Change of Greenery BlogThings to See and Do in Napa Valley that's GREEN!

So you want to get to Napa Valley without a car, eh?

There is a relatively new kid in town, called the VINE 29 Express Bus, which is a Napa commuter bus that leaves 4 times in the morning from Napa Valley and 4 times from a Bay Area BART station in the early evenings (The El Cerrito del Norte BART station to be exact).

This route is actually ideal for Bay Area residents who want to get to Napa Valley for a quick weekend escape on a Friday evening and leave early Monday or Tuesday morning. So let’s say you leave your house in Berkeley around 3pm on Friday. You can take the BART to the El Cerrito del Norte BART station, jump on the commuter 29 VINE Express bus at 4:10 or 5:10pm, arrive in Napa in about an hour and then take it back home  Monday in the AM (from 4:40am – 8:22am).

You can find some great hotel deals around the new Park and Ride at Solano & Marriott stop such as The Napa Valley Redwood Inn, The Chablis Inn and of course, The Napa Valley Marriott. All of these hotels are walking distance from this stop and it is perfect to use this stop to jump on the 10N Bus ($1.25 per ride) to use for sightseeing on the weekend (St. Helena, Bothe State Park, Calistoga, etc)… but more on that in another post.

Napa Vine Bus

I was actually able to utilize the VINE Commuter 29 Express Bus, www.ridethevine.com, from San Francisco last week (San Francisco to Napa Valley). The total price is a whopping $5 each way and you can also snack on the bus! Here are some great routes to take along with some prices… This is of course for people who don’t want to spend $200.00 for a cab ride to/from Oakland or San Francisco Airports. It takes approximately 1.15 hours to get to/from Oakland Airport and around 2 hours to/from San Francisco Airport and that’s only if there is hardly any traffic! Plus, let’s not forget there is a toll on the way to Napa for $5.00.

From BART to VINE Napa - when you exit the BART station, go directly across to the island and find the VINE bus line sign

Park and Ride Solano & Marriott

FOR TRAVELERS:

If you are coming from OAK (Oakland Airport) or SFO (San Francisco International Airport), there are commuter buses on WEEKDAYS only. You will need to take the BART (our Bay Area subway) to El Cerrito del Norte BART stop.

San Francisco BART Map

From OAK:

- Take bus shuttle (AirBart) to Oakland Airport BART. Don’t worry… they run every 10 minutes.
- Oakland Airport BART, take the “Richmond line”, which is either red or orange on the map.
- Get off at El Cerrito del Norte BART.
- The Vine 29 Express Bus comes at 4:10pm, 5:10pm, 5:55pm and 6:45pm. Don’t be late!*

Cost: $6.00 BART + $5.00 Commuter VINE = $11.00

From SFO:

- Take the SFO BART, located inside the airport, and any BART and head towards San Francisco. Make sure you get on the red or orange line before leaving Oakland. You have 10 chances.
- – Get off at El Cerrito del Norte BART.
- The Vine 29 Express Bus comes at 4:10pm, 5:10pm, 5:55pm and 6:45pm. Don’t be late!*

Cost: $9.05 BART + $5.00 Commuter VINE = $13.05

*If you’re late, find the Vallejo bus stop and take Route 80. They run every 30 minutes from 5:15am – 10:54pm Monday-Friday.
- Get off at York & Marin and find the VINE 10N bus line.
- The VINE 10N bus leaves every hour starting at 1:50pm – 8:50pm from this stop.
- The VINE 10N bus line stops at various places… but it can take you all the way to Calistoga!

This route also applies for EAST BAY RESIDENTS.

For San Francisco residents:
- Jump on a BART train and head up to Embarcadero stop
- Go the the Ferry Building and jump on the Baylink ferry to Vallejo
- Take  the Vallejo ferry, find the 10N bus line and it will take you all the way to Napa town > St. Helena > Calistoga.

Cost: $13.00 Vallejo Ferry + $1.25 VINE 10N bus = $14.25 plus your BART fare.

You can actually get to Napa Valley from Sacramento via Super Shuttle for $80.00 RT as well.

The Wine Train also has a fantastic deal for people who are coming from San Francisco if you give them a day’s notice for $45 RT per person plus cost of the lunch or wine tour package. Check out their website for more details.

Napa Valley Car Free

For more ideas on using NOT to use your vehicle, check out Napa Valley Car Free.

Not too many people know about this so please do share! See you around Napa!

I surprise people… just randomly. I think I’ve been like that my whole life. It makes me happy to see others happy. Last week, I was driving around Napa and bought some fresh figs and strawberries from that fruit stand on Silverado Trail (Closer to Trancas).

I cleaned, plated them up and had them sent to my ebike riders who were staying at the Napa Marriott. I winded up seeing them before leaving my shift and they were appreciative and they said they had an AMAZING time on the bikes. They were out for about 7 hours!

So when you’re a guest in Napa… you never know what you’re gunna get!

I’ve gotten many hugs, compliments and gifts but this one tops it all:

Carolyn:

Just wanted to say another big, huge THANK YOU for all your help and amazing customer service at Change of Greenery.  My friends, Carrie and Julie, and I really enjoyed our day on the electric bikes and will definitely be back for another ride soon!   Change of Greenery provided us with a perfect way to tour Napa Valley at our own pace (but with much needed help from “pedal assist”), and we had an amazing ride!.   The added bonus of the Napa Valley Green Card was terrific, and definitely helped us map our way to the recommended wineries and businesses.  And, the retail pickup of our wine purchases was way above and beyond the call of duty but much appreciated.  I will definitely be back, and will be recommending Change of Greenery to all of my friends and clients!

It was great to meet you, please keep in touch if there’s ever anything I can do for you.  I have a million ideas running in my head about your business and how it can reach out more.  I will be sharing my experience with some of my industry friends and hope they will have an opportunity to check out the bikes and support your business.

Meanwhile – contact the folks at Balloons Above the Valley – ask for Kevin, one of the pilots and the one we had for our ride.  He mentioned that occasionally, they cross promote with other Napa businesses.  I will say from personal experience that Ballooning and Biking were the 2 main things on my agenda.  Their balloon ride and your bike ride were the PERFECT complement to each other.  I think you should contact them and see about doing some business together.  I can just see it…Balloon & Bike specials!

I researched all of the ballooning companies, and this one had the most personal service with amenities, experienced pilots and staff – they have the largest balloon in the world in their fleet, and they were the least expensive.  After experiencing it firsthand, I would definitely recommend them without hesitation.  Check out their website at www.balloonrides.com.  The people I dealt with were Kevin (pilot), Micah (admin) and Stephanie (admin).

Good luck, hope to see you soon!  And let’s do more business together!

*Maybe we’ll post some of our pics on your Facebook group page?

Best Regards,

Lori O.

*This was published WITH permission. Thanks Lori! You’re the best!!!

How do I begin?

The phone has been ringing off the hook and all I can say is that we will get back to you asap. I’m currently carrying an appointment book everywhere I go and pick up the phone when I can. We have plenty of availability as we have a fleet of bikes at The Napa Valley Marriott (I mean – where else would you go?).

To make the best of the situation, we’re answering the most common questions right here and right now….

YES – we have baby trailers and tag-alongs but we don’t want your kids at risk with our bike loops… this is Napa of course and we care about your safety! But we do have them! The safest places are behind the Napa Valley Marriott in residential and vineyard areas…

YES – you can rent one of our electric bikes and bring a regular bike and still get 2-for-1 wine tastings with our partners! Yes, yes, bring your bike enthused partner and see who can go faster (We know who will win! *Wink! Wink!*!). We’ve been there and done that!

YES to kids over over 5’2 with a parent riding along side.

YES to adults who are 5’0 – 6’3.

YES you HAVE to sign a waiver. For FASTER expedition, HAVE this waiver… so either you want to wait in the queue to sign the waiver OR you sign it now and we’ll get you rolling ASAP! We MUST have a VALID credit card as a deposit.

YES you CAN get a DUI on a bike. This is wine TASTING and not wine GUZZLING! Safety is always a first!

YES – we use lithium-ion battery! Static Charge!

NO – it’s not recommended to ride this bike if you’ve never ridden a bike before!

NO – You CANNOT go 30+ miles on THROTTLE mode. You’ll use your battery life faster (let’s say 15 miles for a 150 pound person on regular terrain if you use the throttle mode 100% of the time). It hasn’t been tested only because no one has ever done it. I can say that a 140 pounder can go 30 miles with 30% throttle mode and 70% pedal assist. So yes, if you weigh 200 pounds, you’ll probably do about 25 miles on pedal assist with no inclines. Just take that with a grain of salt! It’s all about the weight! I just recently had a family of 4 do 27-miles with mountain inclines with 20% throttle mode and they came back with lots of battery life left. Granted, they all weighed an average of 160 lbs.

NO – there are no restaurants on Silverado Loop Trail. You must go to either Yountville or Downtown Napa!

Please watch the YouVideo before you rent a bike just so you’ll get a hint of what we’re all about!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huWKzfvYl9c]

Any other questions?

Please email us at changeofgreenery@gmail.com. Even if you want to make reservations. Our phones are literally off the hook! We will get back to you because we love you for being green!

Check out our partners and our Napa Valley Bike Maps!

For a Change of Scenery – Try Change of Greenery… Get out of your car and onto some ebikes! ONLY in Napa Valley!

BTW, for the record – we are AWESOME…

Are you thinking about coming to Napa? Well now is a good time to come! The weather has cleared up (if you haven’t heard, Northern California has forfeit most of this year’s Spring for the droughts we had in the previous years) and Napa’s “Sprummer” has arrived! The mornings here are absolutely perfect and the sun is shining bright in the afternoons! It’s a fantastic time to be outdoors (esp on a bike), out on a vineyard’s patio or sit by the window at your favorite establishment. I am lucky enough to be at The Napa Valley Marriott Hotel to talk to guests about their Napa journey (pre- and post-) as well where they are from. Traveling is one of my favorite things to discuss as I have traveled cross country. Despite being well traveled, I have yet to see a cherry tree until Saturday! Located by the entrance at The Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa, I discovered these sweet edibles as I was walking along the property. Whoever planted these cherry trees is a genius because cherries are sweet and so is staying at The Napa Valley Marriott!

A "Sweet" entrance to your stay!

Cherries at The Napa Valley Marriott

Yes I ate one and I am still alive! They weren’t ripe yet, but then again, would I tell you if they were ripe even if they were?

Come check these cherry trees out on Solano Ave. It is located next to the bike lane going southbound.

Happy Memorial Day!