Our Cruise Ship had a port of call in Santa Barbara and all of the wine tours they offered as excursions were expensive and involved "a motor coach" so we searched for an alternative. I am so glad we found I Bike SB! First off, unlike some other wine tour operators I Bike SB would take a reservation for two. William contacted us a couple of times before the tour to confirm our reservation an coordinate pickup times and location. It turned out it was just the two of us booked that day so we had lucked into a "private" tour. William is an excellent guide and long time Santa Barbara resident, he knows quite a bit about Santa Barbara and the Wine Country.
William met us near where the ship's tender landed and whisked us into the van. Bikes, helmets, water bottles (yours to keep), and snack bars were already aboard and we headed out to CA 154 (San Marcos Pass) for a beautiful drive to Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley.
I happen to be a cycling enthusiast and my wife, although she keeps fit doing water aerobics, probably had not been on a bike in years. We both thoroughly enjoyed the ride. The hybrid bikes we rode were in good repair and the gearing was just fine for the terrain which did include some hills but nothing really steep and certainly nothing I would call a sustained climb. If it does get too hard to get up a hill there is no shame in walking. This ride is about enjoying the day and the scenery. We took it slowly, pretty much letting my wife set the pace. I clocked about 2 hours of riding time for the 15 mile course which was a very gentle pace. Of course I would have liked to have my road bike with and probably would ride the route twice as fast but that is not what the day was about.
After the ride we visited a couple of wine tasting rooms and an olive oil tasting as well. The second room was in a house with beautiful grounds where William set up a delightful picnic lunch. After lunch we walked around the grounds a bit, took some more photos, and drove back to Santa Barbara where we met our ship in plenty of time.
When you consider that this tour is all inclusive: bikes/helmets, tasting fees, lunch, transportation, and a guide, and everything is truly well done, I Bike Santa Barbara offers travelers a tremendous value. The quality of this experience exceeded my expectations.