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Road Biking in Santa Barbara will take your breath away!

→ February 20, 2012

Looking for a great way to see Santa Barbara while getting a workout at the same time? Road biking in and around Santa Barbara is the answer! SB Fitness Tours is now offering Road Bike delivery directly to you, whether it’s a residence or hotel within a 20 miles radius of Santa Barbara. On top of that we offer road bike tours in and around Santa Barbara from short 10-mile rides up to 75+ mile tours. A tour will ease any anxiety about getting lost allowing your mind to relax as you’re engulfed with breath taking views.

Breath taking is a perfect way to describe Santa Barbara rides; whether you’re cruising around Santa Barbara below the American Riveria looking out to the Channel Islands or literally taxing your respiratory system while climbing Gibraltar road; a training ground for Lance Armstrong and many other avid cyclist.

Road biking in Santa Barbara is great for the beginning cyclist to the endurance athlete. There are miles and miles of coastline to ride along with beautiful ocean views lending itself to any type of cyclist. For the more avid riders and fitness gurus there are plenty of mountains sitting right above Santa Barbara with 3,000 to 4,000 feet in elevation gain. If interested in routes, tours, or road bike rentals in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland, Carpinteria, and even Santa Ynez please contact us.

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Kayaking Santa Barbara

→ February 20, 2012

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Viewing Santa Barbara from the water allows you to take in some of the most beautiful views this city has to offer. There are some great beaches with views of the American if you head from the Harbor towards East Beach. If you paddle right out of the harbor towards Ledbetter there’s a surf break a mile down the beach, some nice kelp beds where you may see some sea life, and beyond that lies the coastal cliffs.

If you’re looking for sea life around the harbor there’s a buoy straight out from the harbors entrance/exit that seals tend to hang out on.

If you go through the piers pylons before where the restaurants begin you’ll see starfish just under the waterline. Besides all the birds you’ll see the occasional jellyfish and pod of dolphins as well. Don’t quote me on this but I’ve personally seen more dolphins on my paddles from Ledbetter or Goleta than out of the harbor towards East Beach. If you make it over to Butterfly beach in front of the Biltmore that seems to be a popular location for dolphins. This should help you navigate Santa Barbara’s water depending upon what you want to see. We drop off daily kayak rentals at any beach in town too so you can try out different locations. We offer tours as well and can meet you at any of the Montecito, Santa Barbara, and Goleta beaches. Our kayaks for rent and tours are all very sleek, easy cruising, have great backrests for support, and are the best kayaks you can rent in town!

Best Mountain Bike trails in Santa Barbara

→ June 20, 2011

Santa Barbara has some terrific mountain biking trails for both down hill and cross-country. If you’re looking for pure down hill Tunnel Trail is as exhilarating as Santa Barbara has to offer. You just need to make your way up to the top of El Camino Cielo. You can ride your bike up the road if you’re looking for a workout or get dropped off. From the top you can also go down Cold Springs and Romero Canyon. The top section of Romero Canyon is very loose and a bit hairy; if you want to skip that section you can take the fire road 1.7 miles down till it meets the single track again. The second half of the trail has more embedded rock with some pretty fast fun sections.

My favorite all around ride is riding up Inspiration Point and then down Jesusita trail. There are a couple spots going up you’ll have to carry the bike unless your just amazing. There are quite a few hikers going up as well. Jesusita trail, especially the top section has very few hikers and is a flowy fun trail for a nice five to six mile downhill run. If you’re looking for a good climb with a mix of some down hill I’d go back to Romero. You can climb the fire road for 4 miles and then go down the two-mile downhill single track. The first mile of climbing is pretty tough; if you make it past that the remaining three miles are much easier.

We have quite a few cross country bikes for rent that can easily take you up and down any of the trails in Santa Barbara or if you’re looking for a guided tour we can help with that as well. Check out www.SBFitTours.com if you’re interested.

Stand up Paddle Board Workouts in Santa Barbara – Joint Friendly Exercise.

→ June 18, 2011

Absolutely had one of the most unbelievable workouts today! I’ve stated before that the racing aspect of stand up paddle boarding is one of the best and toughest workouts I’ve done. It takes some time to get yourself to a point where you can paddle at a high cadence for 30 minutes to an hour straight. Once your there though your cardio respiratory system and muscle endurance specifically in your core and upper body will be in great shape. I went on one of my favorite paddles in Santa Barbara from Butterfly Beach to the Santa Barbara Harbor and back. I finished the 5.2 mile paddle in an hour and was completely soaked head to toe and that wasn’t from falling in. As odd as it sounds, from a fitness perspective the more paddling experience I gain the more I liken it to biking. There’s not a lot of shock to the body so it enables you to really improve your endurance and strength while minimizing the risk of injury to your joints as opposed to an activity like running. Adding that to the feeling of walking on water and it makes for not only an enjoyable workout with the occasional visit from the local sea life but an unbelievably demanding one as well.

We at SB Fitness Tours would love to take you on one of these paddles. If you’re just beginning we offer lessons, rentals, yoga and fitness classes as well on the stand up paddle boards.