Our goal is to make sure your group has as much fun as possible in a safe environment. This is why we write these blogs to pass our experience of driving hundreds of tours on to you. We realize that as the organizer of your group, you have the hardest job so we are here to try and make it as easy as possible. Here are some great pro tips to ensure an amazing cycle boat or pedal bike tour. We have perfected how to have a perfect tour down to a science.

Before Your Tour

Whoever books your cycle boat or pedal bike tour will be sent a confirmation email that explains what we provide, where to go, when to show up, where to park and many other important things. A great idea is to forward a copy of this e-mail to the others going on your tour. The blog entries cover every aspect of a pedal tour in great detail so they should answer all of your questions but if you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out anytime via call, text or email. We drive tours everyday late into the evening so you are not bothering us by reaching out at night. We will call you before your tour to walk you through how the day of your tour will play out and find out about the stops you want to make.  Read our other blog entries before this phone call and you will have a great understanding of what to expect during your tour.

What we tell you during the phone call the week before your tour

Be at the starting location 20 minutes before your tour starts. The tour starts promptly on time. Each person in your group will need to sign a waiver. To speed up the process they can complete the waiver on line from the link on your confirmation e-mail, or you can print them out ahead of time (they are printable on our FAQ section) and have each person in your group sign them ahead of time. All sections on the waiver must be completed. By completing this ahead of time you ensure that your group leaves on time. DO NOT drink your own alcoholic beverages on the premise of your starting location, anyone doing that will not be allowed on the tour and we do not want to get started on the wrong note. We count on you the organizer making sure this does not happen.

If you are celebrating a birthday/bachelorette party, don’t forget the decorations. Our Facebook page and picture gallery on this website have some great ideas from prior groups. You are able to bring your own food, snacks, appetizers and candy on the bike to celebrate. Just don’t forget the plates, napkins, & utensils. When decorating don’t forget to bring masking tape to use, balloons need to be on strings (no more than 6 balloons), and when hanging things keep in mind you don’t want them to be in someone’s face. Signs on the back of the bike are a BIG Deal. When groups make signs, all the cars and people on the streets go wild & give you lots of honks & shouts. Signs cannot be wider than a door, so they won’t cover our turn signals. Put holes in the corners and bring string or zip ties to hang them. Your driver will help you decorate. When the tour is done please remove all decorations. 

What to wear – We have plenty of storage space on the bike for you to put your jackets, gloves, food, etc. The driver stays with the bike while you go into the bar to keep your belongings safe. You must take your valuables such as phones & wristlet purses with you in the bars. We always tell groups to overdress and be warm. If you get hot, you can always remove clothing. In the summer the biggest thing is proper footwear, NO flip flops or sandals. Flip flops and sandals are uncomfortable to pedal in and fall off. When the bike is moving the pedals keep moving so when your feet inevitably slip off the pedals we don’t want the pedal to come around and hit your foot. If you drop something off the bike, alert the driver & they will stop. Do not jump off the bike to retrieve things, until the bike is stopped. We always love when groups do a theme party whether it be everyone wearing sports jerseys, Hawaiian gear, 80s exercise outfits or wearing white t shirts and bringing sharpies to write on each other with. Let us know so the driver can dress for the occasion. Bring a wristlet versus a large purse.

What to bring with you? – You do not need to bring a speaker as we provide a speaker with a Bluetooth system for you to play whatever you want from your phone. Please make sure your phone is charged. You can bring whatever food, snacks, appetizers and candy that you want. Bring food that is easy to eat on the bike while you pedal. Cupcakes are easier than cakes.  Some groups bring huge quantities of food, & sometimes everyone brings the same thing so coordinate what everyone is bringing. You are allowed to bring two 12 ounce cans of beer or two six ounce plastic bottles of wine. We don’t recommend drinking from cups as it can splash you if we hit a bump. NO glass & NO liquor which includes jello shots and mixed drinks in water bottles and NO boxed wine are allowed. Let your groups know all of this because we strictly enforce these rules and you will have to return them to your car. Have everyone bring cash, as it will make it easier for everyone to pay you back and when you go into the bar. There is a time limit in each bar so it is not a good idea to open a tab. It is a time consuming process to close them and we don’t want you to be rushed or late. When you are late getting out of one bar it eats into your time at the following bars. We don’t want you to have to dash in and have to rush at the last bar. Don’t forget to tip your driver. You will see how hard they work at making sure you and your friends have a great experience. They do a lot more than just drive you from point A to point B. People always wonder what to tip the driver and $5 a person is pretty standard. They will let you know what the drink specials are at the bars you pick, call you ahead of your tour to walk you through how the day of your tour will play out, call to order food ahead for you, take group photos and watch over your belongings. Organizers usually collect the tip as part of the tour money and give it to the driver at some point before the end of the tour because when the tour ends it is really hectic & busy. The next tour group will be there ready to leave.

When you show up? The BIGGEST thing you can do to speed up the process is have everyone sign the waiver ahead of time. Please listen when the driver is going over the information about the tour ahead of time. We understand you are here to have fun and are super excited but we need to make sure we let everyone know the safety rules and tell you how to have fun (read my wild stories blog) . As the organizer of your group we will take all the photos on your phone so you can chose what photos you want to send out to everyone else. Please make sure you have storage space on your phone for them. The bike has plenty of storage space for food and snacks, extra clothing and room for a cooler. Now that you can bring your own cans of beer on the bike and wine in single serving plastic containers which you can find at your local liquor store. Remember bring only two alcoholic beverages per person (12oz cans). NO Glass, No liquor which includes jello shots and mixed drinks in water bottles and NO growlers or boxed wine that you would drink out of a solo cup because with all the bumps that will make a mess. We cannot have this on the bike and if you try to bring it, you have to bring it back to your car. On our way back at the end of your tour we will give you a 5 minute warning and a last chug before we need to dispose of your cans and get ready for the next tour.

Pro Tips

Slice limes for cans of Bud Light Limes and Corona’s
Bring munchies to eat on the bike
Give your group a 5 minute warning in the bar. Finish your drink, don’t get another drink, use the bathroom, close out your tab etc.
Make sure your phone has enough memory/battery for photos to be taken on it
Listen to our alcohol rules
For late night tours don’t try and over decorate because certain things will not be seen when it is dark out
Loiter after your tour, make plans ahead of time so you do not waste time trying to figure out what to do after everyone has had a few drinks
Call a taxi ahead of time so they are waiting for you when you get back (we will let you know what time your group will be back) Your tour ends 2 hours from your starting time so know to send your pick up for then.
If someone cannot arrive on time they can meet us at the first bar and sign the waiver and join your group there

Thank you for taking the time to read this, now when you book a tour you will know how to party and have an amazing experience!

Over the course of the summer we have done hundreds of multiple bike tours and we had many instances where groups asked if they could rent another bike because so many people wanted to go but unfortunately the other bikes were rented at that time. That is why we wanted to take a moment to write a blog giving out some pro tips for groups that are thinking about renting more then one bike at once. When deciding if you should book more then one bike at a time you need to first accurately gauge how many people can come. Text everyone asking if 6pm on the 21st works for the group and once you get enough confirmations then you want to book sooner rather than later. Just because you do not have a full 30 commitments when you ask do not let that stop you from booking because it is safe to assume if you have everyone who confirmed for a tour ask a friend to supplement the group that they can get additional people to help fill the bike. Booking one bike then waiting until it gets closer and more people want to join will very likely create a problem because the other bikes are already booked for that time slot already.

Once you have booked the bikes you will want to copy and paste important information from your confirmation email and send it to your group. Things like where to meet, at what time, what to wear, what not to wear and what to bring. Find 2 people with coolers who can bring them, one for each bike. For the alcohol component consider picking up a 30 pack for the group so you do not have to worry about people bringing too much, glass, etc. We will call you before your tour to walk you through how the day of your tour will play out and find out what route you want to do because certain bars are better able to handle larger groups at once. We encourage you to plan ahead for the bars you do pick. With large groups & multi bike tours at busy bars, tell everyone in your group to order beer, wine or simple well drinks (versus craft cocktails). Ordering pitchers of beer or drinks can be easier.

I was just looking thru a run down of our most popular tours to write a piece about them and found it to be the bachelorette parties. You will have an absolute blast out with your girls on the bike as you cruise around the city. Decorating the bike will make your night be much fun and better when people know you are celebrating. Hanging signs, wearing matching shirts and decorating the bike are the most common things groups do for a bachelorette party. You will be able to bring your own cans of beer, plastic bottles or juice box things of wine and don’t forget the water and food. You can bring 2 alcoholic beverage per person on the bike (12oz cans of beer) You cannot bring glass, liquor which includes jello shots and mixed drinks in water bottles. You cannot bring that on the bike and if you do try to bring it you have to put it back in your car. The only problem you are going to run into is guys trying to run and jump onto the bike to try and join in (which we do not allow and please do not encourage). Guests are allowed to join tours late after they sign the waiver but trying to jump on the bike while it is moving is dangerous and if they try and jump on they are in for a rude awakening from the driver. Besides spending quality time with your girls you have many other things to look forward to such as everyone in cars honking and cheering, people on the streets high fiving you and everyone everywhere taking photos/videos/snapchatting.  The 8:30 tour slot is the most common tour slots for bachelorette parties, to find a date and time that works for your group click the book a tour button on the top scroll bar and select the bachelorette party to find a date and time that works for your group.

Whether your tour is a birthday, bachelorette or corporate outing, decorating the bike will make your pedal tour more enjoyable. Not only does it make your photos better but when the cars and people in the streets see you are celebrating an occasion they react with happy birthdays and honks. Groups decorate on varying levels, some groups print special shirts and coozies, others go all out decorating the bike. The only bad decorating is not decorating because it only takes a few minutes and the decorations are super cheap so don’t sell your group short.

What To Do- Make a sign for the back of the bike, have the artist in the group make a sign on cardboard like the type you would for a school project back in the day. Now remember it can’t be wider then a doorway so that it doesn’t block our turn signals. Also put holes in the corners and bring string or zip ties to fasten the sign to the back of the bike. Things like beep for the birthday boy or girl, you beep we drink or anything witty like that makes for a great sign that the cars will react to. If you are bringing balloon’s keep it to no more then 6. We hang them from the back of the bike and we cannot have the drivers sight line blocked. Make sure the balloons have strings attached, with tape or they will blow off. When bringing streamers only bring one color, some groups buy 3 colors and the cluster of colors does not always work well. Get the group to buy into a theme, whether it be tropical, 80s workout gear or everyone wearing different sports jerseys. A themed party will make for a fun tour!

What not to do- Do not try to hang things across the bike by people’s faces or knees. Do not bring packaging or clear tape, you can only use painters or masking tape on the bike! Packaging tape will take the finish off the bike and is not allowed for decorating. When removing your decorations at the end of the tour, remember to peel the tape off the bike.

Since decorating goes hand in hand with birthdays here would be a good time to talk about birthday cakes. Cookies, brownies, & cupcakes are much easier to serve instead of cake. You won’t have to deal with serving utensils & knives.

Now that the weather has begun to change from this super hot summer we just wanted to take a second to talk about the difference between summer and fall pedal tours. The big thing is letting you know that when the sun goes down the temperature drops 20 or so degrees downtown so you can go from hot to cold which is why we recommend bringing a hoodie to throw on later when you get cold. The bike has plenty of storage space for belongings so take advantage of it. It is hard to enjoy yourself when you are cold. During the fall, winter and spring the weekend afternoon tours become more sought after because groups want to take advantage of the daylight. Sunday tours also mean wear your Bills shirts and jerseys on your pedal tour. Beer interests also change and having driven tours yesterday I can safely tell you that Oktoberfest beers are being consumed and enjoyed. Remember just 1 can per person. Between having a beer before your tour at either Big Ditch or Riverworks, the beer you bring to drink on the bike between the bars and visiting 3 bars you will have more then enough alcohol to be feeling good.

This varies season to season but dressing properly does make a difference. No matter the season please make sure everyone wears sneakers, it does not matter if your sandals have backs to them. We want to protect your toes because the pedals move when the bike moves and we do not want the pedal to hit you on the foot.

Females dont wear a skirt or sundress, remember you are sitting on a bicycle seat it will be uncomfortable. Bring a wristlet versus a large purse because you only need your ID and cash. Many women have told us we should add to wear a sports bra. When it is really hot out where a tank top

Fall- During the day light hours the temperature is warm then when the sun goes down the temperature drops quickly so you can go from hot to cold quickly. Bring a hoodie for later in case you get cold, we have plenty of storage space on the bike to hold it for you.

Winter tours are some of the funnest tours you will go on, the biggest thing is to make sure you have gloves on and something covering your ears. Between the pedaling and drinking you will stay warm. During the winter it is common for people to leave coats on the bike while they go into the bar because they are warm.

Summer- everyone is thinking drink drink drink but make sure you do not forget the water. everyone will drink it and appreciate that you brought it. if you are coming from work bring a change of clothes to switch into. it is going to be hot out so be sure to wear things like tank tops and cut offs. DO NOT WEAR FLIP FLOPS or SANDALS we say this every step of the way because it is such an important thing so please make sure your group knows to do this.

We strongly recommend drinking out of a can or the plastic wine bottle. Drinks in cups spill easily when we hit a bump. Sweet smells attract bees. The alcohol policy is that you can bring two 12 ounce cans of beer or two 6 ounce plastic bottles of white wine (red wine stains) on the bike to drink while you are pedaling. Your local liquor store has the bottles close to the check out. No glass, liquor, jello shots and mixed drinks in water bottles. Ciders, Bud Light, a Rita’s, Spiked Seltzers and other items sold at your grocery store are allowed to be brought.  We have to respect the open container laws in the city. Beer on the bike stays on the bike, beer in the bar stays in the bar.  Your guide will be checking your cooler/backpacks to see that the number of bottles matched the number of adult riders. Any beverages above the limit will be stored in the “BEER JAIL” until your trip ends. Growlers and boxed wine are not allowed.

We supply one small cooler and ice.  Size does matter, due to spacing constraints on the floor of the bike. On the hot days don’t forget the water, because better tastes better when pedaling and drinking, nothing will taste better then some cold Buffalo water. When we leave your last bar to head back we will have everyone dispose of any unfinished drinks and food, kinda like when your plane is getting ready to land.

Some people bring snacks for your group to munch on. A bag of chips or pretzels is enough. Do not bring a lot. Most the the food brought on goes untouched. Bring foods you can eat with one hand as you hold always hold on to the bar for your safety.