Adventures in Bicycling: Riding the American River Parkway

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Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle! I want to ride my bicycle ... I want to ride my bike!

I rode my bicycle past your window last night ... 

Queen and The Dollyrots (covering Melanie) run through my head a lot lately.

I recently started riding a bike again after a good 20 year absence. It all started with a 2016 family vacation in Lake Tahoe. We rented a home that came with bike use. Although all of the loaner bikes were big for me, and I had very possible just broken my toe, I joined my stepfather and husband for a ride around the private lake community.

To my surprise, that old saying rang true. I never forgot how to ride. I peddled and balanced like a pro. I did have tingling and pain in my old lady hands, but otherwise, the ride was pretty easy.

I thought I might like to do this bike thing again, but I wasn't going to rush out and buy a bike.

The next summer while browsing Craigslist, I came across an ad for free bikes. One of the bikes was a Huffy Cranbrook beach cruiser in "teen size." That teen bike (24" as opposed to standard 26") fit me like a glove. I tried out other bikes that left me in a lot of back pain and realized the upright position of a cruiser was much gentler on my body. The bike was covered in rust and needed some inexpensive replacement parts. My handy husband got to work fixing it up for me and then I rode ... down the block.

With the hilly design of my neighborhood, I just did not have the strength to go far. But I persisted. Each time I rode, I went a little farther.

As I rode more, it became clear that my freebie bike needed additional work, work that wasn't necessarily worth my husband's time (or the money to pay a pro). So I bought a new bike this month. Actually, I bought two used bikes and then made my decision: A 24" Electra Hawaii in great condition.

I instantly went faster on the Electra than I had on any other bike, but my hilly streets still challenged my leg strength. With the Electra (also known as Jennifer Garner), I went farther than I ever had before, a whole 1.5 miles.

Then Aaron asked me to go on the American River Parkway bike trail with him. He loves riding it, and since I resolved to be more adventurous this year, I agreed.

We started on the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail at Sacramento Bar in Fair Oaks and rode and rode and rode all the way into Rancho Cordova. We took a few breaks along the way to rest and admire the wildlife. We made it back to Jim Jones Bridge just in time to watch the sunset over the river.

All told, I rode roughly 5.6 miles! And my legs were less tired than they are after a 1.5 mile loop around my bumpy, hilly neighborhood. The ride was reminiscent of that first easy ride back in Lake Tahoe.

Smooth roads. 
Minimal hills. 
What a difference! 

Resting in Rancho Cordova before heading back.







A sunset kiss after a long ride. 

Comments

  1. Science IT and LeisureApril 27, 2018 at 3:19 PM

    awesome photos.

    https://scienceleisure.blogspot.com/2018/04/biodiversity-hotspot-of-north-american.html

    ReplyDelete

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