A BIKING WE WILL GO.....

What an adventure we had today! Kurt and I met Tyler at his apartment on Hazel Avenue and rode 25+ miles along the American River Bike Trail to Old Sacramento. We made several stops for photo ops and snack/water breaks. It took us almost 3 hours.

The weather was perfect (not too hot with a little cloud cover). The scenery was beautiful and it was fun to have Tyler along today. This was his first long ride on the new bike Kate gave him for Christmas.

Also known as the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail, the trail is considered one of the longest paved bike trails in the country. The trail is painted with mile markers at every half-mile increment.

As we were riding along, we spotted a fire in the distance.

As we got closer, we had a hard time breathing and could see this was no small fire.

There were several acres involved and fire crews were scattered all around.

At one point, the fire came right down to the trail. We could feel the intense heat as we rode by and wondered how these firemen handle the heat with the heavy clothing they wear.

At about mile 15 we stopped for a snack/water break. Our legs were feeling like jelly at this point.

Tyler and Kurt getting ready to be "on the road again."

I love my bike!

Riding over the American River.

Another stop to rest our weary legs. Running is SO much easier than bike riding for me.

We made it into Old Sacramento just in time for dinner.
We were famished!

We wanted to try Fat City. We weren't disappointed.
I had the Fat's Cafe Salad.
Tyler had the Fat City Hamburger.
Kurt had the Fat City Combo.
YUM!

Unlocking the bikes so we can walk them (we were done riding) to the light rail station.

Here it comes.

We're so glad they allow bikes on the train. The thought of riding our bikes back to Tyler's apartment was NOT EVEN AN OPTION at this point.

The only bad news was that the train didn't go as far as Hazel after 7 pm (guess we should have read the small print on the schedule ;) It would only take us as far as Sunrise.

Bless Kurt's heart, he offered to ride the 5 miles back to the car and come back and pick us up. Tyler's knee was throbbing and I didn't think I could go another mile.

Tyler and I enjoyed the sunset....

and the almost full-moon.... while poor Kurt pedaled uphill all the way back to Hazel Avenue. Gotta love that guy!

Our chariot awaits.
Can't wait until next time! In the future, we'll start at Sunrise so we can stay as long as we want in Old Sacramento and have a bit of a shorter ride.