I set out to ride east from my house today. I figured I’d do one of my usual routes which consists of Linear Park, Six Mile Cypress, and Michael Rippe parkway. Somehow I ended up on Sanibel Island which is in the complete opposite direction. I blame red lights and traffic which caused me to keep turning right but I think subconsciously I was headed there all along. The allure of the Sanibel Causeway is too powerful and I can’t resist it. I know I should vary routes more often but I end up riding out there at least once a week anyways.
Me and that causeway have a love affair and it’s easy to see why. For starters the view is gorgeous. You get views of Pine Island Sound, San Carlos Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. You also get views of people engaged in various activities such as kiteboarding, windsurfing, fishing, boating, swimming, and sunbathing. And it’s usually good for at least one bikini sighting, especially on the weekends. It also also has nice wide bike lanes and the traffic is mercifully slow. The views and lanes are good enough that pro cyclist Phil Gaimon gave them a shout out in Bicycling Magazine.
Best of all, the causeway is the only place in town that has any sort of elevation. The Sanibel bridge is the best climb in the county and the rest of the causeway has several gentle hills on it. It’s one of the few places where a skinny guy like myself has an advantage. It makes me feel strong and I have a bunch of great Strava rankings along that stretch so I feel like it’s my territory.
Once you get out to Sanibel you can turn around but cycling out on Sanibel is great too especially during the summer when you practically have the island to yourself. Sometimes I’ll park my car at Bike Bistro and launch from there so that I can make a day of exploring the island without worrying about being too tired to make it home.
I know the causeway is intimidating to some cyclists because of the cars and the fact that you’re riding over bridges that are way up high and over water. The wind can be quite strong there as well but I take that as a fitness-building positive. Furthermore, cyclist Tracey Kleinpell was killed there in 2011 which adds to the stigma. But Tracey was struck by a drug impaired and asleep-at-the-wheel driver (Theresa L. Shirley) who crossed over an entire lane of traffic and hit her head on. This could have happened anywhere and I don’t think the causeway was a factor. If anything you’re better off on the causeway because of the wide bike lanes. But the more you ride the causeway the more you will get used to it. It quickly starts to feel natural and personally I feel safer there than many other places I ride.
I like the causeway so much that I’ll often do causeway repeats. It’s also one of my excuses for being a lone wolf because most group rides don’t go out there except for Bike Bistro’s Thursday ride. The only thing I don’t like about the Sanibel Causeway is that on the way home the stretch between the tollbooth and Shell Point road can be brutal. Typically I already have about 20 miles under my belt, I just finished climbing the bridge (usually against the wind), and then I hit that segment which is 2 miles long, flat, and exposed to the sun and an ever-present headwind. I call it Death Valley. Fortunately, Bike Bistro, my oasis, is located shortly after the end of Death Valley and I always stop there for a Coke.
some of my favorite Sanibel Causeway Strava segments:
Death Valley:
the causeway at sunset
just arrived on Sanibel and I'm a happy man
climbing into the fog (not recommended)
riding through Death Valley headed to the Bike Bistro oasis
the causeway from afar
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