Bike and Roll DC

The pick up location was easy to find due to good signage. Our tour guide was friendly and informative. We did the 9am tour which I would recommend due to building crowds later in the day. Almost all the riding is on pedestrian/bike paths so you don’t need to worry about cars. They had to change the path of this tour due to Covid so it was a little bit less about the blossoms and more stops with monuments. We stopped at the Smithsonian Castle, the Washington Monument/White House, the MLK Monument and the Japanese Lantern. The last 2 stops are on the Tidal Basin so also saw the Blossoms there. Overall it was a good experience and we would use this company again. (Note that although we booked with “bike and roll” all the signage on the bikes and employees said “bikes unlimited” so I’m not sure who’s service we really used or if they are actually one in the same).

Fun and safe! Guided small group tour made
This a highlight during our DC visit.
First time for us and found we felt confident in short order. Helmets and instruction provided and lead by a great guide - highly recommend it.

We as two persons did a bike tour with our guide Joe Brady; in the off season of January we were the only participants so we had a private tour! Planning on only seeing Capitol Hill, Joe inquired our interests and personalised the tour to our wishes and capabilities on a bike. Joe has great knowledge to share, especially on the history of the city and told us so much about DC. The perfect start of our trip!

My family thought this we be a nice way to spend a day of our D.C. vacation. We are all avid bikers and wanted to spend some time outside but were very disappointed with the ride.
I would first like to say that the staff at bike and roll was great, very helpful and nice, my negative review is about the specific "Bike to Mt. Vernon" trip. If you are considering this maybe you read at the bikewashington.org website where it describes the trail as "fairly flat with an occasional rolling hill"
Ha.
The bottom line is the trail is essentially nothing but hills next to a busy highway! Now, I bike long touring trips every year and my wife bikes to work every daywe are not afraid of hills, the problem is it's not quiet and relaxing (next to busy 4 lane highway) and more importantly, it really doesn't make any sense to BIKE to Mt. Vernon, a place where you want to spend hours and do nothing but walk around. We found that we would have MUCH rather had the 2hrs spent biking there and back to spend at Mt. Vernon. Just when you're tired out from walking around Mt. Vernon and want to go home to your hotel, you have to ride a bike through 10 miles of hills to return it, then get on a bus to take you back to the Alexandria Metro, then get on the Metro to take you back to D.C., then walk back to your hotel. You get the pictureit sounded romantic but was anything but. On top of that you add the expense of the renting the bikes and it was a big waste of time and money from our point of view.

The only positive was that it we got to see Alexandria which was charming and quaint.

As far as Bike and Roll goes, again, very helpful and nice, but stick with the "bike the sites" tour, that looked like a lot of fun. If we ever go back we plan to do this.

We loved our evening ride to see the monuments. Started at 630 and was back by 930pm. The weather was hot and muggy so it was a little cooler this way. Imformative and nice way to see all the sites and walk around for 5-10 minutes on each. I hear that the capital day ride that you don't get to walk around and look up close. I wouldn't recomend that as half the enjoyment is to see the monuments. Worth the money even though it was a little pricey. Good way to see them all. They give you water bottles.

My family and I rented bikes for a unique and fun way to see the monuments. We were not disappointed. We decided to go our own way with a map and Bike the Sites supplied the TREK bikes and the helments and locks. We were able to see alot in one day and did not have blisters or tired feet. Getting from place to place was easy and fast. The personnel at Bike the Sites are knowledgable and very helpful. They have bikes for all sizes. The ride is easy and the terrain flat. YOu cannot go wrong and it is great exercise.

Best sightseeing experience for the whole family. We go to DC every spring and the bike ride is always a must!

One hour before our tour was to start my husband looked out our hotel window on Penn Ave - there was steady rain and pedestrians carried umbrellas. We called Bike/Roll to cancel. They wanted us to reschedule. We were leaving the next day - there was no time.
The rep insisted the weather was fine, it was just a "drizzle." If we cancelled, they'd keep the processing fee. I asked for the manager and put my husband on. After he told her he'd instruct the credit card company to investigate the charge, the manager said she'd give the refund. Turns out they didn't.
It's not the amount of the processing fee. It's the incredible poor customer service, and their insistence that the weather was fine even though people on the streets were using umbrellas.
Perhaps the tour guides are great. But their customer service needs work.

My boyfriend and I recently spent 5 days in the Washington DC area. We are not by any stretch of the imagination young or athletic. I would describe us as a couple of aging lethargic p.c. gamers. So, you can imagine we were a little hesitant at the idea of renting athletic equipment. Nevertheless, we had been to DC one time before and knew that there was no way we could see everything we wanted to see on foot. So we decided to rent bicycles. It was hands down the best vacation decision we have ever made!
First off, the staff of Bike and Roll was fantastic. Even though we were obviously novices to the sport they treated us with the utmost respect. When we first arrived a staff member took us around and showed us all of the different types of bikes that they offered and helped us decide what would best serve our needs. They provided everything a helmet, a lock, a high quality pump, and spare tubes for each of the bikes. Even though they were busy the staff spent about 20 minutes with us and answered each and every one of our questions. Never once did they treat us like our questions were stupid (and looking back now I’m sure some of them were) or deride us in anyway.
We wanted to rent the bikes for 5 days, but we were unsure if we would physically be able to bike for that long. We were told to take the bikes and return them when we were done and we would only be charged for the time we used. They were true to their word when we returned the bikes we were charged the exact same price we were quoted. There was no trick, no subterfuge, and no fine print. Doing business with Bike and Roll was like a breath of fresh air. After we felt confident that we had asked every silly question we could come up with we mounted our mechanical steeds and headed for the U.S. Capitol. Instantly I was transformed into a kid again. Before we had gone two blocks I was literally giddy with excitement. I couldn’t stop myself from yawping, “Woooo Hoooo!“ and laughing wildly to the wonder of the DC residents who were trudging to work around me.
We used the DC Metro (the DC subway system) in combination with the bikes which allowed us to go all over the city. In many cases we used the Metro like a ski lift. We would take the Metro up hills and bike down. One great place to do this is on a path called the Rock Creek Parkway. You take the Metro up to the National Zoo and then down the parkway. You can coast almost the entire way. We did it twice and it was worth it both times.
The bikes were top of the line and preformed perfectly. The equipment was well maintained. The brakes were adjusted just right. The gears changed fluidly. At one point I somehow punctured my rear tube. Because of the instruction we received from the staff I was able to quickly replace the tube with the new one provided. I used the pump to refill the tire and 15 minutes later we were zooming along again like nothing had ever happened. I know it may sound silly but at that point my confidence level soared. I felt like I could do anything. My advice to you is this: if you are feeling like you’re in a rut, if you feel that at your age life has nothing left to offer, or if you’re just looking for a little adventure, go see the Nation’s Capitol on a bike. For five days I felt like a kid again. One last thing, if you do decide to rent a bike in DC, do yourself a favor and rent the bike from Bike and Roll.

While visiting D.C., we opted to experience the Bike and Roll evening bike tour of the monuments. It was our family's favorite part of our entire D.C. visit. Our 9 and 10 year old boys were easily able to participate in this adventure. (This activity is easy, and would be appropriate for almost anyone, regardless of their current level of fitness.) After biking the short distance to a monument, our fabulous tour guide, Liz, provided us with some background. Her very interactive presentation was interesting and informative. Furthermore, she was eager to answer any questions. Time was allotted to explore each monument, before biking the short distance to the next monument. The best part was being able to view the monuments while they were lit up at night. Our family definitely would participate in a Bike and Roll activity again.