I’ll be spending a week in Bonita Springs (in between Naples and Ft. Myers) the week of December 12-18, and I was wondering if anybody has any ideas where I could get my hands on a decent bike for the week. I’d be happy to be directed toward a shop who might have something I could rent for the week or if somebody is in the area that wanted to lend me a spare (size ginormous) bike for the week. Any help from the ST community would be great. Thanks.
Couple of options for you. Wide array of group rides and rentals from various bike shops. I usually roll with Naples Velo groupo. Both shops are located in North Naples near Bonita.
Naples Velo: here
Naples Cyclery: here
Naples Trek: here
I was looking at the ride time starts, does anybody work down there? Who can start at 7am unless everybody works 2nd shift?
Thanks, I may try to join you for a ride or two- and definitely looking to hit up one of those shops for a rental. Would you recommend one over the other as far as customer service and whatnot is concerned?
I rented a Cervelo tri bike from Outspokin. They were really good, and have a few locations. Unfortunately the bike routes suck pretty much. It seemed to me that other than north from Naples to Ft. Myers was the only areas worth riding. Be careful, as cars were a bit aggressive.
I’ve trained down there the past two winters - Trek Estero will be your best bet to rent a bike. There are usually rides twice a day available through the Naples Velo website. The Tuesday and Thursday night rides are pretty fun and usually get 30+ people. The A ride usually turns into a last man standing but it’s a great hour workout. The ride to Ft. Myers Beach on Saturday mornings is also a good size group of 40 or so and can really start to get fast on the way back. Trek Estero also has a great ride on Sunday mornings from its store as well. I have a place in Bonita Springs and will be there that same week down from Chicago. I know most of the routes and roads there where you can avoid heavy traffic.
Small world- We’ll be in from Chicago as well and are staying at a house in the Bonita Bay development. Looking forward to getting off the trainer for a few days while I’m down there. I’m thinking I am going to try to join in on the Sunday and Tuesday morning rides.
x2 on Trek Estero.
I usually rent a road bike from there every year. We have a place right off Three Oaks by the Estero store so very convenient and also very nice roads and routes from that area.
I’m in Bonita Bay too. There are about 16+ miles of roads and loops in the development for riding; I do most of my recovery rides inside it. If you’re up for running, the Shark Shootout 5K will be going on that Saturday. $25 gets you a dri-fit shirt, a grounds ticket to the Shark Shootout golf tournament and a bottle of Greg Norman wine if you place in your age-group.
Some of the people in Naples are retired.
Also curious about good safe routes in the area. Will be in Bonita Springs for a week or so around XMAS and may join up with some group rides but mostly looking for safe roads to do some solo interval type stuff.
There is a ride that goes from the Trek shop all the way to Sanabel Island. A map is on one of the cycling team websites. There are some sketchy areas, but is is pretty cool to ride from key to key over bridges. The gulf is visible during some of the ride, which is cool. It is hot and humid, there is a park with water on Lover’s Key and a 7-11 south of Fort Meyers.
I go down there every Christmas and every April. The first time down I rented a bike from Trek Estero and there was nothing wrong with it, but it was “just” a road bike. Subsequent years, I’ve rented from Naples Cyclery. They rent the entry level Specialized alum tri bike. The best part is that you can send them your fit coordinates in advance so the bike will at least approximately feel like your own.
In terms of routes, I really like riding down there actually. Again, Trek Estero has some ride maps on their website and I’ve done lots of them.
On the other hand, I hate running down there. Flat & boring. I do it, but I don’t look forward to it.