Blessed with quite a few Good Weather Days in February

 Feb. 5- The Practical Side of Recumbent Triking: We needed some new pillows, sheets, etc. so, we headed out for the closest Walmart at Platte Ave and Chelton Rd. Hooked up the Cargo Trailer to the trike and took a more "Bike Lane" route instead of using parts of the trails. After loading up the cargo trailer, we headed to downtown and the Antler's Plaza Starbucks for iced tea to go with our brown bag lunch. Headed over to the Mesa Greenway to its end point, double backed to Fontanero St and the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail and then back to the apartment.

Feb 6- Solo ride and SD card test run- Well Jo had a medical appointment, so I headed out alone. It was a very nice day, but I decided to just stay around close, so I did the Vincent St Bridge Loop ride. I didn't take any photos but, I did enjoy the good weather and found out the SD cards are still functioning as normal, not sure why I had problems with them in the first place. Did the loop and then headed back to the apartment.

Feb 8- A Sunday Ride on a Beautiful Day- Wow what a day, low 60 F temps and lots of sunshine, wish winter was like this all the time! 

Didn't really have a certain destination in mind so we did a lot of wondering around using different trails and bike lanes. What a great day to out and about on a recumbent trike!

Feb 9-Another great day to RIDE, before the upcoming storms- Been fortune it having so many nice days to ride in February! 

Didn't really want to go home but it was getting late and the thought of dinner was on my mind. The storms are supposed to be coming in from the west any day so getting in the rides during this dry spell has made this a decent distance month for being winter!  

Feb 11- A Chilly start but it did warm up, with rain or rain/snow mix coming in on Friday, this was the last chance for a good ride- Decided to go to the Creekside Coffee House for hot tea and the brown bag lunch. Headed up the PPGW to the Cottonwood Creek Trail and up to the CCH. It was a chilly start but warmed up after our lunch so we decided to go all the way to the end point on the CCT. We passed the park, went thru the large tunnel and were on our way. OOPS, we forgot that they are doing creek rerouting and the trail is blocked off! Found a detour and decided to check it out. Single sidewalk but it did take us to a different access point for the trail so we could continue on! 

We headed back down the CCT and then stopped at the Academy Blvd and Woodmen Ave Starbucks for a Think Bar and iced tea break. Rode the CCT to the PPGW and headed south back to the apartment. Although it warmed, we never took off the jackets and vests so it was reminding us that it's still WINTER and can change asap! A nice 22-mile ride before the storms of Friday and Saturday morning, BTW, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! 

Today is Friday the 13th.!! LOL, no biggie but as Saturday is VALENTINES DAY, we won't be riding. Taking the city bus to our favorite cute little Mexican Restaurant, The Bean Bandit for Valentines Lunch! It's even a bit romantic with its inside Mexican courtyard and fountain! No safe place to lock up the trikes and no windows to keep an eye on them, oh well not every adventure can be done by trike! All the best and HAPPY TRAILS. 😍

It's Winter, January is as usual, at hit and miss month weather wise!

 Have managed to get in a ride here and there, alas, with weather and medical appointments, winter just seems to be really hard to get to do continues rides! We did get fortune enough, to find out about an event a couple of days before the ride. 

This is the Alex Pretti Memorial Ride for Colorado Springs, CO. Alex Pretti was gunned down by ICE agents in Minnesota, he was a VA Nurse and supposedly went to help a lady who got pushed down and then was surrounded by Agents, they saw he had a gun, he had a Permit to Carry a firearm. The encounter, got out of hand and he was shot. Now, I wasn't there and will never know what really happened! 

Alex was also a long-time bicyclist and a great customer at a local area bike shop, the Bike Shop decided to have a Memorial Ride for Alex, it was posted by FACEBOOK, and they asked Bike Shops around the country to also have a Memorial Ride for a fellow cyclist. There were over 250 bike shops across the USA that on Jan. 31st. at 11 AM, held a Memorial Ride, we joined the one here in Colorado Springs. Not to protest but to show solidarity and remembrance of a fellow cyclist!!

The start of the Memorial Ride in Colorado Springs, CO. at Building 3 Coffee House, Lincon Center

Jo on the eastern (dirt) Pikes Peak Greenway, heading to America the Beautiful Park in downtown

230+ riders, stopped to fix a flat by the "CREW", heading to America the Beautiful Park

 

We arrived at the Julie Penrose Fountain in America the Beautiful Park, gathered to hear speakers and take a group photo. Some headed back to the Lincon Center for a gathering at the Goat Patch Brewery. We don't drink liquor, we decided to ride up to Sinton Trail and get a cheap hot dog lunch at the Mavrick Station Store, then to Angletech to buy a better helmet MIRROR for my new SENA R1 Smart (intercom) helmet. 

The old-style helmet mirror I had was designed to attach to glasses and just wouldn't work with the new helmet. Safe Zone Helmet Mirror, very adjustable and easy to attach, with a much larger mirror!! We prefer helmet mirrors over trike mounted mirrors, more view of different angles rearward. A bit pricey at $43.00 but worth it and made in the USA! :) 

The weather started out quite chilly but warmed nicely with lots of sunshine, a nice improvement for days before, good ride, nice company, no problems, except the flat tire someone on the ride had! 

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February 1, 2026- Food and Supplies Run and headed to the Creekside Coffee House- We don't own a car, so it's been tough with the weather to get to the food store, we were out of everything! Sunday was even warmer than Saturday, headed to Walmart Market Place via the Rock Island Trail and side street or two. Pulling the cargo trailer behind my trike, did the shopping, loaded up the trailer and panniers, then back home to put away the frozen and cold items, then headed out to the Coffee House. 

LOL, we forgot it was Sunday, the Creekside Coffee House is hooked to a local church, it's closed on Sunday's! We rode the PPGW north and picked up the Cottonwood Creek Trail east to the CC House, turned around and headed back on a fast downhill to the Starbucks on Woodman and Academy Blvd for iced tea to go with our brown bag lunch! The sun on the patio felt good and we finished lunch and headed back down the Cottonwood Creek Trail to the PPGW south and back to apartment as it was nearing 4 PM. Nicely, the sun is now up till about 5:15 PM so we can ride a bit later in the afternoon!  

Cottonwood Creek, from one of the MANY bridges that cross back and forth over the Creek on the Cottonwood Creek Trail. The view looks west towards Pikes Peak

Well, that's a rap folks, today, Monday Feb. 2 Happy Ground Hog's Day, it very gray, cloudy and chilly and I have medical appointments/classes, for both Tues. and Weds. Hopefully be able to get in a ride on Thursday and Friday. Maybe also on Sunday, Taxes getting done on Saturday so no ride RATS! Till we come together, next time, Happy Trails! 

January 18- Last ride before the serious snow and cold set in and intercom head set test.

 Sadly, this was the last ride due to either COLD or SNOW or medical appointments!! Today is the 28th. so, it's been 10 days without a ride! Looking like we might be able to get back in the saddle again for the upcoming weekend!! :) 

January 18, 2026- Finally a decent weather day and the first test of our new SENA R1 helmets with intercom headsets built in! 

We have been wanting these blue tooth/intercom helmets for a long time; we finally bit the bullet and bought the older style R1 helmets as they put them on sale!  Lots of cold, WIND and snow at times but the 18th. was heading to mid 50 F temps and only a slight breeze. I will say the "Set up and Pairing" of the R1 helmets was a real PITA!!! We finally figured it with a lot of trial and errors! Headed out for multi-trail-path ride but the big thing was the helmets test, and I will have to say they worked well!! We did find that the Half Mile Range was only good "in a straight line", i.e.: no buildings or large curves but it worked well at a Quarter Mile Range!!

All in all, we are quite happy with the helmets/intercoms, it's great not to have to SCREAM to let the other know of a turn or which way to go if a fork in the trail happens! As stated, the R1 helmet is the original bicycle helmet style, connecting by Bluetooth, I think the newer, R2 and other models have more upscale communication systems and microphones installed. This will work for us and at $129.00 each, really not too much over a standard helmet from a bicycle/recumbent shop! Sorry no photos but here is the YouTube video on our YT Channel, "Out and About on the Recumbents" for your enjoyment! 

That's it for now folks. Here is hoping the next few days is good enough to ride without a lot of cold WINDS and it's taken several days for the 10 inches of snow to melt off the trails and streets! Happy Trail's