TARTAR: Day 1

#247

I rolled out this morning to meet up with a minimally organized but really cool trike rally on the American River Trail.

One fellow named Wayne in So Cal came up with this idea a few years ago: to get massive numbers of trikes rolling on the American River Trail, and different Wayne led today's ride into the mysterious and tangled bike paths of Folsom.

I met the group at Willow Creek Boat launch, having ridden down from the Raleys on Blue Ravine.

I volunteered to sweep the ride since I was the only other person willing to admit that I knew the trails. (They should have been cautious, since I could not, earlier that day, quite remember how the trails worked and spent some time involuntuntarially detoured on roads). However, I was not the one who went astray.

As sweep, you follow the slowest rider, hoping the faster people ahead of you stop at confusing intersections. Well, that worked for a while, but eventually the intermediate riders who had lost sight of Other Wayne became overconfident and scattered to the four winds, or at least four wrong trails.

After some phone consultation with Other Wayne, we hit upon an easily reached regroup point, gathered up our strays, and tootled along to the Raleys (where I had started this morning).

We ate a tasty lunch from the deli section of the grocery store, then I packed up my trike and headed home, while the rest of the group (11 of them) headed up to Folsom Crossing and then back to their starting point farther back on the American River Trail.

Tomorrow's ride will be much larger, and will go from the middle of the American River Trail and down to old Sac and back. Red Leader and I are planning on doing the first part of the ride with the crowd.