Pedaling for Pot in Sacramento: Like Amsterdam on the American River

SUMMER TRAVEL SPECIAL
Enjoy two of Sacramento’s popular activities and attractions: bicycling and medical marijuana dispensaries. Stop at cafes, museums, parks and produce farms along the way and, hey — who needs Amsterdam this summer?

BY ED MURRIETA

SACRAMENTO – If you’re a medical marijuana patient and a bicycle enthusiast, California’s capital city is the perfect place to combine your quests for medicine and exercise — kind of like those popular pedaling pub crawls, but without the drunkards.

With more than three dozen dispensaries in the city and twice that number in the county, Sacramento bicyclists pedal past a plethora of places peddling pot to Prop. 215 patients.

Cruising Midtown and downtown on your fat-tired cruiser? There are 12 dispensaries you can bike to, half of which are on designated bike routes that cross-hatch The Grid. Easy rides, all of them.

Touring the American River Bike Trail on your Cannondale? From Old Sacramento to Folsom Lake, there are 19 dispensaries, not counting those in The Grid, that are quarter-mile- to 3-mile rides from access points along the 32-mile trail. Extend your off-the-trail trek to 5 miles and there’ll be 5 more dispensaries (see sidebar The Harder They Ride).

What’s the payoff for all this exertion, the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the ridebow?

There’s the exercise, of course. And by riding your bike, you’re staying green while buying green bud. How about picking up some non-psychoactive pot-infused salves, creams and oils for the aching muscles you’ll have after some rides? Or perhaps partake of Prop. 215 perks like free massages and chiropractic sessions that some dispensaries provide in the name of wellness?

What if you work up an appetite during your rides? I’ve mapped out foodie pit stops. Sunflower Drive-In — home of nutburgers, fresh fruit smoothies and chickens free-ranging the parking lot — is worth a trip on the trail — pedaling for pot or just pedaling. For you locavore pot pedalers, how about two local produce farms? You’re welcome.

Need more diversions? Parks? Museums? Sacramento has those, too. While you won’t experience anything close to the “Starry Night” visions you can have staring at Van Gogh’s work while eating space cake in Amsterdam, the thick swooshes of frosting on the Wayne Thiebaud cake paintings that hang in the Crocker Art Museum — just a hop off the bike trail promenade south of Old Sacramento — gain delicious new dimension if you’ve nibbled on a medical marijuana edible.

Which brings us, at last, to medicating while pedaling for pot.

Should you?

Should you always wear your helmet when you ride?

Should you not ride your hipster cruiser on sidewalks?

I’m not your mother or the bike police.

You know the effects of medical marijuana on your system better than anyone does.

You say those pre-ride bong hits ease your asthma?

Certainly.

When you hit Pipe Bridge — the silver span crosses the American River on the bike trail east of 16th Street heading to or from downtown — you may very well be tempted, but caveat pot pedaler:

You can be ticketed for toking and biking.

PEDALING FOR POT: IN THE GRID

All About Wellness
1900 19th St.
Sactown420.com
(916) 454-4327
Bike-friendly from its location on the 19th Street bike route to the custom steel bike rack (parking for easily a dozen bikes) stamped with the dispensary’s Sactown420.com URL. Nearby: R Street eateries, or zig-zag 4 blocks to the most bike-friendly restaurant in the city, Hot Italian (1627 16th St.).

Northstar Holistic Collective
1236 C St.
northstarholisticcollective.com
(916) 476-4344
On the C Street bike route. Near the American River Bike Trail’s downtown access (19th and C). Small bike rack near the front door. Bonus on the sketchy streets of Alkai Flats: Watch your bike on security video feeds in the waiting and dispensing areas. Nearby: $1.50 street tacos at Taqueria Jalisco (330 16th St.).

Grass
2014 10th St
215grass.com
(916) 930-0939
Half a block from the T Street bike route. Nearby: Japanese snow cones and manju confections at Osaka-ya (2215 10th St.). Dim sum and duck at Cheung Hing Market (2005 11th St.) — take-out only, but the humbao are humdingers, filled with pork and onions. Or enjoy the Latino street-food fiesta that is Our Lady of Guadalupe (711 T St.) on Sundays. South Side Park is across the street from the church and beyond that is the Sunday farmers market. Also: The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts (californiamuseum.org). No bike rack, but a security guard saw me fumble with my lock and invited me to park my Trek inside.

Capital Wellness Collective
2400 X St.
On a bike lane in the shadow of the elevated freeway. Nearby: Sunday farmers’s market (under the freeway at 8th and W streets, Side Park and Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Sunday street-food fiesta.

Midtown Collective
2020 P St.
midtowncollective.com (916) 930-1920
On the P Street bike route. No bike rack. Nearby: Dive bars in all directions.

The Green Door
908 21st St., (916) 446-8985
greendoorsac.com
On the 21st Street bike route. Appears to share a bike rack with the salon next door. Nearby: You couldn’t swing a stoned hipster without hitting some arts or dining action. Two blocks from Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen (1915 I St.).

J Street Wellness
2321 J St., (916) 492-8718
jstwellness.com
It’s LBGT-friendly but not b-i-k-e-friendly. No bike rack, just random poles and trees to lock your bike to along non-bike-route J Street. Upside: In the heart of Midtown food and arts action. Foodie history — open-fire cooking, hearth-baking historical reenactments at Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park.

A Therapeutic Alternative
3015 H St., (916) 400-3095
On the H Street bike route. No bike rack, but I’ve carried my bike up the stairs and parked it on the porch. Nearby: McKinley Park, including a weekend hot dog vendor for street-food lovers.

Green Solutions
1404 28th St.,(916) 706-3568
gs420.com
On the 28th Street bike route. No bike rack but there’s always the tree and sometimes a security guard in front. Nearby: Arms of the Paragary restaurant empire, and foodie history cooking at Sutter’s Fort. Ride Your Own Way’s pay-and-go bike-rental kiosk is at 28th and J (see sidebar).

Trinity Health Collective
2418 17th St. (916) 231-9934
thccollective.com
No bike rack. Nearby: Art and music at Beatnik Studios across the street, and a strip of Asian eateries around the corner on Broadway.

Abatin Wellness Cooperative
2100 29th St.
There’s a bike rack near the front door, but don’t bother locking up unless you’ve locked in as a cooperative member — $45 to join then a $40 minimum each time you visit that covers just the cost of consultation. The lab-tested, top-shelf pot is priced $17 for 5 grams, making the price of one visit on par with the priced of top-shelf eighths elsewhere. Nearby: The aura of Montel Williams, the televison host/medical marijuana patient and advocate who’s signed on as Abatin’s consultant.

PEDALING FOR POT: GRID-ADJACENT

Nor Cal Alternative Healing
515 Broadway, (916) 448-3590
This bunker-like dispensary is located five industrial blocks away from a portion of bike trail less traveled that’s worth traveling because the ride passes some really cool steam-punk-looking train engines near Miller Park on the Sacramento River and takes you within a half block of the California Automobile Museum (2200 Front St). Nearby: South Side Park.

Hugs
2035 Stockton Blvd., (916) 452-3699
On the edge of the UC Davis Medical Center area less than 1 mile beyond Midtown’s border. Ride the T Street bike route eastward until it crosses Stockton Boulevard, continue 2 blocks and turn right on 39th Street, ride 2 more blocks and turn right on U Street. Arrive at Hugs in 2 blocks. Next door: Lock up at the Starbucks on the corner of Stockton, 100 yards away and shorten your ride. Burgers at Stockton Grill next door. Enjoy a Laverne and Shirley daydream outside the picture window of the Coca-Cola bottling plant a third of a mile south on Stockton. Merlino’s Orange Freeze is a half mile beyond that.

PEDALING FOR POT: OFF THE TRAIL

MediZen Collective
2201 Northgate Blvd. Suite H, (916) 564-6625
medizencollective.com
Located a quarter of a mile off the bike trail midway between Old Sacramento and Cal Expo. From either direction, exit north on Northgate Boulevard. Follow the bike route across the Arden-Garden connector. MediZen’s on the left. Free massages Thursdays, free chiropractic Tuesdays, both by appointment. Located in a semi-sketchy strip mall with no bike rack — but there’s a bike repair shop next door. Nearby: While Medizen has the best selection of pot-laced ice cream and push-up pops in town, those treats will melt by the time you get home to responsibly medicate, so grab paletas — creamy coconut, deep-purple hibiscus flower or other exotically flavored frozen confections on sticks — from the Mexican ice cream shop in the plaza. Across the street, there’s La Superior Market, with a fruiteria and snow cone vendor in front and Mexican take-out meals in back.

River City Wellness
3830 Northgate Blvd.(916) 922-4228
rivercitywellness.org
Follow directions to MediZen and continue riding 3 miles up Northgate — in a designated bike lane, flat all the way. No bike rack, but River City offers one free joint and a bit of hash per patient per day. On Fridays, 524, the Mexican restaurant next door, sets out nachos in the dispensary. En route: A street-foodie fiesta — taco trucks, push-cart fruterios, chicken grilling in parking lots.

Unity Non-Profit Cooperative
1832 Tribute Road, Suite #E, (916) 564-1824
unitynpc.org
Be amazed that it’s easier to get here by bike than it is by car; and you’re less likely to get swept onto the Highway 160 on-ramp when you miss Unity’s driveway. Exit the bike trail onto Tribute Road about the 4-mile mark, near Cal Expo’s mitigation tract west of the Business 80 freeway and near the railroad trestle. Cross Exposition Boulevard. Unity’s driveway is on the right, half a mile from trail. No bike rack. Nearby: Costco hot dogs half a mile away.

Millennium Health and Wellness Center
9315 La Riviera Drive, (916) 363-6420
Exit the bike trail at Watt Avenue. Ride 1.2 miles on La Riveria Drive, a bike route. You can also ride here coming from the Green Harmony-Collective 50-District 215 triangle, 1.3 miles east on nearby Folsom Boulevard. No bike rack. Nearby: Fulfill your bucket-list desire to try mysterious Korean and Chinese restaurants.

Alternative Medical Center
8665 Folsom Blvd, (916) 386-3588
sacamc.com
Don’t try riding here via Watt Avenue from the bike trail. Watt Avenue is a death strip of freeway on-ramps and off-ramps, nowhere near bike-safe. Instead, exit the bike trail and cross the river on the Watt Avenue Bridge to La Rivera Drive. Turn right on Salmon Fall Drive and continue riding 2 residential miles to the bike bridge that crosses Highway 50. Cross the freeway and head straight on Manlove Road, then turn right on Folsom Boulevard and ride west. Total trip: 3 miles from the Watt Avenue trailhead. Or ride west on Folsom Boulevard from Millennium Health and Wellness, 1.7 miles. No bike rack.

Green Harmony Collective
2853 Bradshaw Road, (916) 222-3099
Exit the bike trail at River Bend Park in Rancho Cordova. Turn right onto Folsom Boulevard and ride 2.5 miles west on a flat and straight bike route. No bike rack. Nearby: Fulfill your bucket-list desire to try mysterious Korean and Chinese restaurants.

Sacramento Health Center
3336 Bradshaw Road, (916) 455-5415
sacramentohealthcenter.com
Ride Bradshaw Road an eighth of a mile east, across Highway 50. Nearby: Fulfill your bucket-list desire to try mysterious Korean and Chinese restaurants.

District 215 Collective
9555 Folsom Blvd., (916) 821-4480
Follow directions to Green Harmony and ride .3 mile farther on Folsom Boulevard. No bike rack. Nearby: Fulfill your bucket-list desire to try mysterious Korean and Chinese restaurants.

Collective 50
9663 Folsom Blvd., (916) 706-3940
collective50.com
Follow directions to District 215 and ride .4 mile farther. No bike rack. Nearby: Fulfill your bucket-list desire to try mysterious Korean and Chinese restaurants.

Paradise Wellness
6240 Fair Oaks Blvd., (916) 484-7185
Located 3 miles from the bike trail’s Harrington Access, west of the bridge that crosses the river near Goethe Park. Exit the trail onto Arden Way, then ride north on Fair Oaks Boulevard. Continue past Paradise and encounter 5 more dispensaries in the next 3 miles. (See sidebar The Harder They Ride) No bike rack. Nearby: Home of the Cannabis Coliseum, a 5,000-square-foot events space. The Harrington bike trail access is about 2 miles from SoilBorn Farms (see sidebar).

Alternate Medical Source
9721 Fair Oaks Blvd., (916) 536-1344
A quarter-mile uphill ride from the Sunrise Recreation Area/Sacramento Bar exit on the bike trail puts you less than a quarter of a mile away from Alternate Medical Source. No bike rack. Nearby: Sunflower Drive-In (10344 Fair Oaks Blvd.) is three-quarters of a mile away, across Sunrise Boulevard, where Fair Oaks Village blooms with art galleries and chickens in the park.

Mary Jane’s Wellness
2271 Sunrise Blvd., Suite B,(916) 635-BUDS
Exit the bike trail onto Sunrise Boulevard south at the Sunrise Recreation Area and make an eighth-mile sprint in the bike lane and cross at Coloma Road. No bike rack, but all grams are $10. Even better: Sunflower Drive-In is just 2.1 miles in the return direction, across the old Bridge Street Bridge, near the 20-mile point on the trail where someone scrawled a 4 in front of the 20.

Gaia’s Gift
6247 Main St., Orangevale,(916) 987-2863
gaiasgift.org
Exit the bike trail at Negro Bar State Park and ride west, 1.4 miles on bike-routed Greenback Lane. Turn right onto Main and Gaia’s is an eighth of a mile on the left. Nearby: Gluten-free and sugar-free chocolates at the iBleedchocolate in the adjacent storefront strip. Griddled burgers on big French rolls ($6) and primo pastrami sandwiches at Bernie’s International Deli (9270 Greenback Lane). Shaved ice at California Sushi & Teriyaki (9267 Greenback Lane), adjacent to the Orangevale farmers market. Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park is short ride from the Negro Bar trailhead, and is and close to galleries and eateries in Historic Folsom.

Nature’s Own Collective
6834 Main St., Orangevale, (916) 476-9333
Follow directions to Gaia’s Gift and ride an additional quarter of a mile. Nearby: See Gaia’s Gift.

Enso Wellness
6224 Walnut Ave., Orangevale, (916) 988-8500
Follow directions to Gaia’s Gift, staying on Greenback Lane an additional 1.3 miles before turning right on Walnut, where Enso is the second driveway on the right. No bike rack. Nearby: See Gaia’s Gift.

Magnolia Wellness
9198 Greenback Lane, Orangevale, (916) 865-7351
magnoliawellness.org
Follow directions to Enso Wellness but stay on Greenback Lane an additional 1.3 miles. Massage by appointment. No bike rack. Nearby: Tom Tomich Orchard’s produce stand (see Places That Grow sidebar).

Doctor’s Orders Collective
8700 Greenback Lane Suite C, Orangevale, (916) 564-2112
doctorsorders.us
Follow directions to Magnolia Wellness. Ride an additional 1.3 miles. No bike rack: Nearby: Maybe you were fazed by Wal-Mart and Winco nearby, but you passed Tom Tomich Orchard about 1 mile ago (see sidebar). Next door is the Persian restaurant Kolbeh Kabob.

——————–
SIDEBAR
——————–

THE HARDER THEY RIDE

Want a more difficult ride that takes you farther off the American River Bike Trail? A ride that loops you past 8 dispensaries in 17 miles, returning you to the bike trail?

Riding from either direction on the trail, exit at the Harrington Access west of Ancil Hoffman Park, where Fair Oaks Boulevard soon becomes a smoothly paved suburban silk road of pot.

Pedal just under 3 miles in the bike lane before reaching Paradise Wellness. There’ll be two more dispensaries (City of Trees and Foothill Wellness) in the next 1.5 miles. Another mile, two more dispensaries (California Holistic Wellness and Kris’ Corner). Go a third of a mile farther and you’ll hit Sunnyfields. That’s six dispensaries in less than 6 miles.

Ride another 3 miles and you’re at Alternate Medical Source on Fair Oaks near Sunrise. Mary Jane’s Wellness is 1 mile away, across the river. Sunflower Drive-In is in between both, a half mile from the bike trail.

– Ed Murrieta

——– SIDEBAR ——-

BICYCLE WELLNESS
Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen offers free repair clinics Saturday mornings at SoilBorn Farms, adjacent to the American River Bike Trail near the 15.5 mile mark at Hagen Park in Rancho Cordova. Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen’s Midtown location, 1915 I St., enables do-it-yourself repairs in The Grid.

——– SIDEBAR ——-
WHERE IT GROWS
You may find a patch of river weed along the American River Bike Trail, but do you expect to find an organic produce farm? How about a local farm in the shadow of Wal-Mart? They’re both out there as you pedal for pot.

SoilBorn Farms, an organic urban farming pioneer that encourages pedaling for produce, is at the 15.5-mile point on the trail, next to Hagen Park in Rancho Cordova. Its produce stand is open weekends. Farm tours are available. soilbornfarms.org.

Tom Tomich Orchard (6331 Filbert Ave.) is two suburban blocks off Greenback Lane midway between Magnolia Wellness and Doctor’s Orders Collective. Just two blocks away from Wal-Mart, the orchard is a vestige of a time when more than pot dispensaries blossomed in Orangevale. The produce stand is open daily.

Into aquaculture? Tour the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. It’s on the American River Bike Trail near the Orangevale dispensary ride.

– Ed Murrieta

——– SIDEBAR ——-

WHERE TO RENT BICYCLES
Sacramento has a novel way of dispensing bicycles, too. Ride Your Own Way (rideyourownway.org) has bike-rental kiosks at two Midtown locations. Pay by credit card, grab a bike and ride. There’s a kiosk centrally located at 16th and I streets(equidistant to Northstar and The Green Door) and one at 28th and J streets (near Green Solutions, A Therapeutic Alternative, J Street Wellness and Abatin Wellness). Here are more bike rental shops that offer convenient access to the American River Bike Trail and other points to start pedaling for pot.

OLD SACRAMENTO
Bike Sacramento
1050 Front St., (916) 444-0200

Practical Cycle
114 J St., (916) 706-0077

DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO
Bikes and Bites
1013 12th St., (916) 705-0452

MIDTOWN SACRAMENTO
City Bicycle Works
2419 K St., (916) 705-0452

SUNRISE / FAIR OAKS
River Rat
4053 Pennsylvania Ave., (916) 966-6777

ORANGEVALE / FOLSOM
CSUS Aquatic Center
1901 Hazel Ave., Rancho Cordova, (916) 985-7239

Bicycles Plus
705 Gold Lake Drive #320, Folsom, (916) 355-8901

WHERE TO STAY
The Greens Hotel (1700 Del Paso Blvd., thegreenshotel.com) is an eco-friendly boutique hotel located 1 mile from the American River Bike Trail, minutes north of downtown Sacramento. Hip to Portland’s Jupiter Hotel? Similar vibe here, with Limn designer furniture. Rooms starting at $69. Pet friendly, plus an outdoor pool.

To hit the bike trail from The Greens, ride a quarter of a mile south on Del Paso Boulevard. Turn right onto Arden Way’s bike lane. Pick up the trail in 1 mile. MediZen, the nearest dispensary, is about a half mile away, following the Arden-Garden connector or the bike trail directions.

Embassy Suites Riverfront Promenade (100 Capitol Mall) overlooks the Sacramento River and a bike trail, and is close to Old Sacramento. Suites with two double beds start at $139, full breakfast included. Smoking rooms available. Indoor pool and whirlpool.

King suites start at $229 per night at Marriott’s Residence Inn (1121 15th St.) Centrally located, across from the state Capitol at the intersection of two bike routes. Bike rentals in the lobby. Nice breakfast buffet, outdoor pool and a whirlpool.

Rio Ramaza Marina RV & Event Park (10000 Garden Highway, louisianasue.com) is the host of Hempfest Sacramento Aug. 19-21 (hempfestival.org). Camping and RV parking. For hard-core riders: It’s 18 miles to downtown on Garden Highway, a meandering two-lane river road.

– Ed Murrieta