A Bike Beginner’s Guide to SB the Beautiful

By Toko Ueta

Everyone says “Santa Barbara is beautiful.” Yeah right, but what part are you talking about? The Mission? The Beaches? Oh well, why don’t you get on your bike; you will see more of it. On the saddle you will feel the fresh wind of SB and enjoy the brilliant scenery shifting at the best speed to appreciate it. What’s more, biking is healthy transportation for you and environment. So let’s plan a “scenic bike-ride” everyone can enjoy. You can’t go so far? Don’t worry; the MTD brings you and your bike close to the starting point.

1. Shoreline Road

Let’s start with the easiest one. Take MTD #5 and get off at Cliff Drive and Meigs Road. Just heading downhill, you’ll encounter the sparkling Pacific Ocean arising from behind the tree branches, enviable pretty houses girls must love, the locals relaxing on the green lawn of Shoreline Park, seagulls playing and pecking on the glittering beach, and finally, thousands of white masts welcoming you at the harbor. This course is full of variation of the joyous sights and you hardly have to pedal– the hardest part is just watching where you going.

2. Glen Annie Road

You need a short ride from our school for a change? Then head up Glen Annie Road to the mountains. Just a ten-minute ride takes you to a completely different place. After going through the greenery alongside the road, you’ll be overpowered by the view of the dark green grand hills dappled with beige rocks and the shades of the clouds beyond a huge lemon orchard. Although it’s slightly uphill, you don’t feel tired when you go up, but you will move so fast when you ride back down, as you realize it has been a hill.

3. Andree Clark Bird Refuge ~ Butterfly Beach
If you are bored of the touristy waterfront downtown, then extend your sphere beyond the Santa Barbara Zoo. You’ll see shining greenish-blue water on which numerous waterfowls are gliding on the left; it’s Andree Clark Bird Refuge. The brimming pond is a pretty sight in the daytime, yet almost a fantasy at sunrise and sunset with the palm trees silhouetted against various purple colors.

And going further east on Channel Drive, You’ll find yourself on a bike path fringed with tiny colorful flowers in spring. The sweet scents turn even breath into a pleasant activity as you ride right by the vast ocean.

4. Farren Road
Are they too easy? All right, then let’s climb a hill. After getting off MTD #23 at Winchester Place, go west on Calle Real, and then you’ll get to Farren Road, where a “fun ride” starts. The first uphill is a bit steep. But after that, the paved but rough road condition and the winding rolling path amuse you like a roller coaster. And look at the scenery as you go; every single advance reveals various aspects of the undulating landscape of pastoral Goleta on the foot the range. And it’s so quiet; you will be amazed how diverse the place is from the cozy but earthly nearby residential area.

If you are skilled, it is no sweat to visit all the places introduced above in one day, and of course, there is much more to see here in SB. Most bikers are kind, so if you want more, ask the bikers with their prominent and tight outfits when they are not moving; they will tell you with pleasure where to ride!

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