We rented electric bikes to cruise around Alexandria and nearby trails for a few hours with a local family member. The bikes were adequate. They had plenty of charge. We could make them move. They did not fall apart. However, we too got only a small gear bag for the handlebar, and no pannier or basket. We barely managed to strap purses precariously with bungee cords. But the pick up experience was awful. They required us to use our cell phones to read and sign a waiver. It started with a QR code. Next came creating a member account, which we did not want to do. Then we had to receive an authentication code via email or SMS, and if we gave the landline number or could not read email on the phone, too bad. Finally, we were charged $1 to "hold our QR code". We were very close to walking out. We just wanted to read a waiver on paper, and sign on paper. To cap it off, the rental was more expensive than Capital Bike Share, even for several hours. I expect our family member won't make the mistake of taking guests to Unlimited Biking again. I suggest you don't either.

That was an amazing trip. Alexandria is soo beautiful. All the scenery and glimpses of the river along was amazing.

We were met at the storefront and quickly and easily got our bikes. The boat cruise was not in season when we went so enjoyed the 10 miles there and 10 miles back. Weather was perfect and the trail was just challenging enough. Mt. Vernon was a nice way to break up the 20 miles of riding. Parking our car was a bit tough as everything close by was only 3 hours and the tour is all day. Make sure to have a plan in place to park your car for the day. Would definitely recommend and do it again!

Getting the bikes was easy, and the contact person we spoke with was super friendly. We loved the bike route to Mount Vernon, but the bikes were not of great quality. No matter the gear or surface, it was a lot of pedaling, and often the gears stuck. However, we still enjoyed the beauty of the landscape and our trip to see Washington's home. If you get a chance, have lunch at the restaurant not the food court. :)

George Washington’s Mount Vernon is an American treasure and is being cared for as such. The tour is as cursory or immersive as one wants it to be. We toured both the grounds, mansion and museum for around 2.5 hours. We had a light lunch from a food truck on the grounds and that was refreshing. The bike route was lovely, shady, scenic and of mild difficulty. The path is not particularly smooth so speed is not your friend on this trip. The bikes are of marginal quality and condition. One of ours shifted roughly and both squealed out of poor lubrication the whole trip. The attendant was adequate but no better than that. So go for the great scenery and a wonderful historic opportunity.

Because the boat no longer returns you to Alexandria but to Washington DC and the boat doesn't allow you to take the bike aboard, I rebooked to just the bike rental and Mount Vernon. We enjoyed our day too without the pressure of needing to meet the early afternoon boat dock time. Mount Vernon was a pleasure. The bike path there and back wasn't easy, but was beautiful.

The bike ride and the cruise back were both cool ways to see the area from different vantage points. We had a good time with both. The not great review is meant to be a review of the third party who put together the package, not the biking or the cruising or Mt. Vernon. This package didn't leave us enough time to actually be able to tour Mt. Vernon. There is only 1 boat back, that leaves at 1:30 and boards at 1:15. We arrived around 11:15, which gave us a couple hours to spend at Mt. Vernon, which would seem like enough time. However, we were given tickets to *get in line* to tour Mt. Vernon at 12:50. The wait in line is *at least* 20 minutes, so we didn't get in until 1:10--at which point we about needed to leave to catch the boat back. They really need to arrange it so you get a mansion tour *entering the line* time at 12:20 or earlier. Or else, they need to be clear that they can't guarantee that you'll be able to tour the mansion. (We are slower bikers, and also had a gear problem on one of the bikes where the lever to shift down wasn't working, so it got stuck in high gear, making it necessary to walk up hills. It also took a while to find the person with the bikes. The park where you pick up the bikes is fairly big. Maybe if we were faster and arrived earlier, we would have gotten an earlier tour time. But we had no way to know that we were under those kinds of time constraints. They need to communicate better, and work something out where they ensure people get a sufficiently early tour time.) Also, you should know that the boat cruise is only narrated on the way *to* Mt. Vernon. If you only take the boat back, as you would in this package, you won't get any narration. That was not communicated either. The company sent us a schedule for the day that had a time (9:00) and location for picking up the bikes, and listed an end time of 7, but no other details. (That probably should have been a signal to me that this wasn't the most professional organizer.) I don't know where the end time came from. The cruise back is at 1:30 and lasts an hour and a half. A surprise was that the cruise goes into Washington DC, not Alexandria where you leave from. It was cool to be able to see some of the Washington monuments from the water, so we were happy about that. But that's the kind of thing you might mention on the schedule you send to people.

The view of the Potomac during the bike ride. The bikes were nice bikes, but didn’t exactly fit us. It was about 18 miles all together, which we are used to, however not so many hills.

My teenage son and I took a mom/son trip to DC. Riding to Mount Vernon from Alexandria on bike has been something I've wanted to do since we visited DC several years ago. I'm older now and was a bit nervous about the trek but knew my son really wanted to do this ride. We had a great day and made plenty of memories. The weather was perfect and we had the trail nearly to ourselves. I'll break down our experience as I know I had lots of questions before we went. 1) Bikes Unlimited Experience - 100% excellent across the board. From bike drop-off to end of ride, their service was excellent. I got an e-bike (which I loved) and my son got a regular bike. My son was tired after the ride to Mount Vernon and asked could we uber back. I texted Bikes Unlimited and they were very helpful in making that change to our original round trip plan. 2) The Mount Vernon Trail - I had expected the trail to be very well marked with lots of cyclists. I didn't imagine that we could possibly get lost. While we didn't get lost, we had a couple of times that we were not sure if we were going the right direction. We had the trail almost entirely to ourselves with an occasional jogger. We didn't have anyone to ask or follow. One time, the sign on the road said Mount Vernon one way while our bike trail had us going the opposite direction. More signage would have been appreciated to assure this directionally impaired mom. Most people say that the trail is mostly flat...that is true but as you get closer to Mount Vernon there are many hills. The truth is that this mid50s minimal exerciser could not have made this trek without the ebike. If you have any doubt as to how well you will do, I highly recommend the ebike. Also as we got closer to Mount Vernon, the paved trail had many paved over tree roots. I can imagine someone taking a tumble off a bike hitting one of the tree roots at a fast clip. All in all, I'm glad we made the journey. The bike rental was excellent and the experience was one I will always cherish with my son.

The most perfect day to enjoy the beautiful scenery on bicycles to get to Mount Vernon! The trail is a bit bumpy, and busy with other bicyclists/runners, but I am so glad we decided to book this tour!

The staff was very friendly and gave great instruction. We rode on the Vernon trail for 2 hours, very comfortable and wouls definitely use this again.

Beautiful easy ride to Mt Vernon. Adequate bicycle parking at venue within a short walk to the Visitor Center, ticketing and refreshments.

This was a difficult experience to rate. I can see why some previous reviewers have left such negative reviews so I've settled on 3 stars and will explain in a bit more detail to help future buyers make a considered choice: THE CYCLING SIDE OF THINGS 1. Riding to to Mount Vernon was a great experience. My husband and I are road cyclists so are comfortable with different types of road/trail terrain and can ride in all weathers. The ride took us 45 minutes each way. However, the trail was undulating, with some tight turns and tree roots which made it bumpy. This could be a challenge if you're a casual cyclist. 2. 10 miles each way is a lot in the heat of summer. Wear fitness clothing and take plenty of water. Some parts of the trail were in the shade, not all. 3. We did not have problems following the trail. It was well signposted. There were a few parts where you had to ride on the streets, but this was in low traffic areas and only required the same level of vigilance as if you were a pedestrian crossing a street. 4. The bikes were smooth running but not particularly clean, and were well used. The lock we were gave was too small to lock the bikes at Mount Vernon and we were only able to secure the bikes as a guy from Bike and Roll (i.e. a different company) happened to be there and gave us an extension cable. THE MOUNT VERNON SIDE OF THINGS 1. Visiting Mount Vernon was an excellent experience and we'd highly recommend it. We were there for 3 hours. 2. We did not have any problems with the ticketing issues other reviewers have mentioned. Our tickets were scanned when we arrived, and we were able to get timed mansion tours for the time slot 40 minutes after we checked in. THE BOTTOM LINE If you have a good baseline level of fitness and a whole day to spare, this is a great tour.

Awful experience. First issue, 20% discount did not work. I made the mistake of booking Mount Vernon first, then with that it recommended Unlimited Biking with a 20% discount. Bike check out person told me I had to take it up with the main company to resolve, he couldn't help. Went to Unlimited Biking, didn't get the 20% and I've been trying to work with the company to no avail. At $304 for renting 4 bikes, 20% is a pretty significant chunk of change. We were promised baskets and maps, no maps, no basket. You get brief verbal direction and a small pouch. We muddled through getting to Mt Vernon, but it wasn't completely clear in some spots where to go. We rented eBikes, hurt our rear ends like no tomorrow, actually the pain went into tomorrow and the next day, the seats are very bad. One eBike stopped working and turned into a regular bike, company refunded me $29 for that, but still haven't seen the 20%, I'm told I will get it now on a 'future rental' though I was originally told they would issue me the credit now. There will be no future rental. I will not use this company ever again- and I am not one to do negative reviews. I just feel in this case, it is 'renter beware.' If you rent from them AND you are going to Mt Vernon, take advantage of the package deal if you must rent from them. I would also evaluate the bike seat and see if you think you can take it for 10 miles up and back on bumpy bike trail and see if they have a bike with more cushion.

This was one of the highlights of our trip to DC. To begin, the employee who helped us choose our bikes was kind and extremely knowledgeable. I could tell he took a lot of pride in making sure the bikes were in tip-top shape for our excursion. It was about a 10-mile ride from Alexandria to Mount Vernon. The ride is mostly flat and shaded with beautiful views of the Potomac and plenty of lovely spots to stop for photos or rest along the way. We had no trouble using the barcode he sent us to get our tickets at Mount Vernon. The tour of the mansion and the grounds there was both beautiful and fascinating. There was also a great little cafeteria there that had something for everyone in our group. The boat cruise back to Alexandria was not available on the day we were there, so we did the 10-mile trek home. We left the bike shop around 9:30, and we returned around 5:00. We did the trip with 3 kids ages 12 - 17. It was a wonderful experience and a great change of pace from pounding the pavement in the city. Highly recommend!