El Tour de Tucson Bicycle Rentals Pick up/Return “At a glance”
Tucson Bike Rentals
520-260-8293 TEXT
From: Biker Bob, your El Tour Jefe
NOTE: You will be getting a text from 520-260-8293 several days before your reservation, confirming all details – bike, locker information etc. Once you read this all over…Email me…
1) IN YOUR email, State your full name that is on the booking order at the top of the email AND IN THE SUBJECT LINE. I am helping A LOT of cyclists so this helps me stay organized. Mention if there are other cyclists with you on the order.
2) In your email, state the heights of each cyclist, and jean leg length. (If you know)
2) Re-state the date you want to pick-up and general time (does not have to be exact)
Note: For El Tour customers, you can pick up a day early (Wednesday IF we have your bike in stock.)
5) Be patient for responses..(ha ha). And for the love of God, please only have one person in your party texting me and emailing me. We don’t need to confuse an old guy!
6) State your preferred location point –
- Hotel pickup – tell me which hotel
- Central Tucson
- Oro Valley/Northwest Tucson (most popular)
Central Tucson Loop locker location,
4555 N First Avenue
Or
SUPER scenic beautiful Oro Valley, Northwest Tucson Loop Locker
12000 block of North First Avenue
7) PICKUP YOUR BIKE ON WEDNESDAY IF YOU WANT – No additional charge! Let me know.
Now, grab a cup of coffee and read below..
Two locations for pickup – Oro Valley/NW Tucson locker locations near 12000 Block of North First Avenue by Holiday Inn Express, Oro Valley (BEST location IF you are driving down from Phoenix or staying anywhere in the northern side of Tucson. Nestled next to Catalina State Park and the Catalina Mountains, this location is the most scenic of any area in Tucson and is ideal for your first ride.
(Free parking for this NW Tucson/Oro Valley location is behind the Holiday Inn Express, Oro Valley.
Or, Storquest Storage locker facility at 4555 N. First Avenue here in central Tucson ON the 130 mile car-free bike Tucson Loop.
NOTE: Where to Park!
There is FREE parking next door at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (located in the Walmart Shopping Center, 4485 1st Ave). Then walk over to our locker at Storquest Storage.
This locker facility is run by Storquest Storage. This location is about 12 minutes from the El Tour starting line, 22 minutes to TIA. You cannot take your car into the facility during the hours of 6 AM to 6PM. Security attendant on hand prohibits that. You can drive into the facility to the locker after 6 PM and pickup your bike as late as 12 PM.
Returning Bikes
For our Central location, repeat the same procedure for return. Park near the Osher Life. After 2 PM and on, there is a good chance you will see one of our attendants there in a white mini van or white Toyota 4-Runner. If so, hand that person your bike and you are ready to go. Walk your bike over to the locker, use the same pass code. You will likely see us at the locker.
In this email, let me know what location you prefer. Keep in mind, we may have to re-route your request to the other location depending on available spots.
Getting Locker number and pass codes
Text me at 520-260-8293. State your name on your reservation in the text and then send me the driver’s license of the person who paid. I will need the DL of each person. If it is a group, you can send it later, just send it on the same text string number so it does not drive me crazy. (ha!) Just like Hertz Rent a Car, we need this for OUR security and we are required to have this since we are using storage locker facilities as holding bays.
General Procedure:
Your bike will be at a “holding bay” locker unit that we assign. We will send that to you by text. After you text us a picture of your drivers license, we will give you the holding bay locker number and combination locker codes a day or two before pickup. Note that the units are double combo locked, but the pass code works for both bikes. Text a picture of your dirvers license to 520-260-8293.
Bicycle Deliveries to Hotels
We pickup and deliver bikes at no charge for El Tour rental clients to all Oro Valley and most central and downtown hotels – but not all. IF you are staying in one of our approved hotels, text us and we can arrange for drop off. WE DO NOT drop off to any low-end hotels on Stone Avenue or any dumpster hotels that we deem a security risk. If you are staying at JW Marriott or Hotel McCoy, we can do a drop off there as well.
Bike Rentals Etc….
- All road bikes will come with full repair kit, including mult-tool, cartridges, inflator and a tube. DO NOT bring any cartridges on your airplane! TSA will confiscate them and cause you stress.
- We do not provide any spec or custom fittings
- ALL BIKES come with full saddle repair kits and multi-tools
- All road bikes are designed to climb Mt. Lemmon, so they will be very good for the relatively flat El Tour route.
- ALL BIKES come with TWO water bottle cages – unless the bike is a 47 CM or smaller
- IF you put on your own pedals, you are responsible for damages if you thread the crank wrong.
- We provide FREE SPD road, SPD mtn and Look pedals. We do not provide Deltas or Speed play.
- PLEASE be patient when texting me. Many, many people will be texting me and there may be short delays.
- All bikes come with flat resistant Gatorskin or Armadillo tires. Goat heads and cactus are EVERYWHERE on Tucson streets. These tires are very effective for flat protection.
- El Tour has many mechanics on the road if you need assistance.
Bike Pedals/Helmets
- We provide SPD SL three bolt, road pedals, SPD MTN (2 bolt), Keo Look and flat pedals – no charge. (Make sure you know your pedals!) If you are unsure of your pedals, take a picture of your cleats and text me. When I contact you I will re-state your pedals needs.
- Helmets are included and available at the locker location. Since this is such a big ride, we strongly encourage you to bring your own helmets.
Lastly, the last 18 months have been some of the most wickedly stressful, sad and frustrating times we have ever been through. I want to tell everyone we REALLY appreciate you coming to our wonderful city and renting bikes with us. Many shops and businesses have gone defunct and we are grateful to be in business and I thank you for your support. Welcome to Tucson and have a great time! Tucson, Arizona is the greatest cycling destination in the world!
Trip Planning/Routes/Cycling Info
This is the official site of the Arizona Bicycle Association. This is the authority Tucson site for routes, Mt. Lemmon, cycling route info for Tucson. They have live web cams and everything you need.
TucsonLoop.org – Friends of The Tucson Loop have great information about The Loop.
ThingsToDOINTucson.org – Great site for attractions..where and what to do here in Tucson!
TucsonBikeRentals.org – has a fantastic trip planning and recommended routes section as well.
Be sure to come back to Tucson in the future. There are FAR better, safer and more scenic routes here in Southern Arizona to bike than what you will experience with El Tour. Check out BikeAZ.org for some of the best places to go. Tucson/Oro Valley, Arizona is the number one destination in North America for cyclists to retire and live.
Good luck and we look forward to seeing you in Tucson!
Biker Bob