My daughter Anna Claire is ten, and new to riding her bike. She really wanted to ride bikes on 30A during our vacay, so I researched for somewhere safe, less crowded, and with level ground.
Alys Beach fit all of our criteria, plus the architecture and entire little community is so charming. It’s beautifully manicured and photogenic.
Also, as an added bonus, prior to our trip, I had researched the different bike rental locations along 30A and The Bike Shop at Alys Beach had to the best rates. You should also know that bikes are typically priced for daily rental, and we only needed hourly which they allowed.
I don’t know that a reservation is required, but I opted to reserve ours which gave us confidence that the bike sizes we needed would be available.
A little bike safety lesson: Did you know that the child should ride in front of the adult? This allows you to keep your eyes on them, and call out directions to them. This made my child nervous at first, but I think she liked leading the way by the end.
Back home we are vigilant about wearing our helmets when we ride, since we share the road with car traffic, but with a designated bike lane, no one was wearing one. My daughter loved this! (So did I.)
Pro Tip: Be sure to venture down the side roads. We loved looking at the beautiful homes and condos. We also found Charlie’s Donuts which is known for having the best smoothies on 30A. AC had a Long John and we split a mango smoothie. So good!
The Bike Shop at Alys Beach is also located directly across from the large green space and next door to Piper’s food truck in case you work up a thirst or would like a yummy taco after your ride.
Bike riding was a great social distancing activity, and I can honestly say this goes on my list of the top five bike rides I’ve been on in my life.
I will just end by saying how kind, happy and friendly everyone was at Alys. It was contagious!
Essentially Better Living 