Comstock's magazine 0919 - September 2019 | Page 86

FOLSOM
Bicyclists head toward the Robbers Ravine
Bridge on the 6.3 mile Johnny Cash Trail.
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comstocksmag.com | September 2019
Folsom’s bicycle shops, which offer
sales and rentals, are benefitting from the
city’s enhanced trails system. Francisco
Palop, the inventory manager for Folsom
Bike, says he’s an avid biker who lived in
Southern California and has extensively
used trails in Arizona, Northern Nevada
and Tahoe, but he thinks Folsom’s trail sys-
tem beats those areas for ease of use and
access.
“Coming out here and seeing the vari-
ety of trails, I just fell in love,” Palop says.
Folsom-based business software com-
pany Inductive Automation, which outgrew
its space in the Palladio center about two
years ago, is one business taking advan-
tage of local recreational opportunities. The
company’s new office on Blue Ravine Road
backs up to the American River and adjoin-
ing trails, allowing its 100-200 employees
to bike or even kayak to work, says Kristine
Zukose, the company’s director of public
activities.
Zukose says probably every employee
has used the adjacent trails for biking, run-
ning or hiking — many every day. The com-
pany also provides shower facilities and
equipment loaners for employees to utilize.
“It’s a great recruitment tool,” she says.
The city’s trail system has also attract-
ed world-class sporting events, including
three Amgen Tour of California legs since
2014, and riders have used Folsom’s trails
when other cities host the ride, including
in May when neighbor Rancho Cordova
hosted. In conjunction with Amgen, in Oc-
tober 2018, Folsom was the start and finish
point for L’etape, a 90-mile nonprofessional
endurance ride through the Sierra Nevada
foothills.
Folsom has participated in several
endurance events over the years, but this
year’s Folsom Triathlon on July 14 was
almost entirely in Folsom. Almost 700
athletes participated in several aquatic,
running and biking events, says Ryan