On the side of a hill in the woods at the edge of Nipper Maher Park sit century-old stone artifacts from when Waltham was the center of American cycling.

The park was once the site of the Waltham Bicycle Park, a giant dirt racetrack built in 1893. Pieces of stone pillars that served as the foundation of the park’s 9,000-seat grandstand can still be found near the Nipper Maher baseball fields.

On Saturday, Sept. 24, a group of bike enthusiasts and historians are hosting an Charles River history bike ride through Waltham and surrounding towns. The ride will make stops at historic sites along the way to talk about the people and places that made this area the heart of bicycle riding, racing and recreation.

“It’s bicycling archaeology,” said Larry Finison, co-leader of the ride and author of the book, “Boston’s Cycling Craze, 1880-1900: A Story of Race, Sport and Society.” “You can see literally how cyclists would have traveled those days.”

In his book, Finison’s writes about the local people and places that made cycling popular at the end of the 19th century. The book also focuses on the the trains, streetcars, boats, picnic parks and other transportation infrastructure that allowed people to come here from all over Massachusetts to ride their bikes.

“The area was much more rural then it is now, so people would come out here for recreation” said John Allen, co-leader of the ride and a member of the Waltham bike committee.

Allen got to know Finison when the two worked on compiling archival material for the UMass Boston library, which is internationally known as a cycling research destination, according to Allen. After the publication of Finison’s book in 2014, the duo realized a lot of what’s written about in the book could be pointed out locally. They organized the first ride in the spring of 2015 and have hosted it three or four times since.

“It’s a lot of fun to do it this way,” Finison said, comparing the historical bike ride to giving a sit down lecture.

The 12-mile ride is open to the public and makes about a dozen stops, including four in Waltham. In addition to Nipper Maher Park, the group stops at the site of Charles Metz’s Orient bicycle factory; the site of the Nuttings on the Charles, the dance hall across from the Waltham Watch Factory and Forest Grove, a picnicking location for bicyclists in the 1890s. The trip also includes a stop at the former police boathouse on Commonwealth Avenue in Newton, now Charles River Canoe and Kayak, where there are still jail cells on the inside.

According to Finison, there were telescopes on the roof to catch people "canoodling" on the river, which meant not sitting up in the canoes as required.

The ride is from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24 and starts at 150 Norumbega Road in Weston. Allen said 10 to 20 people usually attend the ride, but anyone interested in history is welcome.

“It’s an easy ride with lots of stops and most of it on lightly traveled streets or paths,” Allen said. “People should feel comfortable if they’re fit enough to ride 12 miles in three hours.”“

For more information, visit the event website.