[Squirrel Girl]

I am headed to Santa Barbara for work in a week or so. I was strongly thinking of bringing my bike with me (and pay the excess luggage charge or mailing it).

I'm sort of an intermediate skilled rider who pedals slowly, but happily. Can anyone give me any recommendations? I may have up to 3 days free, then evenings after work. I've never been to the area, so I'm feeling a little clueless. I just figure you guys OUGHT to have some great trails.

TIA,
SG

 

[Yeti_Rider]

there are plenty

of trails in the area but I'v eonly ever ridden one of them. I rode Romero Canyon a few years ago and it was a very nice trail. There is an option on the descent to take a right turn that takes you to some more technical areas or youc an stay on the main trail and take a less severe way down. I did just a long out and back but at the top there are plenty of other options.

there's a ton of trails so I'd bring the bike and check out a LBS for a trail map. One of the trails I didn't hit is supposed to be a lot of fun out near Lake Cachuma but I don't remember the names. I'm sure others will chime in on what the area has to offer.

YR

 

[DHidiot]

I assume you're doing XC here, so check out Romero Canyon, or as an alternate descent from Romero after you've done the climb, go down San Ysidro if you like some faster stuff with some rocks on the way down. Little Pine is in the backcountry (but is likely to be ungodly hot right now) and is the epic 25 mile or so XC loop. Camuesa Connector is an out and back trail in the backcountry near LP but short and sweet. Snyder trail/Knapps Castle is also XC'able. If you're looking to pedal you're probably not looking to go anywhere near the DH stuff which gets kinda crazy.

 

[SHIVER ME TIMBERS]

depends on your ability, but San Ysidro is a good trail too but ends up at the end Of Cold Springs (nice heavy duty rockgarden)

 

[2TurnersNotEnough]

Romero is a good recommendation. One warning is that all of the riding in the SB mountains is a fair bit of constant climbing (at least 1500' and up to 3,500'). Not a whole lot of rolling or flat terrain. Another after work possibility is Elings Park in town which has a decent MTB race course that is great for a shorter ride. Also, Jesusita is another good trail that is easily accessible from town. I'd recommend checking with one of the local shops for a few other ideas. I work at Hazard's part-time and most of the people that work there are X-C riders and are very familiar with the local trails.

If you want to do a backcountry (i.e. on the other side of the mountains from the ocean/SB) ride, start early. The temps will be 15-20 degrees higher on that side than the ocean side.

If you're interested in doing something after work, let me know. I can probably get a few people together to do something.

 

[Squirrel Girl]

Hi Everybody! Thanks for all your great recommendations.:thumbsup:

Yep, I'm an XC rider. Not thrilled with DH, BUTTTTTTTTT!! My plans have made a slight change. For the 3 days before I start work, it looks like I'm going to head over to my good friend's place in Bodfish. Last time I visited, I mentioned the Cannel trail. He's done it several times. He's a world class rock climber and a lot fitter than I am, but I don't think he's as technically good on an mtb as I am. He's got a broken down $300 bike, and is thinking of buying a new one before the ride. He's worried it'll be too hot. I get the impression it's mostly downhill, but he says there's some up.

When I return to Santa Barbara, I've scribbled down all the recommendations that you guys have made. Now I have to head to the trail reviews for more details!

I should be able to get something in after work. And, I'm trying to convince my company that they want me to stay out for part of the next week, too, in which case I'll have a 2nd weekend, that one staying in SB and not re-meeting up with my friend.

As far as hooking up with you guys.... I'm not a beginner, but I'm not hugely technically skilled, and I do pedal slowly. "Casual" is what we call it here with MORE*. I always sweep on our group rides because I'm so slow. I'm pretty good of an outdoorswoman, though, so I tend to go off by myself a lot. Tomorrow I'm thinking of doing a mountain here in VA. It's a couple thousand feet of fireroad up, then a few hundred vertical feet of rocks which I push my bike up over, then I walk down another mile of rocks before I fly for miles of singletrack back to the parking area. It's one of our tougher trails, but I've done that one 3 times (first one solo). So I doubt your moderate trails will kill me. But I'm afraid you'd get frustrated with me pedaling slower than you guys do.

One more question. All our trails are nearly 100% in forest. So I wear sleeveless jerseys in the summer. Do you guys wear short sleeves or sleeveless and slather on SPF 50 every half hour? If I were hiking, I'd wear a long sleeved, light weight shirt for sun protection, but I've never cycled under such conditions (except for some 2 hr rides in Utah one August) :madmax: <not mad, but on fire!>

Thanks for all your info. I'm looking forward to the visit.

*Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts

 

[LadyDi]

Tank tops w/ sunblock, GF! I'm w/ an area women's mtb club-- sounds like you're about the same level as me (and a lot of us). Hey, what's this world coming to if gals can't get out & go slow once in a while? Anyway, we're mostly east Ventura County (the next county down). If you'd like company at all, a few of us have been jonesing to ride the new xc course at Eling's. We also have some regular routes not too far away in the Ojai area that would be good sunset rides (if you'll have a rental car). Pm me any time & I'll give you a few more trails to research and some useful links w/ maps. Mostly, have fun!

 

[tink bell]

i'm thinking about heading up to sb if i can't go to the bear tomorrow. can anyone recommend an inexpensive motel in sb or carp? planning on riding romero & jesusita, so something w/in 20-30 min drive. my search on expedia & travelocity brought up $400 rooms. tks!!

 

[2TurnersNotEnough]

Try Motel 6 in Carp and SB. I think there's a cheap place in Carp called the Sandyland Reef Motel. I think it's near the Santa Monica Rd. exit on the frontage road. Word of warning: The Expedia reviews were the opposite of glowing.

Good luck, and start your ride early. It's gonna be warm.

 

[tink bell]

i'll check the motel 6's. tks!!

 

[tink bell]

*sorry for the double post!!

 

[misctwo]

*sorry for the double post!!

el prado inn...downtown SB, cheap. usually full on weekends though...

 

[Squirrel Girl]

Hi Folks, Thought I'd give a report as my time here in Santa Barbara winds down (I mailed my bike tonight to Washington state for the next leg of my journey).

I visited a friend at Lake Isabella a week ago, so we did the Remington Ridge Trail, and the Cannell trail (most of the upper and also the plunge). Good times.

During the week, I did a little bit of road riding and was saved from being darked out a nice couple when I mis-judged my meanderings. We became good friends and even went out to dinner together.

Saturday I got a late start and did part of the Jesusita trail (and got some poison oak). Sunday I did Romero. It was in a cloud the whole time which meant it was coolish. Plus I couldn't see the instant death that was surely below me in many places. The downside was that (even though I used a bell), an unleashed dog bit me on the ankle. The owner said it didn't like my "wheels." She got a visit from Animal Control today. Fortunately it wasn't a bad bite, but it did draw blood. The vet confirmed that the dog was covered by a rabies vaccine. Anyway I enjoyed the trail (except I kept thinking "I must be near the top" but couldn't see it in the cloud). The downhill was fun. The singletrack was rocky enough to be fun, but the rocks were really easy except for a couple of rock avalanche chutes. I figured the biggest challenge was not to mess up and go winging off a switchback to instant death.

Maybe I'll get to come back again sometime. One other piece of warning. If you rent a kayak at the beach, watch out for sailboats. They'll hunt you down and practically run you over as the play chicken with you.