So, the eyebrows were raised...

[Mr. Bloom]

...as I unloaded my bike at the Ritz-Carlton where I have three days of meetings (paid by someone else) ...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

...don't they know cycling is the "new golf":cool::cool:

[Ana]

You just needed some bling on it ;) You could stud it and tell them they're diamonds and your frame is make out of 18k gold ;)

[ny biker]

Dare to be shocking.

[Flybye]

We had a similar experience as we dragged three children and all of their luggage plus A COOLER through the ritzy hotels in Las Vegas (The Bellagio and Mandalay Bay).
I would have applauded your confidence as you brought in your bike. Well done!

[OakLeaf]

What, the parking valet didn't have the proper cleats?

[PamNY]

Good heavens, tell me what city you are in so I can avoid it. I thought the mark of a class hotel was never raising eyebrows for any reason.

Pam

[arielmoon]

Love it!!

I am going to a scifi convention in Altanta in Sept and I plan to wheel my bike through the lobby with a smile.

[Tri Girl]

We stayed at a really swanky Hilton in Destin, FL a couple years ago and wheeled our bikes right through the lobby to the elevators. Only the patrons gave us "the eye." We never got any flak from hotel staff. If a hotel ever tells us we can't take out bikes inside, we will demand a refund and go somewhere else. They go where we go. Good for you for bringing your bike right inside. :) If they only knew how much it cost and how it's soooo much more than just a bike...

[tulip]

Have made a couple of business deals on bike rides. Cycling is the new golf for alot of people.

[TxDoc]

...as I unloaded my bike at the Ritz-Carlton where I have three days of meetings (paid by someone else) ...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

...don't they know cycling is the "new golf":cool::cool:

Yep, happens to me all the time - people wonder what the heck am I doing with a road bike when we are going to a medical meeting... :rolleyes:

[Mel_bikes]

Stayed at a hotel in Boulder..Ran into the manager rolling a patron's bike to his reserved room so he had it when he arrived. My kind of place:)

[sundial]

Yep, happens to me all the time - people wonder what the heck am I doing with a road bike when we are going to a medical meeting... :rolleyes:

They're just jealous cuz they have to be in a stuffy ol' meeting all day. :D

[Mr. Bloom]

Love it!!

I am going to a scifi convention in Altanta in Sept and I plan to wheel my bike through the lobby with a smile.

I'm an hour outside Atlanta at Reynolds Plantation.

Yesterday, as I came in from a 42 mile ride that was WAY too hot and windy, I met AtlBentRider (from bike journal) and his wife. We talked about routes and I gave them my queue sheet.

Your issue in Atlanta will be traffic...you'll probably have to drive out of town to get a reasonably comfortable place to drive

[TrekTheKaty]

I recently took my bike to the Mackinaw, Michigan Hampton Inn. Not swanky, but I snuck it in the back--just in case. Later that day, a hundred cyclists for an organized ride arrived and proudly rolled them through the lobby. I wasn't sure a hotel would approve--but I'm the customer and my bike is my "baby." I'll be braver next time. Good job, Mr. Silver.

[Thorn]

If I roll my bike through the lobby, I've found about a 30% rejection rate by the hotel; if I bring my bike in the side door, even if hotel employees are standing there, I've never been told my bike can't come in.

In the end, the way I look at it, it is about respect. I treat the hotel like I would my house. If there is a side door, I use it, just like I use the side door of my house, not the entrance through the living room. I'll carry the bike over wood flooring and light colored carpeting.

On our last bike trip, as we brought our bikes in the back door, we rolled them right past the desk clerk who was getting some ice. Just a nod and smile. That same clerk told others they couldn't bring their bikes into the hotel--the people who rolled through the front lobby.

[Grog]

Now imagine not unloading your bike but your panniers off a touring bike, and giving the valet boy your bike to park! I'm sure you'd get a few more looks.

:D

Yes, bike is the new golf. I know of a club that's spun out of a chamber of commerce. And the gib Livestrong fundraiser events look quite similar here in BC. LOTS of business folks.

I like the idea.

ETA: Are golf club memberships tax deductible if you're golfing on business in some US States? If so, that might be a way to write off one's new carbon machine for some people!!

[BabyBlueNTulsa]

ETA: Are golf club memberships tax deductible if you're golfing on business in some US States? If so, that might be a way to write off one's new carbon machine for some people!!

Meals and Entertainment are only 50% deductible...so I'd put Golf (or cycling-related fees - not the actual bike) in this expense category. I would think only professional riders could somehow list their bikes as a business expense...but I don't know for sure..it just makes sense.

[Miranda]

Yes, I don't think people realize what the bikes cost for sure. I know I was totally shocked when I went shopping for the first time.

I think a good question for the desk clerk would have been... "do you have safe storage space large enough to secure my 'valuables' (aka = bike) ? ".

My first roadie girl and now my mtb also, sleep in the formal dining room next to the victorian drapes. My new carbon girl sleeps two foot across from the footboard on my bed!

Now, on a serious note... I can see if the tires were filthy dirty etc. either cleaning them / wiping them down before trashing the hotel flooring. Or carrying the bike across the floor vs rolling. I try to make sure the girls tires are clean at home before I roll them across my own white carpet... so that's just common courtesy.

Btw, good for you, Mr. Silver, and taking your ride with you! Way more calories burned that golfing any ole day:cool:.

[TrekTheKaty]

In the end, the way I look at it, it is about respect. I treat the hotel like I would my house. If there is a side door, I use it, just like I use the side door of my house, not the entrance through the living room. I'll carry the bike over wood flooring and light colored carpeting.


This was the rejection I expected from the hotel--chain grease or dirty bike tires causing damage. The room had white comforters, but I left the bike just inside the door. There was a moment of--"let's practice taking the rear wheel off and on before I try to put it IN the car tomorrow," but no damage was done!

[TrekTheKaty]

Sorry! Repeat post.

[shootingstar]

Have made a couple of business deals on bike rides. Cycling is the new golf for alot of people.

Agree. I always found it a topic ice-breaker, especially among the guys in several organizations that were predominantly men --regardless of whether or not they were cyclists.

We always ask hotel front desk about bringing in our bikes. 95% of time we've been able to bring them indoors...if not in our rm., in a locked area. 1-2 hotels allowed us to store bikes in an unused conference rm. Several hotels would have the hotel valet park our bikes for us in locked area..that's the way how they wanted to handle it. :)

The trickier part is staying at some bed 'n breakfasts where just storing in the garage wasn't always a great idea unless we made sure bikes had the bike locks on also.

[Jiffer]

It's funny how whenever we make travel plans these days, there's usually a question of whether or not there will be an opportunity to ride and should we bring the bikes! Just had this discussion today about the "secret trip" dh has planned for my birthday. I was planning my training for some events coming up and didn't know if I was going to get ride time on that trip.

There's also a camping trip coming up, which I'm definitely bringing the bike to. One of the joys of cycling is doing it in new locations.

Sometimes the destination of the trip and "what are we going to do when we get there" is answered by, "Well, where do we want to ride our bike?!" "Or what event can ride in that we can go out of town and do?"

Cycling is the new golf. I like that!!! :D

[Aggie_Ama]

We have wandered into many a hotel with bikes in tow. The best was Red River, NM last year where the owner of the hotel was amused when we took our two mountain bikes and two road bikes in our room. We had a blast exploring the area by bike and he thought it was a great plan! :)

[Mr. Bloom]

They actually proved to be very cool about it and supporting me...constantly offering me water and storage for my stuff.


This was the rejection I expected from the hotel--chain grease or dirty bike tires causing damage. The room had white comforters, but I left the bike just inside the door. There was a moment of--"let's practice taking the rear wheel off and on before I try to put it IN the car tomorrow," but no damage was done!

My Response:
- to dirty bike tires? "Would you reject a wheel chair that just came in off the road?" (I know, it's not the same thing...but the similarity of tires in contact with the street would have the same impact) Besides, I carry my bike off the floor.
- to dirty issues? "Do you inspect the bottom of peoples shoes to see where they've been walking?" or "If I were a runner coming in from a rain storm, would you send me back outside?"
- to general issues? "But your sign in the parking lot says you're not responsible for stolen items...so, are you willing to guaranty the security of my bike?"
- to grease on the furniture? "haven't I just signed a check in contract that says I'm responsible for damage?" or "didn't you just get authorization on my credit card for MORE than just my lodging?"
- to space in the elevator (I'd probably take the stairs)? "if I weighed 350 pounds (I saw three people at the hotel that were beyond that...), would you say I took up too much space...plus, if I held the bike verticle on one wheel, it takes up the space of a large person...