so i'm thinking of applying to UC at Santa Barbara. school will of course be my focus, but...who am i kidding? adrenaline junkies can only be still for so long. whats the vibe? i've never been to CA, and living in Asheville, NC i can imagine how different it is. right now i am surrounded by rich kids with nice bikes. some are talented, most are hambones. how far out of santa barbara is the good riding? is it a pretty diverse place as far as riding? how warm is the water? how bad are the winters? is housing just stupid expensive? keeping in my mind i blow most of my money on riding bikes...i dont want to pay a **** ton for anything. whats the shop with the least amount of socially awkward alpha male types? i like racing, but people who shave their arms are just creepy. thanks!
the scene in Santa Barbara....
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SB is totally legit. It's where I live and it's by far the best place to ride. You don't have to leave here for good trails. Our trails are f**king SICK. We have everything from super gnarley and technical rides that for the average rider are 20min. long to super fast and flowey.
The water here sucks since it's pretty cold, but I spend all my free time riding DH anyways so it does not matter to me. The housing is stupidly expensive and you're looking at a min. of $700/month for a small room in somebody's house or a TINY apartment.
But ya, do a search on Google for our trails and you'll fall in love. And btw...it is home to Duncan Riffle so it has to be good. And we're constantly getting visits from other top pros out here just to ride our trails, it's also the place where Shaums March used to live/ride. But ya...SB is sick.
The water here sucks since it's pretty cold, but I spend all my free time riding DH anyways so it does not matter to me. The housing is stupidly expensive and you're looking at a min. of $700/month for a small room in somebody's house or a TINY apartment.
But ya, do a search on Google for our trails and you'll fall in love. And btw...it is home to Duncan Riffle so it has to be good. And we're constantly getting visits from other top pros out here just to ride our trails, it's also the place where Shaums March used to live/ride. But ya...SB is sick.
SB trails are f-ing awesome. They are all long super rocky trails, nothing too steep, just continuous beating for miles. As for the "scene" though, it is pretty bad. LOTS of trail conflict issues with all the richy rich hikers, people mouthing off at you, people booby trapping trails, you have to wear a bell, etc. Fun school though and beautiful campus right on the beach but the school's bike team is very small with very few downhillers.
Consider applying to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo too just 100 miles north. Great school with even better downhill, awesome cycling team, and great community that fully supports mountain biking and you can make quick day trips to Santa Barbara so you can just ride their trails and not have to deal with their cr*p.
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208291
Consider applying to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo too just 100 miles north. Great school with even better downhill, awesome cycling team, and great community that fully supports mountain biking and you can make quick day trips to Santa Barbara so you can just ride their trails and not have to deal with their cr*p.
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208291
Winters are pretty tame in SB. Unless you consider 50-60 to be cold...
It has decent riding. I wouldn't call it terribly diverse, but it has some variety. It's all hiking trails with varying amount of rocks (some are non-stop rocks, others not so much).
It has decent riding. I wouldn't call it terribly diverse, but it has some variety. It's all hiking trails with varying amount of rocks (some are non-stop rocks, others not so much).
like everyone else has said the weather here is consistently awesome, if you are applying to ucsb dorm living isnt super expensive and if you shop around renting out appartments in iv isnt too bad if you share the rent with enough people
the riding is pretty diverse, if you are only into downhill there is more than enough siiiiiick trails to keep you busy, especially that huge new fire break they plowed for the gap fire, there are some amazing dirtjumps if you know the right people, and there is some decent street and fun easy skatepark to boot
the riding is pretty diverse, if you are only into downhill there is more than enough siiiiiick trails to keep you busy, especially that huge new fire break they plowed for the gap fire, there are some amazing dirtjumps if you know the right people, and there is some decent street and fun easy skatepark to boot
I'm a SLO native and would agree with what jefedelosjefes said above, so I won't repeat his good points.
I lived in SB for 5 years for a job after college but decided to move back to small town SLO. The weather in SB is spectacular, lots of homeless folks downtown, and the women are more SoCal than NorCal and partying in Isla Vista is like partying nowhere else.
If you end up going to UCSB, ask the locals in the know about the TUNNEL TRAIL. Some of the gnarliest DH on the Cali central coast. (read ADRENALINE RUSH x 10)
I lived in SB for 5 years for a job after college but decided to move back to small town SLO. The weather in SB is spectacular, lots of homeless folks downtown, and the women are more SoCal than NorCal and partying in Isla Vista is like partying nowhere else.
If you end up going to UCSB, ask the locals in the know about the TUNNEL TRAIL. Some of the gnarliest DH on the Cali central coast. (read ADRENALINE RUSH x 10)
if you do go to ucsb, watch out for the goddam stump near the beginning on romero canyon. it's hidden and if you don't know it's there it will stop you right in your ****ing tracks, rip a big hole in your shoe and then send you nosewheeling into mother ****ing sharp ass rocks that will rips your shins up and almost break your leg. oh, and the rocks will ruin your stanchions and a brake lever. that stump, its wife and its children need to ****ing die. other than that it seems nice, i don't live there but go up once or twice a month for a couple days.
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^^ sounds like someone got owned by that stump pretty good
as a fourth generation santa barbaraian and avid cyclist, i have a few things to say: sb isn't what it used to be, things are going downhill fast and we are turning into a mini LA. the water is usually between 53 and 65 depending on the time of year, and the surf is sick come winter. winters are mild, i'm at college right now up north at i'm freezing at 45 degrees outside. if you do come, please dont stay. we have too many people already and i personally could do without anymore. you will find, however, some killer singletrack and jump trails along with a couple local races and a generally mellow group of mtbers...
Same here, born and raised in Santa Barbara (still live here too).
Surfing/wave wise it's hit or miss. Water right now is COLD. I just went and got a new 4/3 wetsuit because I am sick of being cold. Lots of good spots though when it's on. If you can stand the cold all is good.
Riding........has taken different dumps over the last 10 years or so. Lots of trail conflicts, which I think is working towards getting better. Santa Barbara has a lot of wealthy people, so pretty much what they say goes. Unfortunately lots of them like to hike trails that cyclists like to ride down. There's some trails for all types of riding here.
There are things though here if you can afford it rock. I'm sure the weather you'd love. Girls there's tons of dirty ones in I.V. Lots of places to eat on the cheap (or expensive whatever your taste). If you want to catch sporting events/concerts it's about 2 hours south (basketball/baseball) and football just a little more south. We've thought about moving many times, but it's the type of place that is so expensive once you leave it's almost impossible to come back due to the costs.
Good Luck, post back and questions you might have!
Surfing/wave wise it's hit or miss. Water right now is COLD. I just went and got a new 4/3 wetsuit because I am sick of being cold. Lots of good spots though when it's on. If you can stand the cold all is good.
Riding........has taken different dumps over the last 10 years or so. Lots of trail conflicts, which I think is working towards getting better. Santa Barbara has a lot of wealthy people, so pretty much what they say goes. Unfortunately lots of them like to hike trails that cyclists like to ride down. There's some trails for all types of riding here.
There are things though here if you can afford it rock. I'm sure the weather you'd love. Girls there's tons of dirty ones in I.V. Lots of places to eat on the cheap (or expensive whatever your taste). If you want to catch sporting events/concerts it's about 2 hours south (basketball/baseball) and football just a little more south. We've thought about moving many times, but it's the type of place that is so expensive once you leave it's almost impossible to come back due to the costs.
Good Luck, post back and questions you might have!