rentals to lock-up to the bike racks located next to the Lollapalooza Box Office on Columbus Drive between Congress and Balbo.  You can also download the Chicago bike map here.

Bikes are going quick so please reserve your Lollapalooza bike rental online today.  This yearreservations for bike pickup can be made from August 1st to August 5th.

Original Hyde Park Segway Tour

As an added bonus ALL Lollapalooza attendees receive $10 OFF any segway tour, bicycle tour, or food tour by bike.

Please use code LOLLA10 to receive $10 OFF our Chicago Tours.

Interested in learning more about Bike and Roll Chicago’s Tours? Check out our Vimeo Channel filled with videos of the tours here.

For additional info, please check out our website Lollapalooza Page here