Biking or car rental for the day

I can tell you that in Beaune, there's a great shop for bikes,,wonderful guys, Bourgogne Randonnees
see page 848 of RS's France book.I did a day ride and had an outdoor lunch in Meursault. The path was generally flat, thru vineyards, and very small villages with one slight ,short climb. I don't think they have electric bikes, however.. (get in shape,, I did it at 80, you can do it too) lunch was at Hotel-Restaurant Les Arts in a beautiful square.

As far as car rental, i would only make a reservation in advance, generally , no risk to you ,, i always check w Orbitz.com https://www.orbitz.com/carsearch?date1=05%2F24%2F2016&date2=05%2F28%2F2016&dpln=6046869&kind=1&locn=Beaune%2C%20France&olat=47.024877&olon=4.838459&rdus=10&styp=2&vend=

looks like $25 - 30 a day..
for a great B&B,, Domaine des Anges, a 5 min ride out of town w a car. Warm and friendly, English speakers hosts, great breakfast, I wasn't crazy about the local restaurants, however.
https://www.orbitz.com/carsearch?date1=05%2F24%2F2016&date2=05%2F28%2F2016&dpln=6046869&kind=1&locn=Beaune%2C%20France&olat=47.024877&olon=4.838459&rdus=10&styp=2&vend=

I screwed up the info for the B&B,, Domaine des Anges, Place des Marronniers, 21190 Puligny-Montrachet, Franc.. They speak the King's English for sure

having spent time in colmar and annecy, (with a car) having a car, particularly if your there for a few days, would allow you to get out an see the nice towns etc in the area. a bike would be helpful, perhaps , in the town, but not if you want to travel and make the best of the area, as such. that said, in annecy the lake would be lovely to bike around etc. we did look at a few bike shops in annecy. my guess they would also rent bikes? as the locals definitely have plenty of bikes.
the town of colmar is very nice to walk around and the 'nearby' towns eg: riquewihr etc are also worth visting. ( look out for the storks)
annecy is delightful ( the town is nice to walk/bike around - can be busy to drive through), we toured around the lake to places like talloires etc. went to the bell foundry. drove to chamonix for the day,etc etc, so much to see in that area.

hope this helps.

You'll pay much more for a car rental if you do it there at the last minute. You'll have to pay the same taxes Europeans pay for their rentals, whereas by renting in dollars through a US agency, you avoid those taxes. Expect some local charges to be added to whatever any website quotes. Unfortunately, this doesn't give you flexibility in case you do find an electric bike once you get off the train.

This is maybe a wild idea, but if you're coming by train from someplace that rents electric bikes, and returning there after visiting the Alsace region, maybe you could bring the bikes with you, then take them back again? Some trains have special cars for taking bicycles, others only allow bikes on board at certain times of day (usually not during commuting times) and others don't allow them at all, so that could require some more research, but maybe it's an option?

Thank you Fewolf, Glennlorrainer, Bets and Cyn for taking the time to respond. I really appreciated it, but unfortunately, no one was able to actually solve my concerns.

Fewolf, I did love the website you sent me regarding renting a car in Beaune. It was helpful but when I changed the location to either Colmar or Annecy, they had no shops around either of these villages. Also, good for you biking in your 80's. Sadly, I think we'll definitely need electric bikes since we both have bad knees. Thanks too for the B&B info but my hotel reservations are already set.

Cyn, that was a good idea but we will not be returning to any location once we leave.

I'm thinking that if we go to the TI as soon as we arrive, hopefully they will be able to advise us or even call for us to set up a bike reservation or car rental. Yes, I know it's more expensive renting there, but it's only a day or two of rental; and really, I see no other choice.

Wild idea, but it s worth for sure!! ;)