pdxtex

anyone from or ridden in sarasota? how did it go? any awesome routes? ive been to sarasota a ton but never brought a bike. thought i might give it a go during the annual spring break visit to my parents.

RacerOne

I've enjoyed riding on the keys, Lido is really nice with the bridge crossing from Sarasota.

VELOGLOCK

Try to google up a local cycling club for the area , I'm just over the Skyway so no real help , however if you're going to
there at spring break be very aware of traffic , half of them are too feeble to see the other half are just plain clueless ,
I will not ride on the road at that time I'll stick to the MUP , YMMV , enjoy

tcwayne

I live in St. Petersburg and work in Bradenton. I visit the shops around Bradenton and Sarasota once and awhile. I'm fond of these and they have group rides. Ringling does a Monday and Wednesday afternoon ride as well as a Saturday ride. I'm sure there's more but I haven't done them.
https://villagebikes.com/

https://www.ringlingbicycles.com/

https://www.smbc.us/

If you happen to make it into St. Petersburg (short drive really), here's some rides.

Monday-Friday 8:15am spin group (18-22) North Shore Pool parking lot
8:30am group (22-24+ Fridays are FASTFRIDAYS) North Shore Pool
parking lot
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons prior to timechange-
4:00pm group (25-30+) Meets at USF St. Petersburg
5:00pm group (25-30+) Meets at USF St. Petersburg
after timechange (march 11th) rides switch to 5:00 and 6:00
Wednesday 6:00pm shop ride from St. Pete Bike west, after timechange.
18-20 and 22+ groups
Saturday- 7:00am North Shore Pool parking lot (22-24) warm up to Pass a Grille with
some breaking off to Fort Desoto
7:15am "B" ride out of Ride and Roll shop in Largo. 40 mile ride over 3
bridges and through all of Clearwater, Dunedin and Palm Harbor.
7:30am "A" ride out of Ride and Roll shop in Largo. 50 mile ride over 3
bridges and through all of Clearwater, Dunedin and Palm Harbor.
8:30am Training ride (very fast) South loop and all of Ft. Desoto Mainly
meets at USF but the club rides go right through there

All the Club rides meet at the pool. Beginner rides to 26+mph.
These rides go North and South. LOTS of cyclists.
Sunday- 7:00am "B" ride starts at 107th Avenue and the Pinellas Trail and goes to
Pass a Grille and back via Gulf Blvd.
7:30am "A" ride starts at 107th Avenue and the Pinellas Trail and goes to
Pass a Grille and back via Gulf Blvd.
8:00am Coffee shop ride- (24-26+)Meets at North Shore pool and does
the South loop and Pass a Grille
8:30am Library ride- 9th ave. Library (22-24 going north and GAME ON, on
the way back)
https://stpetecycling.com/

https://www.stpetebicycles.com/

https://www.ridenrollcyclery.com/

So come to St. Pete LOL

Pluto

Riding in Sarasota is really nice. I go there every summer for a week of R&R and have started riding from the south end of Lido Key up to the north end of Longboat Key. Early morning rides are better for beating the heat. The road has bike paths each way and the drivers don't seem to give you any problems. I have no experience riding in town howerver and that is where you will probably find the older or inattentive drivers.

Syncmaster

My parents are in that area and riding on the roads is usually fine. Absolutely amazing compared to here in NYC.... Drivers are slower in FL I think. Mostly all flat as you know but nicely paved surfaces. Long Boat Key is a nice longer ride. I went to an amazing park called myakka park that I thought would have been a great ride by bike on the right route.

supafast213

There is a group that I see (enviously) on Thursday mornings riding east on Clark Rd around 8:30. They appear to be pretty serious riders from a drive by point of view. The rule in Sarasota seems to be the closer to the beach, the better. So I would recommend riding the barrier islands as a destination. The Legacy Trail begins just off of Clark Rd. It's a flat rail trail that takes you down to Venice through some very "Florida" scenery. Serious roadies can check out *Tempo Cycles on Clark rd or Village bikes and the Schwinn shop on Bee Ridge. The Myakka Park might be a good ride, I haven't done it on a bicycle.
I do most of my riding 30 minutes south of Sarasota so these are only suggestions from a resident/cycling enthusiast.

boatguytoo

I really like riding in the Lakewood Ranch area. Go to the Villagebikes.com site mentioned above and click on local rides.
Click on the Linger Lodge Rd ride.
The map will show a nice ride but the whole area offers many side routes and circuits you can devise rides on your own.
What is really great is Lakewood Ranch is a planned community and its own township, so most all of the roads are newer, smooth and feature wide cycling lanes Best of all, low traffic volumes as this is a very upscale residential community.
Many side routes offer winding curving roadways to limit the vehicular speeds through high end real estate planned developments.
Look at google maps, I find it easy to come up with a 40 mile looping ride.
Some of my favorite roads are Lorraine Rd, Hidden River Rd, Masters Rd winding through the golf courses and country club. Just so little traffic especially on the weekends.
There are plenty of business and strip mall parking lots to start your ride from if you can't easily ride there.
I am fortunate to take a ride through the Meadows, another upscale residential area on my way to Lakewood Ranch.
There are all kinds of places to stop and refill your gatorade on hot summer rides.
You will see other serious riders and groups of riders in this area.
While its not quite as scenic as Longboat Key it is so much easier traffic wise as long as you stay off University Ave. But even University has a decent sidewalk if you want to avoid a short stretch on a higher speed artery.
Nevertheless I cruise by areas like lake Osprey and see sandhill cranes, turtles, hawks, gators, saw a fox, an eagle, once almost ran over a rattlesnake sunning in the road, so there is some nice nature viewing too.

Vinci

Riding on Longboat Key is really nice, and traffic is pretty civilized.

There are some great places East of I75 in Lakewood Ranch with bike lanes and light traffic.

To the Southeast in and around Myakka State Park is another great spot with country roads and almost no traffic.

There are lots of group rides around at different levels. If you want to get your ass kicked, look into the Ringling Bikes shop rides.