In a referral based business like we are in we want to make sure that you have as much fun as possible. We have also driven hundreds and hundreds of tours so we know what works and what doesn’t work and we want to share tips with you. You will get a call from your driver before your tour to walk you through how the day of your tour will play out. If you have any questions beforehand just email/call/text we are very good at responding quickly.
Before Your Tour
As soon as book visit our FAQ page on our website and click on the link for the waiver form. Make a copy for each person that is on your trip. Review the waivers to ensure they were completed correctly. This will speed up the boarding process and if we get the boarding process done quickly then the tour can leave out quicker and that is free bonus time out on the bike which as you can imagine groups love to take advantage of.
Your driver will call you the week of the tour to see if you have any questions and to talk about the route. On the day of the tour we ask that you arrive no later than 20 minutes before your tour, most groups arrive even earlier and have drinks, split an appetizer and hang out. When you board the driver will ask for everyone’s attention and review the waive forms, help the driver out by getting everyone attention and keeping them quiet. The driver will need to check everyone’s identification card too. The driver will then give out the hooking up directions. Our speaker is a Bluetooth system your phone should connect to “Tailgater”. Use Pandora, Spotify, a mix whatever you want to listen to. When you leave come back from the bar you will have to reconnect. You have lots of choices of bars to stop at. We give you plenty of options but groups usually stick to our partner bars, places like Pearl Street Grill, Pan American and River Works that offer you drinks specials. Again, in a referral based business we want to make sure you have fun and the bars we partner with are cool bars with great craft beer lists, patios, drink and sometimes food specials. A great pro tip is to let the driver know how much pedaling the group wants to do, all routes involve different amounts of pedaling and we want to make sure you have as great a time as possible. The trip organizer(the one who used their credit card to pay for the trip) is the main contact with the driver and the one that the driver will look to to help everything flow smoothly.
Food and Decorating
Decorating the bike makes for an amazing tour, cars and people on the streets just react more and it really does make everyone have more fun. Our Facebook and the gallery on the website offer some great ideas of what past groups have done that look cool. The BIG things to remember are to bring masking tape (we have to get the bike cleaned for the tours after you) the sign on the back of the bike can’t be wider than a door (can’t cover our turn signals) and when thinking about hanging things you don’t want to hand things across the riders where it swings and hits people in the face. A funny thing done by a few tours for birthdays is to print out silly photos of the birthday person to hang on the bike. When you are decorating the bike the driver will give you more pro tips and help you decorate. For food you are welcome to bring anything. Food, snacks, appetizers and candy (bringing the birthday persons favorite type hint hint) remember some foods are easier to eat on the bike than others. While you can eat while you pedal and when we park not everything is to hold. Make sure you also bring the napkins, plates, silverware that goes along with your food. While you eat on the bike you don’t need to bring a Thanksgiving feast you won’t be able to eat that much. Skip the cheese and crackers we find that they tend to not be eaten. Some great ideas humus and pita chips, cookies, candy, sour patch kids,etc. All right the last one was my personal favorite but we strongly recommend bringing food it something that almost every group brings. For birthdays also skip the tiny cupcakes and splurge on your friends for the full sized ones which aren’t 100% frosting and get all over everyone hands and the bike.
On the Bike
We have never had anyone fall or get hurt, when the driver shows you how to get up and down properly at the start so pay attention. Just basic common sense stuff here, you can’t jump off and do a fire drill, no spitting or swearing, don’t steal glasses from the bar (the driver will have you return them) if a bicyclist doesn’t high five you no need to run your mouth. You will be able to play your own music during this time, you don’t want to play it to loud so people can’t talk. Also the people that aren’t pedaling and are riding in the back should use the time to take photos because they will be able to take good photos and videos of the group. When we get to the stop the driver will let you know what time the group has to be back on the bike, it is important that you stick to the schedule because when you are late from one bar it just takes up bar time at the last bar and we don’t want to see the group be late at the first 2 bars and then have to rush in and drink the beer quickly at the 3rd bar. To keep the group on schedule let everyone know ahead of time to bring cash, it will make it easier for them to pay the organizer back but by not opening up tabs it allows groups to not wait on one person closing out there tab. The other reason is to tip your driver, you will see that your drivers go above and beyond and earn it. The bike also has plenty of storage space whether it be for the food and snacks, purses, backpacks, clothing etc. Always take your purse, car keys and phone when you leave the bike. The driver is not always on the bike as he or she will leave to call you back from the bar.
Alcohol Policy
You are permitted to bring two 12oz or less can of beer on the bike for each person, NO GLASS, NO HOME MADE COCKTAILS OR LIQUOR. When you are pedaling between the bars you are there to talk and take everything in, not binge drink. At the end of the tour it is common for the majority of the beers on the bike to be not finished. You get all types of really good deals at the bars, we can assure you will stay “hydrated”.
After the Tour
When we arrive at the finishing point the driver just needs everyone attention for a few minutes to see if anyone wants to buy koozies, shirts, hoodies. The driver will ask you to like us on Facebook and then they will take another group photo. The organizer usually slips the driver the tip, the driver helps undecorate, clean the bike, hand down food and belongings. Do keep in mind that we are on tight schedules between tours so we can’t spend as much time as we want with your group after your trip. At this point we hope that you enjoyed your experience and want to do it again. We also ask that you write a review about us whether it be on Trip Advisor, Facebook, Google it all counts for us as we try to grow our business.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, we know you are going to have a blast with your friends now 🙂