Couple bring Pedego electric bikes to Naples

Like so many successful businessmen before him, especially those who eventually find their way to sunny Southwest Florida, retirement proved the one thing Joe Britell found himself ill-equipped to handle.

Before that, the 75-year-old father of three and grandfather of six — who, along with his wife, Maria, recently opened a pair of Pedego Electric Bikes stores on the north and south sides of Naples — simply found himself ill.

Gravely so.

“In 2014, I underwent surgery to repair an aortic valve,” explained Britell, a Navy veteran and Syracuse University graduate who worked for Unisys and AT&T before heading up his own technology company in Stamford, Conn., for 26 years. “It was very serious.”

So serious, in fact, that Britell became one of the first patients to undergo a breakthrough new procedure to repair the damaged valve.

“Without that new procedure — if this had happened just a few years earlier — I was pretty much a goner,” Britell said with the unmistakable gratitude of a man who has been granted a new lease on life.

It’s a lease that Britell plans to renew as often and as vigorously as possible.

“How often are you given a second chance like that?” he asked. “Not very often, so I definitely wanted to make the most of it.

Recently retired at the time of his surgery, the former air traffic controller didn’t consider whiling away the hours on the golf course to be “making the most of it.” Fortunately for him, that was when fate stepped in with a brand-new career opportunity.

“I didn’t have very much to do after I retired, but my son’s friend had just opened a Pedego store in Norwalk, Conn., so I gave him a call and asked if I could give him a hand,” he recalled.

From there, Britell said, one thing led to another.

“After about two days, I’m looking at the bikes, and I said, ‘I’m going to ride one,’ ” he said, remembering that his surgeon had instructed him to increase his physical activity.

Britell said the Pedego bikes — a portmanteau of the words “pedestrian,” “electric” and “go” — proved ideal for the task, especially in his weakened condition.

“It’s the sort of thing where you can exercise at your own pace, so I was very secure in the knowledge that I wouldn’t have to walk the bike back,” he said. “It inspired me to pedal farther and farther each time I went out.”

It also inspired him to do a little more than that.

“After about a month, I called Pedego and asked them about opening up the stores here in Naples,” he said.

Upon learning that the Naples territory was available, Britell and his wife flew out to Pedego company headquarters in California to learn all the ins and outs of the business.

“That was last December, and now here we are, eight months later, with two of our own stores,” he said.

Both of the Britells’ locations — one at 10565 U.S. 41 North in North Naples, kitty-corner to the Mercato shopping center, and the other at 3954 Bayshore Drive, which also offers repairs for any brand of electric bicycle — carry all 12 models of Pedego Electric Bikes.

Company officials said all their electric bikes — some of which allow for multiple riders and others that fold up for maximum portability — feature 500-watt hub motors that enable riders to cruise distances of 20 to 60 miles “without getting tired and sweaty” while empowering riders “to zoom up hills and breeze through headwinds.”

“They really are a lot of fun to ride,” Britell said.

With a variety of suggested local tour routes that include a picturesque jaunt along the Gordon River Greenway and an 8-mile journey down Gulf Shore Boulevard South through some of the city’s poshest neighborhoods, Pedego co-founder and CEO Don DiCostanzo said the area is uniquely positioned to enjoy electric bicycles.

“Naples has always attracted a lot of fun-seekers with its miles of unspoiled beauty and exciting destinations,” he said. “With Pedego Naples, North and South, riders are the exciting new jet-set, able to ride many more miles around town.”

Maria Britell, who recently retired from a 36-year teaching career in Connecticut, said the most gratifying aspect of owning the new businesses has been the help the couple has received from fellow franchisees.

“I’ve been most impressed by the way the other dealers support you,” she said. “We’re not in competition with one another because we all have our specific territories, and the other dealers don’t mind if you take some of their ideas, so we have a floor design from one store and a wall design from another store to go along with our own ideas. The camaraderie is something I find to be very comforting.”

With electric bikes rentals starting at a rate of $30 a day during off-season ($45 a day during season) and available for purchase starting at around $2,600, Joe Britell said safety always comes first at both the couple’s stores.

“Each rental comes with a helmet, a lock, a reflective vest, a map of tour destinations and a bottle of water in the water holder,” he said. “It’s important to stay hydrated while you’re exercising, and if you ever get stuck for any reason, you can just give us a call and we’ll come pick you up.”

Pedego North can be reached at 239-370-8640. Pedego South can be reached at 239-398-6078. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays during off-season and are scheduled to increase to 9 a.m. to sunset Mondays through Saturday sduring season.

For more information, see www.pedgoelectricbikes.com/dealers/Naples or follow the store on Facebook.