This Santa Ynez Ride Puts the Wine After the Climb
The morning goes to a loop through lavender fields, one small Danish-styled town, and a canyon of short climbs. The tastings wait until the riding is done.
The Santa Ynez Valley sits inland from Santa Barbara, far enough that getting there is its own small journey. The shuttle leaves town at nine in the morning and reaches the valley at a quarter to ten.
Out here the roads between the towns are quiet. Vineyards run up against horse pasture, oaks stand alone in the middle of grazed fields, and the climbs come in short pitches. The riding is finished before the first glass is poured, which is the whole reason the day works.
The day is sold as five hours and meets at an olive ranch on North Refugio Road at 9:45 in the morning. Bikes, helmets, a water bottle, two wine tastings, an olive oil tasting and lunch all sit inside the price. Gratuities and hotel pickup sit outside it.
One booking takes up to eight travelers. Everyone riding has to be at least fourteen.
Santa Ynez Valley Biking and Wine Tasting TourFive hours in the Santa Ynez Valley with a guided bike loop, two wine tastings, an olive oil tasting and a picnic lunch. Bike and helmet included.www.viator.comTwo Kinds of Bike, and Why It Matters
There are two bikes on offer. The operator runs Rad Power e-bikes with pedal assist and a throttle, and Poseidon flat-bar gravel bikes for people who want the work. On its own site the company calls the loop sixteen miles with eight challenging climbs through the Ballard Canyon stretch, and describes the course as challenging but not exhausting.
The booking page rates this a medium-fitness activity and advises against it for travelers with poor cardiovascular health. Whichever bike you pick, you need to handle one confidently. The operator says as much in plain terms: all riders should be able to operate a bike safely.
The choice sorts itself along one line. Riders who do not cycle much credit the pedal assist with making the climbs manageable at all, while riders who already cycle regularly say they could have done the loop on the sport bike and took the assist anyway, to spend the day looking at the valley rather than at the next hill.
The e-bike upgrade can be requested, and the operator lists different distance options. If someone in your group would rather stay off a saddle, the company says it will carry them along in the van.
Where the Loop Actually Goes
The first stretch runs past a farm planted with lavender and old olive trees, and the smell of it arrives before the view does. From there the route works toward Solvang, the Danish-styled town in the middle of the valley, where there is a twenty minute stop at Hans Christian Andersen Park.
The middle of the loop is Ballard Canyon, a narrow road under the big estate vineyards. This is the stretch the operator points to for scenery, and it is also where the climbing lives.
The stops that take real time all land in the afternoon, once the bikes are done: an hour for the olive oil tasting, then an hour at the wineries for the tasting and lunch. Everything else on the route is ridden past.
Three Tastings and Lunch at a Winery
The day holds three tastings. The olive oil tasting happens at the ranch on North Refugio Road where the ride starts and finishes, and the wine is poured at two established valley wineries; Rideau Vineyard, on Alamo Pintado Road, is one of them. Riders describe that last winery stop as what closes the day out.
Lunch goes with the wine rather than the oil. Both the operator and the booking page put the gourmet picnic at a winery, and the operator says it builds the menu around farmers market produce. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free versions are available if you ask ahead, and the booking page asks you to flag any dietary restriction when you book.
Your guide is described on the booking page as having over twenty years of sommelier level wine experience. That is the operator's own account of it. Bring ID if you are under thirty and plan to drink.
Getting There, and Who Can Come
There are two ways to start. The default is to meet the group out in the wine country at 9:45; the booking page puts that meeting point at Rancho Olivos, 2390 North Refugio Road in Santa Ynez. The property is not open that early, so there is nowhere to wait inside. The other option costs more and adds a pickup in Santa Barbara, with the shuttle leaving town at nine.
Two things are worth knowing about that pickup. The operator says it can often collect you at your hotel, and it also says that depending on demand for the day it may send you to a designated pickup point nearby instead. It confirms the arrangement with you before the tour date. Its own site names a default Santa Barbara pickup at the Peppertree Inn on State Street, which has free parking.
One wrinkle worth carrying with you: the operator's own page tells wine country guests to meet at Brander Vineyards, 2401 North Refugio, while the booking page says 2390. Both sit on the same stretch of North Refugio Road. Go by whichever address your confirmation gives you.
Riders have to be fourteen or older and comfortable on an adult frame bike. The operator calls it a good day for families and for people who are not drinking.
What to wear is simple. Something you can exercise in, closed toe shoes, sunglasses. The operator provides the bikes, helmets, a full water bottle and energy bars, and says it will carry anything you pick up along the way. A small backpack is handy if you would rather keep it on you.
Weather has a plan attached. The operator says it will run the ride in rain when conditions are safe, and that it can otherwise turn the day into a van tour of the region with extra tastings added. Cancel through your booking at least twenty four hours ahead for a full refund.
- One departure a day, and the calendar runs through the week
- Two wine tastings, one olive oil tasting, one picnic lunch
- English speaking guide
- Up to eight travelers on a booking
The shuttle is back in Santa Barbara by about four, by the operator's own reckoning, which leaves the evening wide open.