Farmers Market in Venice & Bike (19 miles) & Beach Walk (whatever) & Lunch?

Join us for a stroll through the wonderful Farmers Market in Venice followed by a bike ride and a hike along Casperson Beach.

08:00 AM: Let's meet on the west side of Centennial Park (across from the restrooms). Leave your bikes on the rack or in your car, we will first explore the Farmers Market on foot!
Please arrive a few minutes early so we can leave on time. Remember that parking on the large parking lot is limited to only 3 hours! You might want to park your car in one of the many side streets surrounding it.

08:45 AM: After a casual stroll through the market we will head back to our cars and ready our bikes for the ride.

09:00 AM: We will start our bike ride with a trip towards South Jetty. The area was devastated by the hurricane (including our favorite ice cream shop) and is still closed. We can however check on any potential progress the city has made since then.

After a quick break, we will turn around and ride through some of the picturesque neighborhoods and make our way to Sharky's Pier where we will spend some time to enjoy the views over the coastline.

From there we will ride around the airport, follow the Venetian Waterway and take the spur to Caspersen Beach, the destination for our Beach Walk (we can decide how far we want to go once we are there)

The beach is much wider than it used to be as the area surrounding the beach changed dramatically! There won't be any open facilities (you might want to go where we started or use the restrooms at Sharky's), the access road and former dunes no longer exist. From what we hear, many locals hope it will remain that way. We will see why.

After a walk along the beach (and potential shark teeth in our pocket), we can ride both sides of the Venice Waterway if we want to and return to the starting point.

Total distance for the bike ride should be around 19 miles. We will ride at 10 - 12 mph where possible and use roads, sidewalks as well as mixed-use trails. There might be sand on some, so hybrids are a good choice instead of skinny tires. We will also have to cross a bridge twice if we ride both sides of the Venetian Waterway.

Please bring along sufficient water, a bike lock and protect yourself from the sun. A snack is always a good idea. Make sure you check your bike before the ride!

Those who have time could have lunch with us at Café Evergreen Restaurant in Nokomis (801 S Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, FL 34275). The restaurant has an extensive menu of healthy (and vegan) food.

This is supposed to be a social event and no race. We don't want to rush the stroll through the market, the bike ride or beach walk. If you have to head back earlier, feel free to do so on your own but please let us know in advance.

As always, you can text or call us at (917)774-0941 if you have any questions or need directions.