IVO Guide to Biking at UCSB

Welcome incoming Freshmen and Transfer Students to beautiful and sunny Santa Barbara! At IVO, we are no stranger to taking in the sights, sounds, and surprising moments of this beautiful hunk of land we call home and we believe it is our duty to impart our wisdom unto you, the next generation, on how to do so in the most appropriate fashion. Set those gears, turn up the headphones, and ditch those helmets because this is the IVO Guide to Biking at UCSB.

1. Bikers Have the Right of Way
   
   While it might seem like a foreign concept, bikers are actually granted the right of way on the UCSB campus as well as several areas in the neighboring town of Isla Vista. What this means is that if it’s foot traffic versus a cyclist, the cyclist is permitted to proceed on his or her way before the foot traffic. Now, this is not to say that new students, touring families, or even the occasional overworked Gaucho/Gaucha won’t step into your bike lane when it’s an inopportune time. Our best suggestion in this case is to remain vigilant, politely let them know they’re impeding the safety of others, and chart a course to best maneuver around the situation. More times than not you will have to come to a stop, and we’d like to remind you to use the rear brakes on the bike as opposed to the front ones, as eating pavement is sure to await those that don’t heed this advice.
   
   

2. Roundabouts Don’t Have To Be Dangerous 
   
   Roundabouts are mainly a concept for inner-city driving as well as major European locations but here at UCSB we’ve found that it’s much cheaper to employ roundabouts than stoplights for cyclists on campus. The rules for roundabouts are generally easy to follow but we’re going to do our best to summarize it for student success. When approaching a roundabout, it is the responsibility of oncoming traffic to slow down their speeds and then enter into the turnstyle when it is not overwhelmingly congested. It’s important to note that it’s only slowing down and not coming to a complete stop, as coming to a complete stop would likely cause confusion or an accident between surrounding cyclists. Our best advice on this would be to leave a few minutes early on the first few days of class to really get the hang of these before the 10AM, 12PM, and 2PM rushes happen. Finally, only turn right in the roundabouts, even if you don’t see anyone coming the other way; we cannot stress this enough. The first week of school has been referred to as “Bloody Week” largely due to this particular danger. 
   
   

3. IV Travel
   
   The neighboring city of Isla Vista has similar bike status to UCSB but not the same laws as UCSB. Bikes do not have the right of way in IV, but many students don’t recognize this to be the case, especially at intersections such as Embarcadero Del Mar and Pardall. Many students have been pulled over for breaking the rules of the road; stop at stop signs and red lights. Wait for your turn to cross and don’t bike too close to other vehicles. Keep your head on a swivel and always be aware of fellow bikers or cars in the area. When biking back from work or the library during the night be especially aware of an influx of bystanders as UCSB is home to a very social community. Finally, it is important to note that the community of IV houses a flotilla of rentable, motorized scooters whereas UCSB does not. Although the scooters are not permitted on campus (seriously, don’t try the school makes bank on these tickets), they are heavily prominent in IV. 

4. Bike Repair & Theft Prevention 
   
   Flat tires, broken tubes, rusted chains—these things happen. We live a very active life here at UCSB and chances are that new bike you picked up won’t look so fresh a few months, especially given constant exposure to the salty beach air. Proper bike maintenance is a must if you want to be all you can be at UCSB… and make it to your finals on time. There’s the AS Bike Shop on campus which is pretty great, as well as a slew of other shops in IV which are just as personable and can help you with any of the aforementioned issues. While you’re at any of these fine establishments we highly encourage you pick up a lock for your wheels there. A U-Lock or combo lock are the best in our personal opinions, and we recommend always locking the frame to the bike rack or locking your back tire to your frame. If you lock just your front tire, it’s likely that you’ll come back to only that front tire locked to the rack while the rest of your bike is missing… this happened to me and it still saddens me to this day. 

Safe travels from all of us here at IVO; feel free to drop by and ask any other biking-related questions or maybe get a sticker or two for your frame!

Brock Clark is a casual cyclist and avid sticker enthusiast.