NAPLES, FLORIDA
Two years ago I rode in Luxembourg with Rooster Racing. One of our riders was Margaret O. from Naples, Florida. When I told her I would be in the area she told me about the Bike and Brunch ride sponsored by the Naples Pathways Coalition. I registered and we met at Lowdermilk Park in Naples, the start/finish location for the ride.
Before I connected with Margaret, I found Joe B., who I worked with in Washington, D.C. We had a brief conversation and then left in our respective ride groups.
We started in neighborhoods and Margaret found (for me) our first impromptu rest stop – at the pier in Naples. After a break we rode off, Margaret giving me a tour of the neighborhoods.
We stopped at the first rest stop at a community center around Mile 20. Once we left there we started off into long straight roads, generally with a bike lane next to a 45-50 mph highway.
The winds were strong. It seemed they were always at an angle so we never got the benefit of a true headwind. Our second stop was set up by a gas station and was manned by some very nice high school students.
Arriving back the organizers had some chips and salsa from Moe’s (a sponsor). That was unexpected in these COVID times – we did not expect anything. We sat on the patio at the concession stand enjoying the 75° weather, reminiscing about our trip two years ago to Luxembourg.
It was Roosters Reunited for another day.
After the ride I decided that I would retire (discard) the Rooster Racing bib shorts. Although they don’t look bad in the photo, they wore horribly worn and see-thru (on the thighs). And when I got back to the hotel, a woman who had been with a number of bike racers today, told me that I looked like a bike racer. Sweet!
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