HomeClub History Timeline

Brief History of Sacramento Bike Hikers

1968 -Present

1968 - 1979

1968 - Sacramento Bike Hikers was started by Cliff Belarde and Miles “Woody” Wood
The Club was affiliated with American Youth Hostel (AYH)
Club motto “Not For Myself Alone But For The Group”; club colors were canary yellow and Kelly green
1969 - The club was named the Sacramento Bike Hikers as suggested by Pat Dane
1970 - Pilot North Coast Tour
1971 - First Club logo and Ride Schedule masthead were designed by Dwight Eberly
1972 - First North Coast Tour took place (August). led by Cliff Belarde
1973 - 1975 - First club jersey is created.
1974 - A spin-off group of SBH formed the Sacramento Wheelmen
1975 - Affiliation with American Youth Hostel was dropped
1975 - First League of American Wheelman sanctioned century ride was led by Dr. Don Bouchard
1975 - First Soup Ride (Dec), led by Cliff Belarde and Yvonne Hattrup
1977 - The first El Dorado Century was led by Mark Drake, Bill Ralston, and Gail Rothwell. Club membership total was 59.
1978 - The newsletter was started and named the Leaky Valve by Dale Kemery
1978 - Club starts to track members mileage

1980 - 1988

1980 - Picnic and Swim event (June), Sister Mary Redempta and Ken Kettleman
1980 - Harold Ritchey Bridge completed at William Pond, crossing American River
1981 - First Annual Awards Banquet (pizza was served)
1981 - The bike trail was extended from Discovery Park to Old Sacramento. The Club donates $900.00 to the County for the purchase of a sweeper for the trail
1981 to 1994 - North Coast Tour managed by Wayne and Frankie Kincannon
1982 - 450 cyclists rode the El Dorado Century
1982 - Animal miles were added to the Annual Awards Banquet
1983 - SBH runs the bike-to-watercraft portion of Eppie’s Great Race
1983 - Club membership now over 150 members (Family $24, Individual $18)
1983 - Sister Mary Redempta, a member of the Club and nun at Mercy San Juan Hospital, made the cover of California Bicyclist. The article title was “A Nun’s Bicycling Habit Inspires Sacramento Bike Hikers.” She also arranged our meeting room at Mercy San Juan Hospital.
1984 - A new Bike Hiker jersey was adopted and sold at the Rest Stop
1984 - 600 cyclists rode the El Dorado Century
1984 - 42 club members contributed $500 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Jerry’s Kids
1987 - Money was contributed to build a bike barn for the Sacramento Children’s Home
1988 - The Federal Government grants SBH tax-exempt and non-profit status
1988 - Club celebrates its 20th Anniversary
1988 - The Club presented a Santana tandem bicycle ($1600.00) to the Society for the Blind, permitting blind riders to enjoy the freedom of cycling.

1989 - 1996

1989 - Club jersey #3 came out in the summer in the new colors. This was first jersey to be sublimated. Design committee: Mike Vignogna, Larry Robinson, Yvonne Romero Robinson and Ken Montgomery. Also sold at the Rest Stop.
1992 - Membership fee was dropped to Family $20 and Individual $15.
1993 - First Party Pardee Century was initiated with several hundred cyclists participating
1994 - Club participated in the KVIE membership drive by manning the phones and taking pledges
1995 - Club adopts the Parkway Project at miles 15 to 16 of the bike trail
1995 - First bike trail cleanup
1995 - Club celebrates the Highway Centennial (1895-1995). A ride on one of the historic roads will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the California State Highway System. The State celebration is being coordinated by Californians for a Better Transportation, Auto Club of Southern California, California State Auto Association, California Transportation Foundation and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
1995 - Club's first website created and maintained by Ken Montgomery
1996 - By nearly a unanimous vote the El Dorado Century will no longer be a Club event
1996 - Final North Coast Tour transpired, ending a 24-year tradition

1997-2009

1997 - Jersey #4 came out in February. Produced initially by Kucharik then Voler. Many club members were on the design committee, but notables were Sue Bennett who came up with the city-scape idea and Ken Montgomery. Initially sold at the Rest Stop, followed by Carmichael Bikes and Patriot Bicycles
1997 - Howard Park in Ione becomes the new location for start of Party Pardee, relocated from Rancho Seco, with 900 registrants
1997 - Expansion of the American River Bike Trail from Nimbus Fish Hatchery under Hazel and past CSUS Aquatic Center was approved by the County
1997 - April Fools edition of the Broken Valve was issued
1998 - SBH celebrates its 30th Anniversary
1998 - Treasurer Yvonne Robinson brings QuickBooks to the club
1999 - Registered our domain names BikeHiker.Org and BikeHiker.com
2000 - Folsom Historic Truss Bridge reopens on its original stone abutments (Bridge originally crossed the American River from 1893 to 1931 then moved to Siskiyou County; in 1998 Folsom City Council voted to return the bridge to Folsom. About 60% of the bridge is original)
2001 - SBH contributed $1000 each to the following charities, American Lung Association, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, American River Parkway, National Kidney Foundation and 4H Club
2002 - Moved to new meeting room at Mercy San Juan Hospital (January)
2002 - Leaky Valve banner makes a change and is the last year of publication
2003 - Club hosts members of the JAL (Japan Air Lines) Comets on the Yosemite bike tour
2003 - Spring Blitz is created by Larry and Yvonne Robinson
2004 - Non club members will be required to sign the American Wheelmen/League of American Bicyclist Release and Waiver of Liability form
2006 - First year of online registration only for Party Pardee
2007 - First Annual Pie Ride hosted by Bob and Sherri Keven
2007 - SBH monthly meeting location changed to Carmichael Park from Mercy San Juan Hospital (October)
2008 - Club celebrates its 40th Anniversary
2008 - "Leisure Breakfast Ride" kickoff, led by Pam and Dave Abbott

2010 - 2019

2012 - Vivienne Nicole created the first ride sheet database
2013 - Vivienne Nicole created new position of Ridesheet Coordinator. This made becoming a ride leader much easier.
2015 - Annual "Kendall Kafe Ride" instituted by Janet and Bob Kendall
2016 - A group on Meetup.com was created by Jerry Beckett to facilitate outreach to the cycling community (May)
2016 - Vivienne Nicol and Bob Kendall spearheaded the conversion of the ride database to Ride with GPS, which added the benefit of audio queues in addition to paper route sheets. They were assisted by a small team of members who diligently mapped all the Excel routes into Ride with GPS,
2017 - The fifth new Jersey, to commemorate the Bike Hikers 50th anniversary, is made available for online purchase from Voler. Design committee: Bill and Nancy Bischoff, Kathy Wright, Yvonne and Larry Robinson, Phyllis Green and Chris O’ Connor.
2017 - Club presents new bikes and helmets to children devastated by the fires in Santa Rosa
2017 - First Facebook page (November)
2018 - Club celebrates its 50th Anniversary💥
2018 - Founding member and first Vice President Cliff Belarde passes away (April)
2018 - SBH plaque is added to the newly opened Johnny Cash Trail Donation Board in Folsom
2018 - Club joins the Sacramento Hero Ride charity helping Veterans and First Responders (May)
2019 - SBH continues to be the bike transition team for the newly named Great American Triathlon, formerly Eppie's Great Race
2019 - The weekly ride "Downtown and Beyond" was inaugurated by Terry Snyder at Raley's (Howe and Fair Oaks) and then moved to the Scottish Rite Temple
2019 - The printed Ride Schedule was discontinued (October)
2019 - Tours that took place in September were Sonoma Coast and the Fall Getaway Tour. Tours in October were Monterey Tour and the California Coast Experience.
2019 - SBH transitions from legacy website to new site powered by ClubExpress
2019 - 20 Bikes, helmets, water bottles, and locks were donated to the Sacramento Children’s Receiving Home. Goods were provided by the Sacramento Bicycle Company (December)
2019 - The Holiday Party was changed from a potluck at the Clubhouse to hors d'oeuvres at the Northridge Country Club (December)

2020 - 2029

2020 - An official club E-Bike Policy is established in recognition of the increasing use of them by club members (January).
2020 - Club banquet was held at the Del Paso Country Club; The Death Valley Tour was the last and only tour in 2020 due to COVID shutdown (February ).
2020 - In March, due to the Covid-19 world-wide pandemic, Party Pardee was postponed for the first time in its 28 year history to October 24, 2020, and subsequently canceled until 2021.
2020 - Also canceled were all scheduled rides, all Club tours, the Spring Blitz Celebration Dinner, the Annual Club Picnic, and Holiday Party. All in-person meetings of the board and membership were canceled and held on line.
2020 - First photo scavenger hunt conducted by Karen Holland (September).
2020 - To see Club members from a distance, we introduced Halloween and Christmas rides with treats.
2020 - The Club elections took place online for the first time through the website with increased participation of members (November).
2021 - The annual Club banquet was canceled, and for the second year, Party Pardee was postponed until April 2022.
2021 - The Club continues to meet monthly online via ZOOM.
2021 - in May, official Club rides resumed. Through December, there were 235 rides hosted.
2021 - in July, other Club activities resumed, starting with our annual picnic.
2021 - The Gap Tour (Pittsburg to Washington D.C) is the first club tour held since March 2020 (September).
2021 - The Monterey Tour is the first major club tour held since the Covid-19 shutdown (October).
2021 - First in-person monthly meeting held at the Carmichael Clubhouse since the Covid-19 shutdown (October).
2021 - Election of club officers again held online; annual Soup Ride held in person (November).
2021 - Annual Holiday Party held at Milago Event Center instead of the traditional potluck at Carmichael Clubhouse ($20 fee). "You must be vaccinated against Covid-19 to attend." Club dues were raised for the first time since 1992 for Individual to $20 and Family to $25 (December).
2022 - Spring Blitz is held, followed by a celebratory dinner for the first time since 2019, due to the Covid-19 shutdown. The celebration was held at the Out of Bounds Brewing Company in Folsom, also a first (March).
2022 - The Folsom Roundabout Ride continues after the death of its creator and long-time leader, Phil Agur, and renamed Phil's Roundabout (March).
2022 - Party Pardee resumes after being canceled in 2020 and 2021. 1,200 previously registered riders accepted the offer to roll their registration over to 2022, allowing only 300 new registrants. Total riders for 2022 was 900. Paso Robles Tour was held (April).
2022 - Unraveling Carquinez Tour (May).
2022 - Club banquet took place at the Northridge Country Club (May).
2022 - Bike and Barge Tour in Provence, France (June).
2022 - Annual Picnic and Ride (July).
2022 - South Area rides initiated by Joe Perfecto (August).
2022 - Sign-in Roster modified to include waiver regarding Class 3 E-Bike usage where prohibited on trails. Carson City and Monterey Tours held. Attendance at General Meeting is discouraged due to flare-up of Covid-19 (October).
2022 - Annual Soup Ride held. Election of officers again held online (November).
2022 - Annual Holiday party held at the Dante Club ($15 fee) (December).
2023 - Kathy Wright and Barbara Lane started "Lookout for me 2023 Challenge.”
New club officers: President- Ken Jones, VP- Mark Munguia, Treasurer-Bobb Gregory, Secretary-Janet Kendall, Membership-Barb Nilsson (January)
2023 - Annual 2023 Awards Banquet was held at NorthRidge Country Club. Letter in support of the Sacramento Parkway sent by the board. (February)
2023 - The club meeting focused on the way email forums function and our policy on going on a club ride. Spring Blitz this year was chaired by Carolyn Lewis. but was changed to April due to wet conditions in March. (March)
2023 - Monthly club meeting held. Party Pardee Club fundraiser bike event took place under mostly clear skies with 900 participants. Spring Blitz started April 1. (April)
2023 - 86 club members signed up for May Is Bike Month. On May 23, the Spring Blitz celebration took place at Device Brewing in Sacramento Pocket area. Paso Robles Tour held. (May)
2023 - Lake Constance Tour was held. (June)
2023 - We had our annual club picnic at Williams Pond Park. No club meeting. Club members set up the transition from bike to boat at Sunrise Lower Bridge for the Great American Triathlon. Scenic Sweden and Ragbrai Tours took place. (July)
2023 - No general club meeting. The Danube Discovery Tour took place. (August)
2023 - Bill Lane and Mark Munguia stepped up to chair the 2024 Party Pardee event. All committee chairs for the Party Pardee had been filled and planning for the 2024 event will begin. (September)
2023 - Carson Valley and Monterey Tours took place. Traditional Pie Ride was held. Party Pardee 2024 T-shirt design and Party Pardee theme "Its Party Time" decided on. 2024 club officers nominations accepted. Online elections held last week of October. Elected officers are: President- Keith Felte, VP-Rick Kozlowski, Treasurer-Bobb Gregory, Secretary-Janet Kendall, Membership-Barb Nilsson. (October)
2023 - Members delivered turkeys by bike to Cal/Expo in support of the Sacramento Food Bank. Bike Hikers did corner control for “Run to Feed the Hungry” on Thanksgiving Day. The annual Soup Ride took place at William Pond Park. (November)
2023 - No club meeting. Annual Holiday Party held at Dante Club on Dec. 1. Annual ride to the Capitol Christmas tree and group photo took place. Club purchased from Sutterville Bicycle Company 13 Cannondale bikes, helmets and locks and donated them to Sacramento Children's home. (December)
2023 - This year, we lost Sue Robbins, Bernie Devries and Spike Buchalski

Note:

This page is currently maintained by Larry Robinson, Club Historian. If significant facts about the Club's history pop into your mind, please send them to Larry for consideration to be added to this page. Click Here: Club Historian