A great way to stay in shape and often overlooked in today’s society is biking to work. One company that serves California to help make this a reality is the Bike Station. This is a building which offers a shower facility, video surveillance, bike lockup for over 100 bikes, daily lockers, and pamphlets for travelers on other bike & travel resources in the community.

The Santa Barbara facility has approximately 150 members and the station offers insurance if your bike is tampered with while locked up. Being a member of the facility myself for over a year and often forgetting to lock my bike, I’ve never once had any tampering and am warmly welcomed each time I enter by the other bikers who use the facility. Between 7-9am and 4-7pm seem to be the busiest times, but I’ve never been in the facility with more than five members at a time so it never feels crowded. At most, you’ll have to wait ten minutes to take a shower or use the bathroom and there are always at least 20 open spots to store your bike.

Even better, the Bike Station offers a vending machine especially for bikes. That’s right, if you need lube, gloves, a new tire or chain, they’ve got ‘em! How cool is that? Reasonably priced and great since you can use this 24/7. With my membership, I keep dreaming of making a trek all along the coast knowing I’ll be able to service my bike & shower along the way & meet other bikers in the area. In addition to the vending machine, you’ll have access to electrical outlets, a professional grade air pump and service station with a vice grip and work bench for you to fix your flats, straighten those spokes or whatever else you need to tweak.

The center encourages you to get involved in other cyclist activities happening in the area. The Santa Barbara Bike Coalition organizes much of what is happening in town and even offers a Street Skills for Cyclist class periodically that you will definitely want to check out if you’re new to the biking scene.

The Santa Barbara Rideshare Agency also has information and can help get you started in biking to work.

As an avid cyclist for over 20 years, I am pleased with the low monthly rates and convenient location on the corner of Anapamu & Anacapa streets. I opted for a yearly membership for a mere hundred bucks. I was even able to go traveling the country for two months earlier in the year to come back and find my bike untouched and ready to be ridden as soon as I returned.

If you’re already a cyclist, you should take advantage of this and stop blaming your boss for not having a center to lock your bike up or complaining about a lack of shower facility. And if you aren’t a cyclist, sign up for those Street Skills classes and have the Bike Coalition hold your hand in getting setup. You’ll save our environment and you’ll trim your tummy (and wallet) with all the gas you’ll be saving!