cycling

We are due to visit key west in may and as we are both keen cyclists we are looking to hire good cycles that we can hire for a week and use to cycle further afield. can anybody recommend a good hire shop in the town

cycling

I doubt that Key Kest itself is more than 15 miles around and parts of it are not easily biked, so the only way to go too far is to bike along US 1 off the island. I%26#39;m not sure it is worth your trouble to do this. (You do mean bicycles and not motorcycles?)

Pjk

cycling

yes we are looking for bicycles and we do intend to cycle further up us1 highway and some fitness training around north/south boulevards. last time we visited we only managed to rent the bicyles that are really just for pleasure cycling around the old town

Very interesting question... any other locals have an answer?

Conch cruisers are the rental bike of choice around here, since most people are using them for cruising around town, not serious cycling. I would think your best bests might be Island Bicycle in Key West or the Big Pine Bike Shop on Big Pine. I need to take the b/f%26#39;s bike in on Friday (darn saltwater!), so I%26#39;ll ask at Big Pine. Howver, bikes -- especially nice ones -- have a habit of going missing in KW, so I suspect you%26#39;ll have trouble getting anyone to rent you something pricey.

IMO, the best ride on a road bike would be the south end of the Seven Mile Bridge to Sugarloaf. There are plenty of good places to ride on Big Pine and Sugarloaf and the keys in between, but I%26#39;d recommend a hybrid or mountain bike because of all our rock, sand and mud.

There is a Key West bicycling Club...

http://www.caloosariders.com/

...you might want to email them and ask about rides and bikes.

Pjk

Caloosa Riders is actually the club in Lee County.

thank you all so much for the replies. special thanks to island kitty and await any further post from you. also why is it that whenever we mention to any americans living in the keys about wishing to spending some of our holiday cycling, mainly for the exercise, they think we are barmy english

I think it depends on what time of year you mention it. In summertime, people will think you a bit loony. The traffic on the road at this time of year makes me a little nervous, to be honest, but I see a lot of serious cyclists out on the highway on weekends. (And we do have decent paths along many stretches of the highway.) The Keys are a popular destination for cyclists from the mainland during the winter, when heatstroke is less of an issue. There have been several organized rides over the past few weeks.

I didn%26#39;t make it to the bike shop this morning, but I%26#39;ll make it there sometime soon and let you know what the owner says about renting decent bikes.