Santa Barbara?

[swyant]

Hi, folks. My wife and I are thinking about flying out to LA/Burbank this weekend (Feb. 3rd and 4th) and renting bikes for a little getaway. I found this list of "do it yourself" rides:

http://www.sbbike.org/region/rides/rides.html

Has anyone tried any of these rides? Or do you recommend somewhere else? We were originally thinking about Florida, but they are supposed to have rain this weekend. We just want to get out and ride somewhere sunny and warm. Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[paolo666]

I've done them all :)
I'd advise the Mountain Drive ride, it's spectacular and not too hard, even on rental bikes. Once you are up on Mountain Drive, it's a rollercoaster with some of the best views ever.

Also the Solvang "Sideways" rides are good, but watch for traffic, go in the morning when people have not had too much of a chance to indulge in "wine tasting"


There are much harder rides too, and even going south towards Carpinteria is nice, if you like more of a flat ride. Any questions, just ask!

[MtnRide]

Mtn Drive is short, but fairly nice. Solvang is better, most likely. It has a little bit of everything. Hit up Mt. Fig if you're feeling good, or just cruise Foxen canyon otherwise. Jalama is a nice ride too.

[thomson]

I think that site has a good overview of some of the areas. If you have specific questions, there are a host of people here to address them. My general recommendation is to stay in Solvang and ride from there.

Interesting that your choices were California or Florida. World of difference and, in my very humble opinion, the inclement Florida weather steered you to the better option. Florida is flat flat flat......California has much better variety. (I am biased, I admit).

If I were to do two days of cycling, one day would be to Jalama Beach and the second through the wine areas. Stop in a winery or two. If you wear cleated shoes, the wineries would appreciate if you brought some sandals or something.

[swyant]

Wow, thanks for the replies, folks! If we ride to Jalama Beach and through the wine areas, are both of those rides that start in Solvang? What routes should we take?

[MtnRide]

Jalama is about an 80 mile round trip ride from Solvang. You get on Santa Rosa Rd, which has its fair share of wineries, ride down 1 a bit, then go towards Jalama. There's a decent amount of climbing on this ride - took a friend and I just over 4 hours last time absolutely hammering our brains out. I'd recommend taking Ballard Canyon via Atterdag (sp?) and Chalk Hill Rd for a more scenic route to Los Olivos/wine country. You can return by Alama Pintado for a flatter route. Enjoy!

[flipflops]

Go with the mountain ride-- the views are amazing. one caveat-- there are 2 spots on the ride where you might need to pick up your bike and carry it. i went memorial day last year and we had to walk across little streams that flowed across the road twice.

[MtnRide]

Hey flipflops- do you mean Fig? If so, yeah, the south side has two stream crossings that can be pretty slick. One of my favorite rides of all time though. Might be a bit chilly. See if you can beat disco up the south flank - I heard they do it in ~45 min. Best local guys do it in maybe 55?

[thomson]

Hey flipflops- do you mean Fig? If so, yeah, the south side has two stream crossings that can be pretty slick. One of my favorite rides of all time though. Might be a bit chilly. See if you can beat disco up the south flank - I heard they do it in ~45 min. Best local guys do it in maybe 55?

I think she probably means East Mountain between Montecito and Santa Barbara.

[MtnRide]

I think she probably means East Mountain between Montecito and Santa Barbara.

Oh yeah, that has stream crossings too. Great shorter ride with some huge houses.