24 mile road trip in sac, ca.

[chrismariscal69]

so around five this evening my mom tells me she wants to do something without spending a lot of money.
so I say "let's go for a ride!"
next thing you know we are at discovery park, which is a state park real close to downtown sac. from there we rode about 12 miles on the American river bike trail to Loemans plaza (am I spelling that right?), and enjoyed a great clam chowder and half blt sandwich.

however, as you can kinda see in the last picture, it was around 7:30 and was starting to get pretty dark. as you can see, neither of us have headlights or taillight, so we were flying back to the car! but it was pretty scary but cool at the same time, cuz once we hit the trail there were no more lights, except the moonlight.
I'm rediculously sore now, but had a great time.
can't wait for the second sat ride at college cyclery!

 

[aka_locojoe]

Rides like these are great. Very cool that your Mom rides. How long is that trail total?

 

[chrismariscal69]

32 miles.
I found this clip about it:
"Arguably one of the most successful and beautifully paved bike paths in northern California, this 32-mile gem of a trail stretches from downtown Sacramento eastward to Folsom Dam (64 miles round-trip). Also known as the Jedediah Smith National Recreation Trail, the American River Bike Path is nearly 100% separate from vehicle roads (a mile or two shares the road). The route hugs the American River as it ever so gently gains roughly 450 feet elevation as you ride from west to east. The trail is well maintained and mile markers are posted, starting at zero on the western end. You can start from a dozen access points and ride for as long or short as you like. In between the two trailheads, the path leads through a rich riparian en-vironment, graced by an abundance of birds. You’re never far from civilization since the bike path leads past many residential and commercial neighborhoods and city parks (some of which have historical significance)."

 

[BXS]

My wife and I live in Orangevale and LOVE the bike trail! We drive to midtown separately in the morning and park my truck at a friends house, then drive back to OV in her Jeep. That way we can cruise the trail from our house to midtown without worrying about pedaling all the way back home (It's 23.2 miles one way from our house off Madison to our friends house off F Street). The entire trip is great, though since we both ride lowered Dyno Roadsters we both wind up pretty sore just from the one way trip!