I'm just back from a holiday in Madeira - I have to confess that I did no cycling, and nothing like the amount of walking I had intended to do, thanks to a very painful achilles tendon. First thing to mention is that I noticed about 5 times as many roadies than I did on my last visit, 3 years ago. Not just along the main roads in Funchal (Estrada Monumental, Avenida do Infante, Avenida do Mar), but also on the stiff climbs up to Monte and Camacha, for example.
According to the friendly guy in Freeride Madeira (
http://freeridemadeira.com/), a change in legislation accorded greater protection to cyclists, and it certainly seemed that drivers treat cyclists with great respect. He has a couple of well maintained road bikes for hire at 30 euros per day, 25 euros a day if hired for 3 days or more. Very handily placed for the main hotel area in the Lido area, and notable for a Schwalbe coin operated inner tube dispenser just outside the shop! This business is mainly about mountain biking, however, and offers an impressive range of packages from single day tours to complete off-road holidays.
E-bike Madeira (
http://ebikemadeira.com/index.html), despite the name, has more road bikes for hire, slightly cheaper than Freeride. The owner, Jorma Talas, told me he started out two years ago with the intention of concentrating on electric bikes, hence the name, but due to requests from customers has moved more and more to hiring road bikes - mostly Specialised Allez, with a choice of SPD or toeclip pedals. If you use more exotic pedals, bring them with you and he'll fit them. Very helpful; he'll suggest suitable routes, print off a map, and even go through tricky sections with you on Google Streetview. Apparently free carriage of bikes on buses is more widely available than I appreciated; he said that you can get to 1400 metres for 3 euros. This probably explains the three very fresh looking roadies at Poiso who I mentioned in an earlier post! He also said that Rui Costa is a frequent visitor to the island to practice his descending.
Madeira is spectacularly beautiful - I'll be back!