I did my very first Wheelmen ride this week and lived to tell about it.

Some of you may know that I am not a cyclist. I'll volunteer to do the membership database, help out during Geno's club presidency, and be the Webmissus for the Web site…..anything to avoid actually getting on a bike.

But Geno cajoled me into doing George Koch's Bicycle Birding ride. The ride description said that this is a "slow, deliberate ride whose purpose is bird ID of familiar species." That sounded fun, though still intimidating to a non-rider. I was hoping for rain. Geno said that we should support George. OK, then.

We started at Goethe Park -- George, Geno and me, and the always entertaining John Klingensmith. The weather was good after a hard rain the night before.

Almost immediately, John excitedly spotted a Swainson's hawk, but, alas, it turned out to be a common turkey vulture. Later, he thought he saw a bald-headed eagle. He really does know his birds, though.

Riding on the American River Bike Trail, we stopped frequently to use the binoculars and spotting scope. And to let me catch up. George gave each of us a checklist of birds in the Sacramento area and, under his expert guidance, we saw almost 45 different bird species. George heard many of the birds before seeing them; he knows them by their song.

We watched wild turkeys on the prowl, their feathers splayed out like a fan to attract female turkeys. And there were two Canada goose couples, taking their goslings out for a swim.

The bike trail is a nice place for spotting other animals, too. We saw deer, jackrabbits, ground squirrels, and lots of pipeline swallowtail butterflies.

Birding works up the appetite, so after a while we detoured to the Waffle Shop in Carmichael. Back on the trail, we saw Wayne Kincannon and a friend out for a ride.

It turned out to be a fine day. George, John, and Geno were great company. I added some new birds to my bird list. And I got to sign my name on the official Wheelmen sign-in sheet….all of 15.6 miles. (That was the short ride. The others rode back on the bike trail as well.) Only 484.4 miles to go for a T-shirt!