Fort Myers area advice?

[nighthawk]

I'll be down in Fort Myers for my sisters wedding in June. Planning on renting a bike, and doing some riding. Anyone know of any good shops down there, or places to ride? Any other attractions of note?

[Chance]

Check out Thomas Edison's place if you like history and or how stuff came about. Ford also had a winter place there but haven't seen it myself.

[EDS]

I was in Naples, FL a few weeks ago. You can ride over the causeway to Sanibel/Captive; you can also ride south along the coast to Naples and back.

[ultraman6970]

Fort Myers FL??

A lot of stuff to do, no idea if you have casinos in the indian reservation tho, cant remember.

Regarding riding a bike, somebody in another forum mentioned a pavement trail that was hyper long, like 200 miles or so.

If you drive to tampa you have bush gardens, if you go further north to ocala you can go where the old tarzan movies were filmed, that this is a park, really interesting place.

Be careful with long snakes tho.

[Fixed]

what size do you need ?
cheers

[Bruce K]

Check out the Caloosa Riders website.

They are a VERY active group in the Ft. Myers area.

Sanibel and Captiva Islands are cool. Lots of seashell hunting and generally good fishing.

Expensive toll over the causeway but good restaurants, nice beaches, and a fun day.

There are lots of bike paths over on Sanibel and you can ride there from Ft. Myers.

There are a couple of decent shops that do Ok rentals that are linked off the Caloosa Riders web site.

Unfortunately we will miss each other as I am driving down with my wife, arriving on Captiva on June 30.

BK

[Ralph]

We visit Sanibel Island regularly. Always stay at West Wind Inn. Lots of bike trails, and all the roads on the island are suitable for riding. Lots of locals get around by bike. It's easy to stay on the island and get in a good 30 mile ride....going up to Captiva and back. If you happen to rent a bike with sorta fat tires, you can ride thru the Ding Darling National WildLife refuge. The cobble stones on that 5 mile side ride beat me up on 23's. There are a couple large bike rental businesses on the Island, but don't know how hi end they go. If you stay on the Island side of Fort Meyers, you can just ride over the causeway to the island. Turn rt at Perriwinke Way, and keep going all the way to Captiva. You cannot get lost.

I personally don't think Fort Meyers is very bike friendly. I would stay on Sanibel. I have a brother with a large home in Ft Myers, and I never stay with him. Always Sanibel island.

[majorpat]

I rented a bike (a Guru) from the Trek store in Estero while I was staying in Bonita Springs a couple years ago. They have some routes but I found the riding kind of crappy. I rode on Three Oaks Parkway on the shops advice but other roads were pretty sketchy due to lots of multi-lane traffic and inattentive drivers. Guess I am spoiled by my home location but I was uncomfortable riding there. Can't speak to Sanibel or Captiva Islands as I have never been. Best of luck!
Pat

[nighthawk]

EDS...
Sanibel Captiva looks sweet. I may just check that out.

Fixed...
I ride 54/56, and my lady friend rides a 48.

Bruce..
Thanks for the Caloosa link. I'll check that out first when I start my rental search. Yeah, I'll be heading back north on June 10. It's going to be a pretty rushed trip.. lot's of good family time, but hoping to tear away atleast for a day to spend on a bike.

Ralph...
Thanks for the Sanibel specifics, I'm definitely going to check that out. Ding Darling sounds cool, too. I actually work for USFW while I work on my Wildlife Ecology degree.. so this is right up my alley. Sanibel-Roubaix sounds like fun! I'll have my lady friend with me, so not too worried about a getting a light weight speed machine. Wide tires might be the way to go.

Thanks all for your advice!

[Fixed]

i have a 57 if that helps i am in tampa .
cheers

[dogdriver]

Beware the bluehairs in the large sedans. Other than that, enjoy!

[Bruce K]

Fortunately, no bluehairs on the Sanibel bike paths, at least in cars.

You do have to watch out for rollerbladers, baby buggies, beach cruisers, and the occassional sunbathing gator (nothing really big but I've encountered one or two).

It is a fun place to ride. Very flat once you're over there and the beaches are very nice.

It doesn't have the feel of Florida. A bit more Island Time way of living.

If you do go and decide you want to go fishing I have the names of a couple of really good captains for you.

BK

[nighthawk]

Appreciate the offer, Fixed, but it's a tad large, and since I have to get a bike for my gf, I'll probably just opt for less coordinating. I'm sure I'll be able to make do with what I can get from a shop.
:beer:

i have a 57 if that helps i am in tampa .
cheers

[nighthawk]

If I had more time, I would definitely go fishing, but probably not this time around. Next time for sure.

It's funny, gators are the least annoying out of all those obstacles listed. I used to live in Gainesville.. and ride the trail to Hawthorne atleast a few times a week. All sorts of gators over there. The fullmoon night rides were the best... where you can only see their shiny eyes in the water.

Fortunately, no bluehairs on the Sanibel bike paths, at least in cars.

You do have to watch out for rollerbladers, baby buggies, beach cruisers, and the occassional sunbathing gator (nothing really big but I've encountered one or two).

It is a fun place to ride. Very flat once you're over there and the beaches are very nice.

It doesn't have the feel of Florida. A bit more Island Time way of living.

If you do go and decide you want to go fishing I have the names of a couple of really good captains for you.

BK

[Fixed]

before sports teams florida was billed as the the sportsman's paradise meaning fishing and boating
i remember the sport slot on the local news was headed by salty sol . the top stories were about where the fish are running that day
cheers :beer:

[SteveV0983]

I live in Naples and we have a fantastic shop called Naples Cyclery. You can rent anything from a beach cruiser to a high end road bike and there are plenty of great places to ride starting out right from the shop. There is also a Trek store in Naples and, as mentioned previously, there is one in Estero, which is half way between FM and Naples. But I'd highly recommend Naples Cyclery as a place to start if you don't mind coming down here. The shop is the best.

[EDS]

I live in Naples and we have a fantastic shop called Naples Cyclery. You can rent anything from a beach cruiser to a high end road bike and there are plenty of great places to ride starting out right from the shop. There is also a Trek store in Naples and, as mentioned previously, there is one in Estero, which is half way between FM and Naples. But I'd highly recommend Naples Cyclery as a place to start if you don't mind coming down here. The shop is the best.

I rented a bike from them a few weeks ago. Nice shop for sure.

[ridemoreoften]

Not great!
suggest you go to the beach instead. I don't personally think the riding is this area is very safe. Cars drifting into the bike lane where one exists and passing you at 50-60 mph. IMHO