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The American River Bike Trail is one of the best trails around to ride thanks to picturesque views and a superb trail to ride on.  We meet at the head of the trail at Folsom Lake at 8:00 am.  We started with a total of 6 riders and made a quick descent of almost 900 feet down to Nimbus Dam.  It was a typical day on the trail with plenty of people out walking, jogging, and of course cycling.  This is the one road in Sacramento that you fit right in on a bike, no cars to deal with for 33 miles. The beginning of the ride is a quick descent from the Lake level down to Negro Bar.  After Negro Bar you have a gorgeous view of the American River Canyons.  You meander along the shore and then soon you are at the base of Nimbus Dam. It is then a quick climb under the Hazel Bridge and up onto the bridge.  Here we stopped to regroup and pick our next destination to meet, Goethe Park.  It's now a quick drop down Hazel via the bridge and then we head on over to the Fish Hatchery.  We ride through a number of rollers, left over hills from the gold mining days of John Sutter, and then make our way under Sunrise Blvd.  Here we meet up with another club member Roger Moore.  It's starting to warm up some but we push on to Goethe Park.  Here we stop for a quick snack and enjoy the view around, grand Oak Trees and wild brush.  Next stop, the Golden Gate Bridge.  As we cruise along we find out own pace, some faster than others.  Jerry and Robert are leading the pack with Travis and Chris right on their heels.  I decide to keep pace and we race along the bike trail at a heart pumping 18 to 20 miles an hour.  We're passing everyone along the way, a scout troop, mothers pushing their littles ones on a morning stroll, and joggers practicing up for the next run.  Soon we've paced all the way through 4 miles and the bridge is now here.  We stop and wait for a few minutes and the rest of the pack brings in the rear. Next stop the fork in the road for the Del Paso turnoff.  This time the pace is not as quick.  Some of us fall behind, including myself, and enjoy the ride.  The trees are bigger and there is more animals to watch along the way.  But again we find ourselves standing at the fork in the road taking giving ourself a break, enjoying the company, and comparing notes.  It's hard to believe that we've already covered 29 miles in such a short time.  We only left just 2 hours ago.  We regroup and head back on the trail for Old Sacramento to get a bite to eat.  We soon find a sandwich shop and make the side walk ours for the next hour.  It's been a great ride and for some of use the trip is over while for others we still need to make our way home.  After about an hour some have been picked up while the rest of us take a break and enjoy the sites, others enjoy the sites even more and make a purchase to make it worth the while.

It's now 12:30 pm and the air is no longer cool, it's turning into a typical day in the Sacramento Valley, hot.  We head for home back on the American River Trail until we get to the Sacramento North Loop Trail and head for Roseville.  This is a great way to make our way North, but it's not the American River Bike Trail.  After 45 minutes of cycling we are now in the heart of Rio Linda and making our way East on country roads.  It's 1:30 pm and it's only getting warmer, we're now going through Antelope and are so close to home.  We round the corner and head North on Walerga, enjoying the new pavement.  At Baseline we've gone from 4 down to 2.  The two of us head up Junction and split off at Park Regency and then it's just one.  After a ride around the block I head up the drive way, pull off my shoes, head for the back yard and put the swimming pool to good use.

Riders for this trip:
Jerry Dougal
Robert Smith
Travis Manhart
Connie Hathaway
Devin Holmes
Chris Gale
Roger Moore

Stats for the Ride:
Part I: American River to Old Sacramento Actual Time Riding: 2:10:45 Distance: 33.68 Avg mph: 16.03 Feet Climbed: 315	Part II: Old Sacramento to Roseville Actual Time Riding: 1:36:43 Distance: 21.08 Avg mph: 15.5 Feet climbed: 264

 

Pictures from the ride:
A view of Folsom Lake at the Beginning of the Trail.	Chris and Jerry at the beginning of the trail at Folsom Lake.	Robert at the beginning of the trail at Folsom Lake.	Jerry, Travis, Connie and Robert at the beginning of the trail.	A view of Nimbus Dam from the trail.
Roger Moore at Sunrise Blvd.	A great view of the American River near Coloma Park.	Jerry, Robert, and Connie at Goethe Park.	Jerry and Robert leading the way through Arden Park.	Connie passing under the golden gate near Sac State.
Travis, Connie, and Robert enjoying lunch in Old Sacramento.	Travis and Connie in Old Sacramento.	Heading home from Old Sacramento	Taking the North Sacramento Trail from the American River Trail	That looks like a great place to stop.
Connie, Robert, and Chris taking a much needed break.	Connie in the great oak trees on the North  Sacramento Trail.	Connie taking pictures of Devin  somewhere in Rio Linda.	Another great shot!	Robert, Chris, and Connie in the home stretch heading up North Loop.

Copyright © 2004 - 2012 Devin Holmes