Santa Barbara Named a Silver-Level Bicycle Friendly Community

Great post. You've narrowed down for me the type of e-bike I want. I can get to everything in town near me on a normal pedal bike, but expanding into the backcountry, with caution and appropriate equipment, would be great. One caution that I've run into in the past is places where there are inholdings or ranches adjacent. Usually these have unleashed dogs that can be very aggressive and territorial. Annoying at best, damn dangerous at worst.

EB- that's a great ride! I've rode from downtown, up Gibralter, over to Tunnel trail on a full moon then back home. Another fun ride at night....Romero.
I like that you want to use the Ebike to get further in the back country. Becareful not to use up your juice though. A long ride back with that bike if you do. I've gone from Hwy 33 to the gate, then took the road all the way to Jameson which was SO amazing. I've only tried it once and it took me about 30 hours and i camped in a remote spot on the way to Jameson. I wasn't trying to race, so the time frame was ok too.

Another fun ride would require you to drive up hwy 33 to Lockwood valley road. From there, drive to Mutua Flats/Grade Valley road. Way back in there are loads of dirt bike, 4wd, and mountain bike trails and it also is a short hike to the sespe hot springs from this parking lot. Check it out! :)

Pat, there is no way you'll get the same exertion and exercise from an ebike to a traditionally human powered bike. not even close.

Forgot to say ... another benefit is for riders who are getting old enough or have enough physical limitations where they'd otherwise stop ridding (or not consider it). So eBikes can keep seniors riding and active. eBikes for seniors are like Pickleball ... keeps them active/fit when soccer, running, etc. aren't in the cards anymore.

ZH, I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet, but an eMTB is in the cards, just a matter of when. My benchmark ride is up Romero Canyon to Camino Cielo then down the trail again. With a low wattage eMTB, that would still be a great workout. As studies have shown, having access to an eBike can not only provide fitness, but also change the way people bike or motivate people to bike when they'd otherwise not get any exercise. In my case, I'd just do longer rides. It would open the possibility for me of riding from Romero Saddle, down past Jameson Lake, over Murrieta Divide, then to Hwy 33 all in one day. Anyways, different kinds of benefits for different people (as Patrick replied). Keep on riding!

The amount of exercise you get while riding an ebike depends on how you ride it. Per minute, I expend about the same energy as I do on my regular bike, but I go faster and farther. (I use pedal assist and only use the throttle when starting after forgetting to downshift prior to stopping.) We’ve been able to replace on car with the ebike, for errands and shopping. I get way more exercise sitting on my ebike than sitting in my car.

It's all good though. More biking advocacy, fewer cars being driven, less pollution, etc. Bueno.

EB, seniors riding ebikes isn't exercise lol...there is little to no exercise on ebikes. Have you ridden one yet? quite fun, but no different than riding a motorcycle at 25mph

As do I. What's really encourging is I'm seeing more seniors on eBikes up in the hills no less. Good exercise for them. But it's a bit humbling when they pass me going uphill (my motor is my legs).

SBT, peds DO have access....its the GIANT sidewalk on Cabrillo. Ya know...the one that's almost twice the size of the side walks on state street.
nifty plan that will fail and won't even get a stamp of approval from the mayor or council which is good. The bike lanes at the beach are perfectly fine and the concept of pulling peds off of it and redirecting them to the side walk, where bikes can't go, is how it should be and how it was all along until the mid 90s. Widen the path? Are you kidding me? That is the largest sidewalk in town. No absolutely no. Simple, stay the hell off of the bike path unless you're on a bike or scooter. pretty simple. the PD will be enforcing a lot of what I am saying very soon.

thank you SBTownie- BTW, i've been to Amsterdam several times and totally know what you're talking about. In fact, all over the planet, at least every place i have been to and i've been to many....Santa Barbara is the only place where pedestrians think they are entitled to take up room on a bicycle path designed and designated for cyclists not people walking. it's obnoxious.

SBSand, what do you know? You don't ride. You are defending those in the wrong and are just one of a few trying to convince the planet that people can walk on a designated bike path and they have a right to. no they do not. that tramples my rite to ride a bike safely. If you or any other idiot steps onto the path, you will have many natural consequences to deal with and rightfully so.
I've seen it on both sides, but what you are trying to say is just a weak and dumb defense.
There was a guy riding his bike through the 'food court' on lower state when it was packed. i was there walking my malinois with another friend walking his tiny little dog. My friend is a Marine and a big dude. I watched the guy on the bike try to pedal through a very busy crowd and almost hit my friends dog. The guy on the bike got told not just by my friend, and myself, but several others standing around. My friend was ready to knock the tar out of this guy because he kept spouting off rude comments. An officer happened to be near by at Haley street and was summoned over to deal with the turd.
The other side? Yeah guys like you forcing guys like me out of the lane and into the paths of cars, other bikes, or pedestrians. Natural consequences can be severe.

SBsand, wrong. The peds have 50 feet of SIDEWALK that bikes can't ride on. They also have 30 feet in either direction off of the marked bike lanes. So even on a busy day we do not have that many people downtown to where peds need 160 feet up and down the street to walk, giving bikes, scooters and so on a mere 6 feet to ride.
math doesn't lie dude. Also, i've been here since 1982. The bike lane at the beach has always been a bike lane used by rollerskaters and skateboarders and bikes. People in the past 15 -20 years have taken over the bike paths forcing us to ride elsewhere and THAT is the cause of problems. Bikes have their lanes which were taken over by over entitled santa barbarans that think they can do what they want with no repercussions. Natural consequences happen, like you getting hit by a cyclist.
Let me ask this. Are you that brave that you would wander in the middle of a road and then challenge cars? If so, you deserve the darwin award. It's no different than wandering on the 101

no, i'd be looking at their parents asking why they are letting their toddler run around a busy bike lane. sorry, but don't push that on the cyclist when there are zombies roaming around town and not watching their kids or pets too for that manner. I've seen dozens of people walking their dogs in the bike lane and that just confuses me to no end.

Yeah SB doesn't make smart choices when it comes to city planning. I 100% agree with you and wish that those in the city who get to make the choices actually listened to the citizens.

No, I'm not and I'm also a cautious rider who uses a bell and communicates vocally with pedestrians "on your left," "passing you, etc." I agree around the beach area one needs to expect and use caution. I think it's fair that people walk in one lane, for example, but it's very annoying when they think it's ok and fair to stretch across the entire thing making passing very difficult. And I agree with you that the bike lane by the beach is poor planning. I also think the new plan is stupid where they want to route pedestrians to the sidewalk by the street. I think peds and bikers should both have access to the oceanfront area and I think a better plan would be widening of the existing path with some light barrier between the two delineating bike area from ped area, versus trying to force the peds to the street which let's face it is not going to happen.

If you're riding your bike and you hit a pedestrian, worst-case scenario, a small child pedestrian, and harmed them, are you going to be there saying "oh but I had the right of way!!!" ?? I hope not...

Choosing to ride in an area that is full of meandering tourists is going to be risky. A bike lane in the middle of a pedestrian walkway is a bad idea. The bike path down by the beach is also right in the middle of the access between the road and the beach, which is bad planning on the part of the city. Bike riders need to be aware of pedestrians, just as people driving need to be aware of bike riders, even with the bike riders are in the road instead of the bike lane or riding side by side or in groups, causing people who are driving to have to slow down to bike speeds or to go into a lane with oncoming traffic. There are lots of people doing their own thing and not being considerate of others. Also, if a car hits a bike and the rider is injured or killed, does it matter to the people that care about that bike rider, or the ride themselves, who was at fault? When it comes to insurance it does but for caring humans it doesn't matter who is at fault, it just matters that it happened. I would still be crushed if I hurt someone else because I wasn't being a defensive driver. That's what is gross, is the attitude in their post.

No it's not, SBSAND. Have you ever been to Amsterdam? Phone trolls don't just waddle around the bike lanes, so the bike lanes actually work. Pedestrians really are oblivous. Many bikers are also disrespectful but pedestrians need to play their part, too.

Gross tirade, the whole thing.

I like your line of thinking. We're spending hundreds of millions of dollars rebuilding the 101. This is why we need to have toll booths at both ends of the 101 at the County Line to ensure that all freeway drivers are coming into the County for non-recreational purposes only. ;-)