April 2026- Showers making more flowers but appointments making LESS rides! :(

Well, we have been getting a lot of afternoon lite rain showers as April has come to So. Colorado! The flowers are booming but sadly, our rides have been less due to it's our 6-month assessment time with Rocky Mountain PACE senior care so we have had constant medical appointments, RATS. Our only ride in April so far, has been on Saturday April 4th.

4/4/2026-Pikes Peak Region Recumbent Network, (PPRRN) Meet & Eat ride to Tasty Freeze Diner and their season opening

As the "administrator" for the PPRRN Facebook Group, I try to set up a once-a-month Meet & Eat Ride. The rains dried up for Sat. the 4th., at the same time it was the Season Opening for the 50's style Tasty Freeze Drive Inn. With a "Meet & Eat", you pick a restaurant, Diner, Coffee House, etc. and let the members know a "Meet Time". This way they can ride to the Meet point at their pace and choose the route they prefer to get there! 

Jo and I set up a secondary meeting place to let folks, RIDE IN with us from the Julie Penrose Fountain in America the Beautiful Park in downtown Colorado Springs at 11:10. We only had one other couple show up, Mark and Diane on their AZUB bike and trike. The four of us headed out the Pikes Peak Greenway to the Rock Island and the Shooks Run Trail over to the Diner. Got our food, they had ice cream and we had a good gab session and then headed out in different directions. A very enjoyable ride with great folks and good food too! 

 From there, we headed south on Shooks Run Trail, then Midland Trail and Chaurrs Trail, (very short) over to the Walnut St. bike lane, then the Mesa Springs Greenway, over the Ped Bridge to Monument Valley Park for a restroom break. Back over the Ped Bridge and the Mesa Springs Greenway to the Pikes Peak Greenway and finally home. Good weather, great folks and a fun day for a RIDE! 

                                            

                                            Video Short-6-minute version

                                            Video-Long Version

Yes, not much riding so far, hopefully now that the medical assessments are over, the afternoon rains with mellow and we can get "Out and About on the Recumbents! Till we come together again, my fine friends, HAPPY TRAILS!

Even more Fake Summer rides here in So. CO. in March!!

 Arrugh, again I have fallen way behind in updating the blog so here is more "Fake Summer Riding" here in Colorado Springs, Colorado, LETS RIDE!

March 19- Rode the Homestead Trail North. 

This trail is really hard to get to the starting point, it's got NO "signed" starting point! You pick up the first turn to the left, while heading across Academy Blvd and heading east on Mazeland Dr. There is a dirt and grass trail along the small drainage canal and that takes you to Penrose Park and the dirt/old asphalt trail, heading south. Lots of broken asphalt and dirt patches but just after Oro Blanco, it turns to concrete for a while heading north. The rest is mixed asphalt and gravel. We only go as far as the Trail Overlook; it's too rutted and slick gravel on a steep downhill!! It's also only a once or twice a year ride, it really beats up on the trikes!

March 21- Food and Supplies Ride. 

Time again, to go get some food, hooked up the cargo trailer and headed to Walmart Market on Union Blvd. Then headed out to lunch after that and back home!

March 25- "Fake Summer" ride to Palmer Park Overlook

Jo had a rare "lunch date" with her sister Sue so I took off on my own, headed up Rock Island Trail to go to the Academy Blvd Mavrick Station Store for a HOT DOG BBQ chips and iced tea lunch!! Decided to challenge myself with a steep climb on a thin 2 lane only black top road that is the ONLY road in Palmer Park barely safe enough on a recumbent trike!! The view is excellent!

From there I picked up the sidewalk on Circle Drive to get over to the T-Gap Trail down to the Pikes Peak Greenway and up to the UVC Center for iced tea at Panera Bread. Back to the Greenway and home.

 March 26- Errand Run and a different view of the Garden of the Gods City Park, (Mostly a music video).

First, we headed to the Walmart Super Center on 8th. street to return 2-wallets that the pockets were too small for credit cards, etc. to FIT into!! Made our way over to the Midland Trail, headed west to get to Ridge Road. We stopped at Mc Donalds for, cheap iced tea!! Ridge Road heading north goes through the back side of the Garden of the Gods park. Picked up the Foothills Trail heading east to the Sinton Trail west, Pikes Peak Greenway and home.

March 28- Creekside Coffee House, Cottonwood Creek Trail and a bit more

It was supposedly going to be mostly cloudy, but the sun came out and the temps climbed quickly! Headed up the PP Greenway to get to the junction with the Cottonwood Creek Trail. Did a right turn onto the CCT and headed east to get to the Creekside Coffee House for iced teas and brown bag special. Headed back down the CCT to pick up the Vincent Frontage Road and Path down to the Cracked Trail, heading south along Nevada Ave. Followed the path to the UVC Panera Bread for iced tea and a FREE loaf of bread, it pays to be a MEMBER! Then back down the PP Greenway to the apartment, calling it a day. Great day to Ride!

THAT'S ALL FOLKS, till next time, Happy Trails and BTW, HAPPY EASTER Holidays too! 

And still more March Rides!

 We headed out to Angletech, to get Jo's new 9 speed drive train installed by Joshia, it was gray, cloudy and Very Windy! At least, there wasn't any snow and the trails and streets were mostly clear. 

March 13- Got to Angletech, then walked over to the Black Bear Diner for lunch, we met up and talked to guy named Pete, I believe, he too was getting service work done on his recumbent trike. He was going to pay the bill, load up the trike and meet us at the Black Bear but alas, he never showed up? Might have needed more and just couldn't find the Diner.

We headed back to the shop, after lunch and Jo's trike wasn't quite done, the "rapid shifter" wasn't working well, he got a different one installed and it was fine, Jo did a test ride around the complex area and was quite happy with the results. From her old 7 speed, friction shifter set up to a 11x40 9 speed, rapid shifter set up! Headed back down Sinton Trail to the T-Gap Trail to get in some more miles and let Jo get a bit use to the new drive train, yes, it did also receive a new, long cage rear derailleur too! Off of the T-Gap to Nancy Lewis Park and then home via the Rock Island Trail!

March 14- PPRRN Meet & Eat ride to the Creekside Cafe- A Meet & Eat is a self-lead ride to a destination to "gather to meet and eat"! I try to set up one a month, in the warmer weather months for the Pikes Peak Region Recumbent Network (PPRRN). Jo and I told members that if they wanted to ride up together meet us a Criterium Bicycle Shop on the Pikes Peak Greenway at 10:15 AM. We waited a bit later and Mark and Diane rode up; we headed up the PPGW to pick up the Cottonwood Creek Trail and head to the Creekside Coffee House. 

Enjoyed the company on a very nice morning, heading northeast up the CCT to just before Union Blvd. The Creekside Coffee House is hooked to a local church; it has a very nice patio area and an even nicer inside area too! We had a very good sandwich and iced tea, enjoyed the company of Mark and Dianne, they told us about their ride on the AZUB 25th. Anniversary gathering overseas and all about the Tuson TOT recumbent rally in AZ. After all was said and done, Jo and I headed south for an errand run to Walmart for Yarn and new wallets. Mark and Diane headed northeast for home. We rode the PPGW over to the 8th. Street Walmart and then headed to STIR's for more iced tea and a protein bar, then back to the apartment.

That's it for now folks, between weather and medical appointments, etc. we haven't gotten in any more rides. Jo has a dental appointment on Thursday the 19th. so, I will be out and about on the "recumbent" on a solo ride as the temps are going to be a new record high in the 80 F range, WOHOO! Happy Trails! :)