It started with sand, then spread quickly to the mountains. Now anywhere a person can walk, run or drive there are bicycles these days.
Fancy looking bikes with carbon-fiber frames, aluminum wheels, 24 speeds forward, fat tires and even shock absorbers - front and rear.And people ride them everywhere. To work, for recreation and for health. They ride them on highways, backways and anyways and even on trails that don't look like trails.
And they're doing it in record numbers. National figures show that more than 100 million people own bicycles whereas in 1983 there were 75 million bikers. Here in Utah it's no different. While there are no official counts, consensus is that most every home has at least one TV and one bicycle.
One reason, of course, is interest in fitness. Another is it costs less to push bicycle pedals than car pedals and produces far less pollution.
Another is that bikes are better - they look better, ride better and can go anywhere a rider dares.
That wasn't always the case. Early bikes were heavy and limited as to where they could go. Many also found the old 10-speeds uncomfortable, with the down-turned handle bars and shoulder-high seat.
Then came the introduction of the mountain bike, or sand bike, back in the 1970s. Californians wanted something that went over sand and didn't sink. So they came up with a rugged, fat-tire invention with a lot of gears when the sand was soft and sticky.
Then it was discovered that with all those gears these bikes could also go uphill rather easily and with the fat tires could take bumps with ease.
In 1983, there were around 200,000 mountain bikes across the country. Last year there were 25 million such bikes. By the end of this year it is expected there will be 30 million.
Figures also show that most of those out buying mountain bikes are past their childhood years and firmly set in the child-rearing and even grandchild-rearing years. The fastest-growing age class in bicycling is 35 and over.
Utah certainly hasn't been bypassed by this movement - not with a landscape that was made for the new bikes.
Moab, for example, has been called one of the finest biking areas in the country. Since bikers discovered its sturdy red-shale rock, the town's room tax, a good measure of increased visitation, has grown steadily at a 20 percent annual rate.
More than 100,000 bikers are expected to ride over nearby Slick Rock Trail this year. Other parts of the state are only now being discovered.
Which is why there is currently a big push to make more room for bicyclers. (See additional stories on page D2.)
The Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are all expanding biking opportunities.
Cities are expanding bike paths and making roads wider to accommodate bikers. The state's highway department is doing the same.
Communities like Park City, Logan and Brian Head are offering trails and even tours to bikers.
Even ski areas are getting into the picture. Park City and Snowbird have opened trails to bikers, and Solitude and Deer Valley are offering chairlift rides up their mountains for cyclists and cycles.
There are even plans to connect different states with bike trails.
Helping, too, in this muscle-power movement are the bicycles. There're no longer simply a couple of tires, padded seat and chrome handlebars with plastic grips.
Today's bikes are lighter, which makes them easier to pedal. That and the 24 gears available on many bikes make it possible to pedal up anything short of a vertical cliff.
The return to straight handlebars also has made the new bikes more comfortable.
And, of course, today's bikes simply look more exciting. They look fast and powerful. And they're more affordable. Even some of the so-called less- expensive bikes are now coming out with some of the features only the high-priced machines used to carry.
Bicycling is enjoying a resurgence, and Utah is among the leaders. And behind the push of current plans, Utah could well take the lead in recreational cycling.