# Road bike rides & rentals in Santa Barbara/Montecito



## rolo99 (Mar 16, 2004)

We'll be visiting family over Thanksgiving and will need to get away to go biking. Coming from Michigan, we are not great climbers, but just about any biking will do.

Does anyone know of any good road bike routes (around 20-30 miles) and places that rent decent road bikes?

Thanks in advance!


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

*I'm not too sure about renting any kind of road bike...*

...decent or otherwise, but you could try calling Open Air Bicycles (805) 962-7000. They are right next to the Amtrak station near the foot of State St. Two other shops I know of are Velo Pro (805) 963-7775 and Santa Barbara Bikesmith (805) 963-9293; if none of these does rentals, they can probably make a recommendation. There are two or three places that rent "bikes" down near Stearns Wharf, but these tend to be beach cruisers, those plastic "recumbents" that are like Big Wheels for adults and the four-seat carriage-type contraptions. 

As for routes, going inland any distance will involve varying degrees of climbing. One not-too ambitious ride would be going from Santa Barbara down to Carpinteria, which I'm guessing would be around 30-35 miles round trip. The route stays close to the beach/coastal bluffs most of the way, and doesn't get huge amounts of auto traffic. As a point of reference, I'll assume your starting point is State St. & Cabrillo Bl.; there's a bike path running along the south side of Cabrillo, which jogs over to the north side a ways down. Follow this going east, dodging all the pedestrians, skaters, etc. who'll be out there for the holiday. The path ends at the bird refuge (the large lagoon by the zoo) about 2 miles down; continue on Cabrillo under the freeway overpasses, and turn right on Coast Village Rd. About 1/2 mi down at Olive Mill Rd, jog left to N. Jameson Ln and go down to San Ysidro Rd. Cross the freeway, go left on S. Jameson Ln, which will lead you onto the freeway. It's not as bad as it sounds; the shoulder is wide, it's only a mile, it's legal...there's a mild climb, at the bottom of which you exit the freeway (at the Summerland exit). Go under the freeway to Via Real, and turn right. You can follow Via Real all the way to Carpinteria, or cross the freeway at Padaro Ln, which is a quiet, tree-lined road running past some _very_ nice beach houses; eventually (1 1/2 mi) Padaro Ln rejoins Via Real. In Carpenteria, cross the freeway (again!) at Santa Ynez Ave. Once across, you can follow Carpenteria Ave through town down to the bluffs at the Ventura County line, but you should wander around the streets in town, too. There's a state beach and a nature preserve. I know parts of this route sound complex, but get a AAA map for the cities of Santa Barbara County and step through the route and it'll make sense.

Have a nice visit!


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