# Tampa/St. Pete/Bradenton area



## Andy69

Looks like we've got a huge survey coming up in Tampa Bay, probably close to 11 weeks.

I think for the first part we'll be staying in the Anna Maria/Cortez area, then move up to either St. Pete or Brandon for the rest.

Any good club rides in the area?


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## Dougclay

*Some Group Ride Info*

There is a great group ride on Sunday morning up in San Antonio, FL. Everyone meets up by 7:30 and get off by 8am. Ride is 40 - 60 miles depending on what you want to do. Can be very fast ride as a lot of Cat 1 - 3 riders will ride on off race weekends. Meet at the San Antonio City Park at the corner of Railroad Ave and Oak St. San Antonio will be about 30 minutes north of Brandon, but you at least get hills and low traffic. 

You can click here for more info

http://www.getactivetampa.com/cycling.html


There are quite a bit of trails around as well.


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## Slip Stream

If you are staying in Anna Marie, ride the island. There is continuous bike lane from the north end of Anna Marie south to St. Armand's Circle. It is a beautiful ride. Almost all drivers are cyclist friendly.


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## Slip Stream

There is a bike shop http://villagebikes.com/ that hosts bike rides on Longboat Key (LBK) and Anna Maria. You could ride south to Village Bikes and ride north with a group. To get to Village Bikes:

South on Anna Maria
Continue South on LBK
enter Armand's Circle 
Take Third Right on Ringling Blvd
Take Marina Jack's Parking Lot to Side Walk
Take Side Walk (MUT) along US 41 (Tamiami Trail)
Right on Orange Ave
Veer Right on Osprey Ave (Referenced in Steven King's "Duma Key")
Village bikes is located on Right at the bend of Osprey/Bay across from Publix

If you take the same route above, but from Osprey turn Right on Siesta Drive will take you to Siesta Key. On Siesta, stay to the Right and you will pass through Siesta Village and Siesta Beach. Siesta is the best biking destination in the area, IMHO.

Places to stop:

On City Island, which is just south of LBK before Saint Armand's - The Salty Dog - great atmosphere with ice cold "energy drinks" on Tap. Might have seen this place MvF.

On LBK Gulf Side, the Holiday Inn - outdoor dining area that ends at the beach. Food is hit or miss, but Margaritas on ice at the beach...

On Anna Maria - The Rod and Reel Pier - puts new meaning in fresh catch.
Across the street is The Waterfront - if you like Belgian "energy drinks" on tap. Excellent chef - order the special. They have a beautiful outdoor court yard.


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## cdhbrad

Andy: I live in Bradenton, so if you want to ride with a pretty quick group on a Wed. PM or Sat. AM, check out the rides from Ringling Bicycles on Manatee Ave. We have a good number of racers who come down and train with us in the winter. The Wed. ride leaves the shop at 6:00 PM and is about 24 miles in the west part of town. Saturday ride leaves the shop at 7:15 to ride over to Palmetto and meet another group where we will do a 32 mile ride that is basically a training road race, coffee break in town after the ride, then return to the shop. Total is about 45 miles.

Ringling also has a Monday ride for beginning riders which is good if you just want to spin around at a controlled pace and see the area. Just strarted up again with the time change, so check with the shop on start time. I sometimes do it as a recovery ride after Sat. / Sunday rides. 

We also do a Sunday ride leaving the Post Office on 75th St. W. just north of Manatee Ave. at 7:30 AM where we go out to Anna Maria Island then down Longboat Key to St. Armands for coffee. Return is back up Longboat to Cortez Rd to the Post Office for a total of around 52 miles. Sunday ride is more structured as there is a bike path all along the route. Wed and Sat. are basically training races, but lots of fun. 

The San Antonio ride is a good ride too, but it can tend to get strung out and, if you don't know the route, you could get lost pretty easily. GPS is your friend up there. 

Hope you enjoy your stay in the area. PM me if I can help you out.


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## drdsom

*Anna Maria Island during the summer*

Will be visiting AMI during July coming from Germany. Is it possible to go for a ride if you start really early or is it muggy and hot at 7:00 AM already ?

Dirk


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## cdhbrad

Early morning is as good a time to ride as you will have all during the day, unless you want to wait until a couple of hours before sundown. Risk of riding later in the day is that the summer thunderstorms tend to hit the island at that time. 

If you want to ride with a group while you are visiting AMI, I encourage you to check out some of the rides I mentioned above.


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## drdsom

Thanks for your advice. Will follow. Not sure, though, if I will be able to rent a bike while I am there. If so, I will certainly check on the rides you mentioned. I usually go for 50 miles at 25-27 km/h (not sure what that is in mph) alone and 30 km/h in a group.

drdsom


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## cdhbrad

If you need to rent a road bike, get in touch with Ringling Bicycles, the shop I mentioned above. They have a good fleet of rentals and will get you set up. All you will need to bring is your pedals, shoes, etc. You will ride right by their shop on Manatee Avenue on the way to AMI if fly into Tampa. Easy to find if you come in through Sarasota too.


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## drdsom

*Ringling*

Thanks cdhbrad for your help. I appreciate it. Will come in via Tampa, so a stop at Ringling is already scheduled. See you on the road, maybe.

drdsom


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## cdhbrad

You may have already been in contact with them by email or phone about a rental for the period you will be visiting, but, if not, it might be a good idea so that they can be sure of the size bike you need, time needed, etc. That way they can have the bike set aside for you and ready when you arrive.


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## Andy69

hey guys thanks for the tips. the project is on hold for a bit so I'm not sure when I'll be getting down there.


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## drdsom

*Biking on AMI*

Will leave for AMI tomorrow. Checked with Ringling, they will set me up. Hope to join your group on either Saturday or Sunday. Thanks for your advice and help. I appreciate it.

Dirk


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## cdhbrad

Dirk: Look forward to seeing you. We will leave the Ringling parking lot about 7:15 or shortly after on Saturday. Should be good weather this weekend, but bring plenty to drink, its been very hot on these rides the last few weeks. I'll be on a red Fondriest Domino Plus on Saturday, see you there. Curtis


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## JP Roleur

*SRQ area rides*

Heading down to LBK next week. Looking to get some warm weather miles in the legs. Def planning to check out the Ringling weekend rides.

Would most appreciate any other suggestions/clarifications for group rides in the area.

JP


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## cdhbrad

JP: Hope you can join our weekend rides out of Bradenton with Ringling Bikes. Like you, we hope it will be a little warmer too. As for other rides you may want to do while on LBK, riding up to Anna Maria Island and doing a loop around the Island and back to LBK is always nice. Good bike lanes on LBK and the majority of Anna Maria. You may want to check out the Village Bikes rides too. I don't know what they do in the winter during the week to deal with Daylight Savings Time, but I'm sure someone at the shop can help you out.


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## JP Roleur

Thanks. I'll plan to do these two rides listed on the website- Sat - Start Bradenton Yacht Club 7:30 AM - Distance 40 miles (20+ MPH); Sun - Start 75 Street W, Bradenton, FL at the Post Office 7 AM - Distance 50 miles (20+ MPH) - on the 19th and 20th.

I've done that Anna Maria loop before and will do it again this trip.

JP


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## cdhbrad

JP: Instead of going over to the Yacht Club, plan to leave from Ringling Bikes on Manatee Ave. and ride over with the rest of us to the start in Palmetto. We leave the shop between 7:15-7:20 and come back there after the ride. Also, we usually stop in town to have coffee after the ride before heading back to the shop. Plenty of parking and you have to go right by the shop to get to the Yacht Club if you come off the Manatee Ave. Bridge on AMI. As for Sunday, we have been leaving around 7:15-7:25 lately on account of later sunrise than in the Summer. 

If you have any questions about the rides after you get to LBK, call the shop, 941-749-1442, and ask for either Dave or Julie, the owners.


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## Andy69

Finally made it down. Haven't been able to do much riding, though. On the days we aren;t on the boat it's not terribly good riding weather.


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## cdhbrad

Andy: It hasn't been ideal "Florida Winter" riding weather the last couple of weeks. Usually, we will have a front blow through in a day and it will be clear afterwards. This year, the overcast hangs around, and its been unseasonably wet for us too. Hopefully, this weekend will be nice though. There is a big race in San Antonio and several of my friends are going up there so Saturday may not be quite as quick as normal, but its always a good ride. Come join us if you can make it up to Bradenton on Saturday AM.


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## JP Roleur

CDH-

Weather is looking good. First ride on Thursday. Will do my best to make it there on Saturday. Also heard the Sunday village bikes ride at Lakewood ranch is good so may play that one by ear. Otherwise I'll be riding around LBK and Anna Maria.

JP


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## cdhbrad

Yes, this week is forecast to be a lot warmer than last, especially the weekend. It was really windy both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend, so I hope we won't have that to deal with. Look forward to seeing you on Saturday. The Village Bikes ride on Sunday should be a good one too, you will have plenty of chances to ride up and down LBK (our typical Sunday) so better to see something different. That part of the area is where we have our largest group ride of the year each November and the roads are pretty good for cycling without too much traffic.


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## VanDrunken

Hi guys,
I am planning on visiting the area in November from Canada. Looks like some great advice posted here and I have already emailed Ringling Bikes to see if they can hold a rental for me.

I will be in the Bradenton area for about a week in mid-November and am looking forward to joining a few group rides....that is if you don't mind a Canadian tagging along.


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## cdhbrad

Hope you can join us for some group rides. Dave and Julie at Ringling really treat visiting cylists well and we all enjoy having visitors to the area join us. One rider from Toronto liked the area so much he bought a house here just to keep his bike in so he didn't have to ship it every visit.....of course, it helped that his parents owned the house across the street. He'll start coming more often as it gets cooler in Canada.


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## c_kyle

The San Antonio ride is awesome and brutal. If you want to ride from a shop, St Pete Bicycles will have excellent road rides.

EDIT: Lol, didn't read the post date....


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## VanDrunken

Sounds great! It will be nice to get off the trainer for a week and ride with a group. I will keep you posted as to when I will be coming. As of now it looks like the week of Nov. 19th.


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## TrailViewMount

If you want to find Village Bikes fast, Google the address: 3898 South Osprey Avenue Sarasota Florida. You can have a map in front of you in seconds. That's what Google does. Saves time.


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