SANIBEL ISLAND: Before and After Hurricane Ian

We sold our place on San Carlos Blvd in Fort Myers 4 months before Ian hit, I still watch videos on Fort Myers beach and Sanibel island for my wife and I had a lot of wonderful memories there. We so enjoyed going to Bowman beach and the lighthouse on Sanibel such a wonderful place, so glad so see all the rebuilding now!

I was looking forward to this video when you said you're in Sanibel and here it is! Nice overview of then and now mixed with history. Well done video. I remember riding those trails myself before the hurricane. Sad to see that so much is gone and like you said less greenery. I guess I'm gonna wait 2-3 more years before going back but I will be back. 😊

Thank you for this update. We love Sanibel, though haven't been there in a while. We're probably going to stop by in March though. Glad to see it's rebuilding. Sad to see how much was lost. What you've done here is important and should be shared as they continue to rebuild. It's amazing documentation.

You always do a great job with your video editing. Looking forward to the next one.

Thanks for sharing the update!!

thank you for coming down and spend time with us. living here in (Florida) all my life and experiencing the devastation from many a hurricane. the first few months is pretty much cleaning up and securing stuff and people should stay away. but once the roads are clear and power is repaired we need to return to as normal as Florida can possibly be. i work over there after hurricane Charlie getting charlotte county schools up and running. just as we did for our schools after Andrew. next month you will ride thru ground zero for hurricane Andrew, you will be hard pressed to see anything suggesting a hurricane had blown thru.

Hi Brian, we first found you when we were looking for you tube videos on the Erie Canal ride in upstate NY. We are doing that ride this July and are really looking forward to it. Several years ago we had a home in Sanibel behind Jerry’s market in the gumbo Limbo neighborhood. We would ride the bike paths almost daily and were members of the Sanibel bike club. Our favorite ride was down Periwinkle to San Cap Highway through Ding Darling and on to the Chapel by the Sea in Captiva. We actually returned to the island for a day visit Jan 2023 and were saddened by the destruction but encouraged by the rebuilding efforts. Our daughter had her wedding at Casa Ybel in 2015 so like you and Mrs. Ride Along we sure have a lot of memories. We are happy you are encouraging people to return to Sanibel, they will appreciate the business. We booked 2 weeks for 01/25 ourselves a few weeks ago. We really love watching your channel and appreciate the history lessons too. One thing that remains a mystery is how it took you so long to discover the joy of riding through ding Darling. better late than never lol!

Thank you for your great video. We miss visiting due to the hurricane. We are looking to come back in 2025. Miss it. Your video brought back wonderful memories.

Love your video, great job. I enjoyed the history you added too 👍🏻 I have lived in Florida for 54 years now. About 25-30 years ago I lived in Ft Myers for 11 yrs. I delivered for Airborne Express (now DHL) the best part about it was, that my route was Sanibel and Captiva. I would put my bike in my van and on my lunch breaks I would ride my bike around. The nicest people lived there. I am still just devastated at how bad the destruction was and with living there, I cry when I see how bad Ft Myers beach was hit, I spent a lot of time there too. Lots of memories, those were my partying years, not so much anymore 😜 not sure how I will handle it going back. I know it will be very sad. Looking forward to more of your videos. Great job 👍🏻🥰👍🏻

I lived on Sanibel for a long time, lost it to Ian. I miss the bike path, there is no other like it anywhere. Rode 22-26 miles daily. Thanks so much for sharing your ride, I loved tagging along with you.

Great videos. We've been visiting Sanibel since 1996. Like you and your family we enjoy going in the summer months. This winter I started watching all your Sanibel videos while riding my exercise bike. Which makes me forget about the WI winter weather.

thanks for sharing.. the weather down here has been crazy, so typical Florida.

Still rebuilding! Did you make it to Cayo Costa State Park? Matlacha? Homes and businesses in Matlacha are still in the water as of April 2024. Sanibel is gorgeous, but if you could shed some light over there??? Still rebuilding the one road in and out to Pine Island.

Great up-to-date video on Sanibel. We used to go down there in the 60's from Orlando when a ferry took us across from Ft. Myers. Stayed at the Blue Dolphin Inn and is where I stayed at again back in 2010 when I was last there. They are rebuilding with a planned swank condo-ee looking thing and the romance of the small separate former cottages nestled amidst the luxuriant tropical growth will be gone. In general, it looks like Captiva and Andy Rosse Lane was mostly spared and was not nearly as devastated as Sanibel. It was especially crushing to me to see everything destroyed and know it will take many years to recover! Thanks again for the great update!

We were there yesterday… although our last visit was over 5 years ago and we watched the devastation on tv news reports we were impressed and happy to see the strides being made to redevelop this beautiful island. We will never forget our time here!

Love the Florida videos, Great storytelling. Bryan. I have a friend in Cape Coral, he was worried for the first time when the hurricane came through. Beach Cruisers are great ! Looking forward to the next adventure.

I like Florida

Very intense video, sir. When I was in Florida in December, I so wanted to go down there, but I didn't feel comfortable. Just watching the difference in the 2 visits you showed, broke my heart. I think I will wait until they have rebuilt a little more. Oh, and by the way, I feel your loss with your Bengals, I am a Dallas Cowboys fan, the frustration is real... Cannot wait to see your Keys adventure with Thomas!!

Nice job syncing the before and after, and yes, you need a building code! Great ride. Have you done Cape Cod?

We were on Sanibel Island in 1974 we stayed in a nice Motel on the beach it was approximately $19.99 a night. I never had a desire to ever go back to Sanibel Island especially now with all the destruction. We have gone back to Florida many many times but it was usually to Orlando for the theme parks and to St Augustine and South Florida Fort Lauderdale and Miami and the keys and Key West