Cycling Around Bonita Springs and Pelican Bay
Having driven from a frigid and snowy Virginia south through an unusual cold snap, we left the last of the snow behind in southern Georgia and arrived in Naples, Florida on their first warm day in nearly a week. With gravel bikes in tow, we were eager to get outside and ride after being stuck inside on our spin bike for the past month.
At the time of our rides, I didn’t plan on recapping either so my pictures are a little sparse, but you should be able to get an idea of the scenery.
Bonita Springs
After settling in with friends, we set to planning two rides before leaving the Naples area. For the first ride, we let our friend Betsy play tour guide as she made up the route on the fly. We hadn’t ridden with Betsy since visiting her and her husband in Minnesota last summer when she took us on a ride to see the Minnehaha Falls. For our Naples tour, she included many different neighborhoods within Bonita Springs giving us a taste of the community.
Ride Overview
- • Location: Bonita Springs, Florida
- • Course Type: lots of little out-and-backs
- • Course Surface: paved and brick
- • Bike: Salsa Warbird
- • Distance: 22.8 miles
- • Time: 1:46:02
- • Average Speed: 12.9 MPH
- • Maximum Speed: 19.7 MPH
- • Elevation Gain: 184 feet
- • Elevation Range: -2 to 54 feet
- • Weather: 64° and partly cloudy, climbing to 69°
- • Date of ride: January 26, 2025
Fun Pictures From Along the Way
Happy to be in the Florida warmth, my husband and I donned short sleeves while our Florida acclimated friend needed a little more cover.
Our ride took us through parks…
Past beautiful homes…
Under this hanging root ball…
And even past a trailside mirror!
Garmin Stats
Post-ride Garmin…
Garmin map and elevation graph…
Pelican Bay
We chatted with our friend Miles, who also winters in Naples, for ideas for another good ride while in the area. After a few suggestions we settled on riding in Pelican Bay and found this route where each lap is just over 7 miles.
Afterward, we met Miles and his wife for lunch. He’s our friend who initially told me about Jeannie Rice’s first world record – they’re friends and run with the same group during the winter.
Ride Overview
- • Ride Name: 20-Pelican Bay Vanderbilt Beach Ride
- • Ride with GPS: Link to turn-by-turn navigation cue sheet
- • Location: Pelican Bay, Florida
- • Start/Finish: Oakmont Parkway Publix parking lot
- • Course Type: loop with a short tail
- • Course Surface: paved
- • Bike: Salsa Warbird
- • Distance: 22.2 miles
- • Time: 1:33:36
- • Average Speed: 14.2 MPH
- • Maximum Speed: 17.6 MPH
- • Elevation Gain: 128 feet
- • Elevation Range: 6 to 40 feet
- • Weather: 71° and mostly sunny
- • Date of ride: January 27, 2025
- • Course Map:
Fun Pictures From Along the Way
Half of our ride paralleled the Gulf of America on Pelican Bay Boulevard where this lovely sculpture by Spanish artist Manolo Valdés resides.
Making our way to the high rises…
And even though we spent much of our time on the boulevard, traffic was quite light and we felt very safe in our designated bike lane.
Garmin Stats
Post-ride Garmin…
Garmin map and elevation graph…
Final Thoughts on the Rides
Both rides while cycling around Bonita Springs and Pelican Bay were easy shakeouts after not having been on our outdoor bikes in a while. The sun, the warmth, and the fresh air were just what we needed to get our bodies back in the groove and ready for longer and tougher rides in the upcoming weeks.
Questions
- • Have you visited Florida? ~ many times
- • Would you prefer a very flat course or one with a few hills to break up the monotony? ~ I like both.
- • Do you stop and relax occasionally to fuel or take pictures, or barrel on through when on a long run or ride? ~ Pictures, always pictures, unless I’m racing!
Oh, this brings back so many memories! As you know, we used to live in Naples on Gulf Shore Drive, and we’d ride from our house to Fort Myers and back—always with a breakfast stop in Fort Myers, of course! I really miss it; such a fantastic place for cycling.
Your photos are stunning—they look just like the ones we took back in the day!
Happy to have taken you for a ride down memory lane, Catrina!
Very familiar to me. I’ve been to Naples every May since 2005.
I wish I had more time to explore. My time is reserved for tennis and beach.
It’s flat so a great place to bike.
Thanks for sharing.
How fun, Darlene! I didn’t realize you’d been going for that many years.
I’ve been to Florida many times, but have never biked there. That bucket list item needs work, LOL. You probably know I’m a fan of taking lots of pics and stopping for “fuel” along the way. Like you, I like a few hills. Flat terrain, on the bike, means constant pedaling, which gets VERY tedious.
Yes, you need to add cycling in Florida to your bucket list. 🙂
Unfortunately, I live here. I’ve lived all over the state, so I’ve been in pretty much all the big areas at some point. I know people love to visit, so I hope you had a good time.
Did you get out before the Everglades fires? That was so upsetting to see.
We do enjoy visiting in the winter, but I wouldn’t do well in the heat in during the summer. I am not aware of fires in the Everglades so we must have gotten out before they started. That’s sad to hear.
The weather looks terrific! I have never been to Naples but I have been to Florida a few times. When and where is your next adventure?
Naples was great! Our next adventure will take us to the southern Utah desert before heading north to Glacier National Park this summer.