T he bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicylce remains pure in heart. - Elizabeth West

t he bicycle is mechanical perfection. When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle. - Francois Mauriac

JEDIDIAH SMITH MEMORIAL TRAIL • AMERICAN RIVER BIKE TRAIL

By 1887, bicycles were present in numbers that caused the organization of clubs such as the "Capitol City Wheelmen." Groups like the Wheelmen focused on the bicycle as transportation, and sport, and as a contributor to recreation and leisure adventures. They coordinated with other groups and lobbied for improvements that led to a paved road from Sacramento to Folsom suitable for bicycle excursions. The Wheelmen were by the end of the 19th century, able to push the "Good Roads" movement and influence the shape of the State's early highway plans.
- www.trails.com

March 30, 1896, members of the Capital City Wheelmen, a bicycle club, voted to build a bicycle path from Sacramento to the City of Folsom. Each member was assessed $1.00, and Sacramento merchants and citizens donated $900.00 to begin the path’s construction. Five hundred cyclists rode the first section of the path on April 12, 1896. - Sac Parks Flier