Wheels up for fitness

The national craze of indoor cycling gyms, with high-tech theater-like spaces for stationary rides, has pedaled into the Gulf Coast in a big way.

The source is CycleBar, a Boston-based franchise operation that opened its first Florida location in east Manatee County in March. The CycleBar Sarasota UTC is one of what the area franchisees project will be 10-15 locations along the Tampa-Orlando Interstate 4 corridor by the end of 2017. A pair of Sarasota area investors, under the name Ciclo Management, leads the regional franchise entity. (The word “ciclo” translates to cycling in Italian.)

“We see a significant opportunity,” Ciclo Vice President of Operations and Marketing Annie Bernstein tells Coffee Talk. “The trends on health and wellness are tremendous.”