Santa Barbara to Ventura full bike ride

Ever since I posted a video last year of my May 2023 ride from Ventura north to Santa Barbara I have wanted to make a better version of it. I had battery issues and once I reached Carpinteria I only was also to include a few clips shot on my iPhone, and the section through Summerland, Montecito and into Santa Barbara is some of the most scenic of the entire ride.

This year, I travelled back to Southern California for an early spring getaway with my retired father who also cycles in March, so a new video was in the planning from the start. This time I would use an external battery pack so I could record the entire ride as one epic mega-cut. As part of the planning on how we could both do it as a one-way ride it made the most sense to still park in Ventura and then take the bike-friendly and relatively frequent Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train to Santa Barbara and then ride back to the car in Ventura.

Instead of parking right by the station we parked at the same location at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor center as I left from in last year's video and we rode the 6 miles to the Ventura Amtrak station in Downtown but the county fairgrounds. The first 25 minutes of this new video are that prologue to the main ride getting to the train to get to Santa Barbara for the main ride back to Ventura. In Santa Barbara there is some city riding up the State Street no cars section for a coffee stop at the Handlebar Coffee location on Cañon Perdido St.

Since I was not riding alone you'll see my dad pop into frame from time to time and there is occasional voice over as I talk to him or give route directions. More in the second half of the ride Hopefully that isn't to bothersome.

There was one incident on Padaro lane at 01:14:34 with a pickup who stopped in the road and without signaling or looking out pulled in front of my path (twice!) but to keep the great vibes of this video I only showed the lead up to it, not my somewhat pointed discussion with the driver afterwards.

Since this video shows over 44 miles of full route riding it's just over 3 hours in length! I've included chapter markers below and in the video timeline so you can skip right to where you want to watch or where you might have left off from a previous viewing.

As much as I hope this video conveys the feeling of riding in this beautiful place, you really need to do it yourself. The weather is very coastal temperate and most of the year things are in bloom in the Mediterranean climate plus the sweet briny smells of the ocean as you ride along it.

Next time I'm in the area I'd like to record city tours by bike of both Santa Barbara and Ventura, there is so much to see in both cities than just these bikeways between them.

Coming soon will also be some other videos filmed on this trip around Thousand Oaks and Point Mugu State park so subscribe if you want to see those as they are published. All your likes and comments are greatly appreciated.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Intro & Route
00:01:08 Prologue: Ventura Harbor and Keys
00:19:09 Prologue: Ventura coast path
00:30:05 Getting coffee in SB
00:36:15 The main ride starts
00:42:42 SB beachfront path
00:51:51 Montecito coast bypass
01:02:46 Ortega Hill/Summerland
01:15:08 Padaro Lane to Carpinteria
01:27:50 Carpinteria bluffs unpaved
01:52:36 Rincon bike path
02:05:16 PCH/Rincon Highway
02:29:49 Emma Wood and Ventura bike path
02:46:33 Seaward Ave & Ventura Harbor return

Here's a video from Path Less Pedaled showing in detail how taking your bike on the Pacific Surfliner trains works. It is free, but you need to book the bike space in advance as there is limited space, and bikes have to go in the baggage car.

   • Bicycles on the Amtrak Surfliner: Wha...  

Since both the videos I shot take the off-road Bluffs trail alternative through Carpinteria, here is Google maps link that shows both the paved bike lane and unpaved trail ways to get between the beach park at the end of Linden Ave. and the top of the onramp at Rincon Road.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/deo2L3oxnw22W...

Here are links to both the prologue and main rides on Strava that you can save and download to your GPS:

  / strava  
  / strava  

Filmed in 4k on Insta360 Ace Pro @ 30 fps. Sound recorded on DJI Mic 2 in stereo configuration.

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Music provided by https://slip.stream:

"The Universe Blinks (1 Hour Loop)", Fog Temple
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"Unknown", Purrple Cat
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