Bicyclists are gearing up for a Sunday ride to benefit the American River Parkway, which faces reduced funding this year.

By Monday afternoon, 233 people had already signed up for The Rex Ride, a barbecue/party centered around an up-to 60-mile, low-key ride on the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail -- also known as the American River bike trail.

The 32-mile, multi-use trail is used year-round by virtually everyone in Sacramento's huge cycling community, said event organizer Steve Rex, who owns Rex Cycles bike shop in Midtown.

"It's huge. It's the focus of the cycling culture that's really rich here in Sacramento," said Rex, 47. A serious cycling injury last fall isn't stopping Rex and his wife, Peggy, from hosting the event again this year.

Proceeds will be donated to the American River Parkway Foundation in a year when the parkway and other Sacramento County regional parks are facing substantial cuts.

County parks are proposed to get a $2.3 million reduction, which amounts to 14 percent of the originally proposed $16.1 million budget. The annual $2.5 million ranger budget is proposed to be cut by 22 percent. About $550,000 would be cut by laying off five rangers, including three who mostly work the parkway, said Sacramento County Regional Parks Deputy Director Jill Ritzman.

The $1.4 million maintenance budget for the parkway alone is proposed to be cut by $370,000, or 26 percent. Two full-time maintenance workers would be cut. The county parks system also would lose 30 percent of its seasonal help to clean restrooms and empty trash, Ritzman said.

The ride is sponsored by Rex Cycles. The business started in a garage in 1987, when Rex built custom bike frames at a house he rented with several other guys.

Now at his second shop in the central city, Rex and his wife started The Rex Ride in 2003 because they believed riders would want to give back to the regional bike trail that gives them so much year-round.

"We had wanted to do a ride with customers.... throw a party, get people together, say 'thank you,' and have fun. I thought, if we're getting all these people together, why don't we try to raise money for a charity," he said. "That year, there were threats of severe cuts in funding for the parkway. We decided that the parkway foundation would be a good cause."

Since then, cyclists have raised $130,000 for the parkway foundation, said Peggy Rex, an outpatient surgery nurse at Mercy General Hospital.

Riding actually brought the pair together. They met at Bici Sport, a bike shop that used to operate in East Sacramento.

He got into road racing in college, followed by endurance riding. The couple has done the 760-mile Paris-Brest-Paris ride together in France.

The Rex Ride is a fraction of that. Sign-in runs from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at William Pond Recreation Area near Arden Way and Fair Oaks Boulevard. The route then travels into the city to Discovery Park, where cyclists turn around and head out to Beal's Point in Folsom. The final leg returns to William Pond park.

Cyclists can ride as long as they want. The $70 fee includes rest stops with food and liquids, a T-shirt and other swag and raffle prizes such as a Fat Tire Ale cruiser bike from New Belgium Brewing Co. Those who want to skip the riding can still hit the barbecue party for $25.

Steve Rex is still recovering from a bike crash last fall. He was doing a long and fast weekend training ride with about 50 other riders on El Centro Road near Sacramento International Airport in North Natomas. His hip and elbow were broken in a smash-up when another rider crashed in front of him. He was bedridden for a month.

Two employees kept the shop going while he recuperated. His femur is a different shape now, and he has problems with range of motion. Rex can ride 10 miles into work on the American River bike trail. But he still can't ride more than 50 miles, and he feels pain when he rides. He starts to limp by day's end.

"But I'm blessed to be able to ride my bike and get back to work and just be able to ride," he said.

As a result of the proposed cuts, Sacramento County Regional Parks may have to eliminate its ranger patrol dedicated to illegal camping. Response times for crimes and accidents in the parkways would be longer, Ritzman said. Also, less-popular park sites will be closed.

Money raised by the Rex Ride helps the parkway foundation manage a volunteer program that "augments" staff resources, she said.

"They're not out cleaning up restrooms or rousting homeless folks. But they are doing trail maintenance and protecting natural resources and doing litter pickup," she said.

Steve and Peggy Rex say the bike trail is "very dear" to them. That's why they sponsor the annual event.

"It's about taking care of our most incredible resource in town," she said. "We go all-out. It's a pretty fun day."

To register for the event, go to www.arpf.org.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. She can be reached at 804-2856 or suzanne@sacramentopress.com.