One of the things we are going to do on our next trip to France is to rent and ride bikes. I looked up the rental part, but do I remember the riding a bike part?

Bike riding is great for many reasons. It’s an opportunity to get out and about, see the local scene and get some exercise. During our retirement we want to bike and it is important to us. Whichever city we pick to retire in must have easy biking prospects. Let’s call it a retirement hobby.

Without having rented a bike yet in France, I had to do the next best thing. A quick google search of bike rentals in Nice gives a list of a dozen or more shops that rent bikes. Basically it comes down to bike color and how you want to pay for the rental. When it comes down to a blue bike or a red bike, I think I’ll shoot for a red one.

Right around the corner from our apartment-to-be is a place called Roller Station, and according to the reviews, that’s the one we are going to try. It seems like all we have to do is leave our U.S. driver’s license as an ID and we will get it back once we return the bikes.  I plan on renting for a few hours every few days, so maybe I’ll get a frequent flyer discount. I hope it’s not a frequent faller discount.

The price to rent a bike seems very reasonable.

1 hour = 5 Euros

2 hours = 10 Euros

4 hours = 14 Euros

1 Journey (8 hours) = 18 Euros

24 hours = 22 Euros

Read more at http://www.roller-station.net/

Not endorsing the place yet until after we try it.

B and I chatted about what we are going to wear while we are biking there. The number one issue that we talked about was a bike helmet. B is kind of germaphobic, so we decided to buy our own helmet, pack it in our luggage and use our own. It won’t take up a lot of space in our checked bag and will be well worth it. Shorts, shirts, light jackets, shoes. Check, check, check, and check.

It seems like B and I better bike some before we go.  Can’t wait to bike around Nice.