Imagine 60 miles of bicycling with no cars to contend with. That's what Carla, Virginia, Rich, Steve and I experienced Wednesday 10-28-09, when we rode the American River Bike Trail between Sacramento, Folsom and return.
We parked the cars at the Amtrak station in Sacramento ($9 all day) because it is only a couple of blocks away from the bike trail, is more secure, has restrooms and a Starbucks.
The trail starts just beyond the railroad tracks at the California State Railroad Museum, heads north and crosses the river to begin the 30 mile trip to Folsom.
The path is very smooth and well maintained...we actually saw a man riding a leaf blower clearing the path. The path follows the river, so the it makes lots of curves and few elevation changes along the way—this makes the trail fun to ride.
The trail winds through woods and wide open areas also. The flood plain along the river has been turned into a 30 mile long park, with restrooms, picnic tables, playing fields, the Sacramento Valley Live Steamers Museum , the Nimbus Fish Hatchery and Dam along the way.
We rode the trail until it turned to gravel—after about 30 miles—and then decided it must be time for lunch. As luck would have it, we were just a few blocks away from Old Folsom, a very compact area with antique shops, a candy store and restaurants.
We had lunch at the Karma Cafe, a very pleasant place. If you're in this area, please stop by and spend some money, the local economy could use the business.
After lunch we headed back to Sacramento on the trail. We saw lots of birds, rabbits, coyotes and fellow cyclists along the way. What we didn't see were cars or lots of pedestrians, which was nice. There might be lots of folks walking on the weekends and in the summer, so I think this is a Spring or Autumn midweek ride.
We all had a good ride and would like to ride the trail again...maybe a springtime trip to catch the wildflowers in bloom. This ride is a keeper.