End of July Rides, sadly summer is going FAST!

 Well, it's almost the end of July, the summer is waning fast as usual, RATS.  Here is the rest of the rides for July 2026, August is on it's way, just like the afternoon Monsoon Rains here in Southern Colorado! And away We GO!

July 24- Cottonwood Creek Trail and Creekside Coffee House Ride

It has been a bit since we stopped at the Creekside Coffee House for iced tea, the CCH is part of a church outreach program, so they aren't open on Sundays. LOL, it seemed every time we thought about heading up there it was a Sunday! So, this Friday we headed north on the Pikes Peak Greenway up to the connector for the Cottonwood Creek Trail and stopping at the Creekside Coffee House on another 90F+ day. The covered patio really felt good as we sipped out iced tea and ate our brown bag special lunch. 

We rode northeast on the CCT to a turnaround point, just off the trail at a Circle K convenience store and then headed south back to the Cottonwood Creek Park and then south on the CCT. It was getting hotter as the afternoon came on so we rode to the Vincent St. bridge, picked up the Vincent Frontage Road Trail to the Nevada Ave trail over to the "Cracked Trail" and the double wide sidewalk to the UCCS underpass and stopped at the University Village Colorado Center, Panera Bread for more iced tea and an Atkins Bar snack in the inside to bask in the Air Conditioning!! Time to head back to the apartment to get out of the HEAT for the rest of the day!

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July 25- T-Gap Trail kick back SOLO Ride

I am sure by now that you have figured out it's been "HOT" here in Southern Colorado for a few weeks now! Severe drought conditions, ultra-high UV, etc. Jo, being a type 2 diabetic, the heat is even worse for her, she got very little sleep the night before, had a headache and felt lousy so she decided to stay home in the AC and be mellow for the day. I headed out for a ride a bit earlier than regular. Decided to jump on the Pikes Peak Greenway and head for the junction with the Templeton Gap (T-Gap) Trail for my days ride! 

It's a mellow ride with good views and a lot of open spaces for an "urban trail", stopped at Portal Park to use the facilities and a bit of a "shade break"! Then back into the partly sunny and kinda humid day, through the Union Blvd underpass tunnel and continued on the T-Gap down into the belly of the drainage canal and north to the current end point at Ranch Drive. A quick U-turn and headed back down the T-Gap Trail, onto the Union Blvd access path and Templeton Gap Road and bike lane. heading west to pick up the Rock Island Trail to the junction and then south on Shooks Run Trail and end up at the Tasty Freeze Drive Inn for iced tea and an excellent grilled hotdog and bun, YUM! 

Back on the Shooks Run south to the junction and bridge over the creek to hook up with the Pikes Peak Ave. bike lane through downtown Colorado Springs. After downtown, got on the Colorado Ave. bike lane and turned into America the beautiful park to get on the Pikes Peak Greenway, north. Stopped in the shade at Monument Valley Park Picnic Pavillion for a water and Atkins bar break. Heat was 97 F, decided to head home to the AC myself!

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July 26- Cloudy day ride to Manitou Springs, hang'in out at the park

Jo felt better after the rest day, so we headed out to Manitou Springs. Heading south on the Pikes Peak Greenway to the Fontanero St. bike lane and jumped on to the Mesa Springs Greenway heading south, back street to the Walnut St. bike lane over to the Cuchruess St. Trail, (otherwise known as the world's shortest trail), to the Midland Trail, then heading west towards Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs. 

Continuing past 31st. St. to Ridge Road and the Manitou Springs underpass and then it quickly changes to the "Creek Walk Trail" as you enter Manitou Springs proper! The trail heads through Fields Park to Scheyver Park and all the way to Memorial Park and the 7-Minute Spring. We only took it as far as the old wooden bridge turnaround at the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce building, got back on the Creekwalk Trail, now heading east and stopped at Scheyver Park and had our brown bag lunch on benches by the creek. 

Luckly, for us, there is a very close, Subway shop so I walked up and got a large, unsweet iced tea and walked back to the bench. We enjoyed the babbling brook mini-waterfall and the shade. Back on the trail and headed back out of Manitou and to America the Beautiful Park to catch the Colorado Ave. bike lane back into downtown, the Pikes Peak Ave. bike lane to pick up Shooks Run Trail, north and head to the Good Neighbors Meeting House for herbal berry iced tea and our Atkins bar snack. Had enough of the HEAT again, headed home to the AC, so nice!

 

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Due to the 80% chances of heavy thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday, we decided to take morning WALKS instead of riding! Probably won't ride again till Sunday, August 2nd. as we have a "Colorado 150th. Birthday Event at the Pioneer Museum Event" we have scored tickets too. Easier to walk to downtown and not have to find a safe place to park and lock up the trikes! So, until we Come Together, Again, HAPPY TRAILS, may your August be awesome! BJ & Jo :)  

Catching up on July Rides during this HOT DRY Summer

 It's been HOT & Dry since our last blog entry so there's a bit of catching up to do, so let's get at it!

July 11- Angletech, then just out for a ride on a HOT-DRY Day:

Headed up Sinton Trail to Angletech, then we just kinda pointed the wheels in a direction and headed out here and there. We headed for the Garden of the Gods Rd. Mavrick Station cafe for iced tea and lunch. Then, headed north on the double-wide sidewalk to pick up 30th. Street and the Foothills Trail that goes in front of the access to Garden of the Gods Park. Down to the Midland Trail and west to the Creek Walk Trail and into a portion of Manitou Springs. Headed back going east on the CWT/MT into downtown and headed back to the apartment.

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July 12- Rode to the Starsmoor Visitor & Nature Center in North Cheyenne Canyon Park to check out the upgrades made to the Center entry and Parking lots.

Another HOT-DRY day, 90F we decided to head up to the Starsmoor Center so we jumped on the Cascade St. bike lane to get to the Tejon St. bike lane and finally the Cheyenne Blvd. bike lane heading up into North Cheyenne Canyon. Normally we stop at the Sacred Grounds Cafe but on Sundays, they only serve a great but expensive BRUNCH menu! So after checking out the upgrades we headed back the same route, except we took back streets over to the Southgate Center and the Panera Bread for iced tea and the brown bag lunch. Back on the Tejon St. bike lane we headed thru town to the Shooks Run Trail, north for a bit more shade along the trail to the Drive Inn for more iced tea and a Atkins Bar and then home via Shooks Run/Rock Island!

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July 15- Mission Ride, then rode the Templeton Gap (T-Gap) Trail and Austin Bluffs Trail

Jo made a computer tablet cover for a friend, but it needed a repair so we dropped it at their apartment on the using the T-Gap trail. Got back on the trail and rode it till we veered off and picked up the Austin Bluffs Trail till it dead ends. Headed back but went off trail using a smooth as glass paved back road to a different entry point on the T-Gap trail heading southeast. We then picked up a pathway to Templeton Gap Road, got on the bike lane and rode past Nancy Lewis Park, picked up the Rock Island west to Shooks Run south and made our way to the Good Neighbors Meeting House for Herbal Berry iced tea and a Atkins bar, then home to cool off from the 90F+ temps!

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July 17- Food Run and Lunch Ride:

Alas, we were running out of FOOD, so it was time for a Food Run and Lunch Ride. Headed east on the Rock Island Trail to the Union Blvd. Walmart Market. Hooked up the cargo trailer (I call TUGGER), did the dirty deed of Food Shopping and loaded up the cargo trailer and the Panniers! Decided we wanted a Hot Dog, but we've had a problem of them not having any at our normal Mavrick Station Store/Cafe so we headed out on the Pikes Peak Greenway (PPGW) to the University Village Colorado Center, Smashburger for their Americana Big Dog, YUM, a really good dog from a hamburger joint! Again it was screaming HOT out so we just headed back down the PPGW to the apartment to get into the AC and out of the Heat!!

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July 18: July PPRRN Meet & Eat Ride to Red Leg Brewery:

It's time for our Monthly, Pikes Peak Region Recumbent Network (PPRRN) Meet & Eat Ride and Gather! A meet and eat is where an Eating Destination is picked and a Time to meet is set and YOU can ride your favorite route to the meet point or Myself (BJ) and Jo set up a 2nd. meet point so we can all ride in together to the Destination. 

We chose the Legacy Loop Trailhead off the PPGW and Fontanero St./Recreation Way. It was Jo and I and Mark and Dianne, we left at 11:10 am and headed up the PPGW to the Sinton Trail west. The destination was the Red Leg Brewery Complex, not only a local pub but it has several different types of cafes in different metal compartments so you can PICK what kinda food you want! They put up a large shade tent due to the heat, so we didn't have to melt while trying to enjoy our food. We all chose Gordon's Deli and the Turkey Club we had was awesome, sadly no cafe severed unsweet iced tea, RATS!

After a great lunch we headed back down the trail as Mark and Dianne needed to stop at Angletech for some supplies. We said our so-longs and headed off down Sinton and ended up at the T-Gap Trail and headed to the S. Nevada Ave. Mavrick Station Store/Cafe for the large Iced Tea and the Atkin's bar, so life was good, again too HOT to ride further so we again headed home via trails to the relief of AC and ice-cold water!

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That's All Folks, for this Blog entry so stay tuned for more July stories, photos, etc. Till we come together, again-MY FRIENDS, "Happy Trails"! 

Is it possible, it's JULY already??

 Not a lot of riding due to the SMOKE from Wildfires and 90 F temps! Hoping that July will bring a bit of rain to help put out the fires and we can get back to riding again!

July 4- Being lucky, a cold front came through and changed the wind direction to take a lot of smoke in the air away! We normally, ride with the kids in the local area 4th. of July children's Parade! Just down the block at Boddington Soccer Field along Wood Ave., the Parade's starting point. They had an excellent turnout for the parade this year, kids on bikes, scooters, striders and family pushing strollers or pulling wagons all decorated in Red/White/Blue colors!

We decorated our trikes a bit and then joined in the fun, the route is short, 5-6 blocks but winds around the neighborhood and back to the Soccer Field where tables are set up with snacks and drinks, etc. We left the parade and headed over to pick up the PP Greenway (westside) trail and then north along the trail to Criterium Bike Shop to turn around and come back to get on the Rock Island (east) and Shooks Run (south) over to the Tasty Freeze Drive Inn for a grilled hot dog and crispy French fries with what else, unsweet iced tea! Back on the Rock Island (east), we headed up to the Academy Blvd Path and over to Mavrick Station Store/Cafe for more iced tea and our Atkins Bar snack. 

The HEAT really jumped up by 1 PM. so we rode back down the Rock Island then back to the apartment, to get out of the sun and into some AC! Fun day, totally different kinda ride so it made our Independence Day a bit special!

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July 6- Food Run and Lunch Ride

Had to get out and head to the Walmart Market on Union Blvd to get FOOD! Between HEAT & WIND, it's been tough to find a decent day to do the bi-weekly shopping. As usual, heading east on the Rock Island Trail over to Union Blvd. then south using the sidewalk nobody actually walks on down to the entryway to the store. Jo played Guard Dog and stayed out in the shade with the trikes, and I went in and did the shopping. Loaded up the cargo trailer and even Jo's panniers with provisions for the next 1.5 weeks. 

Headed back on the RIT to the apartment and unloaded food and supplies, then decided to head north on the PP Greenway to the UVC Center and get a good burger at Smashburger, YUM. After that we headed up the Nevada Ave Access Path to the Vincent Street Bridge and then west on the Cottonwood Creek Trail back to the PP Greenway and headed home! I made up a "Music Video" so kick back and enjoy!

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Tuesday, was our day at the PACE Explorer Center and afternoon Tai-Chi Class, Wednesday was HOT, SMOKEY then on and off quick ending rains! Today, Jo has a dental appointment so we did a walk and then came back and pulled the trikes to the shady spot in the back of the apartment complex to clean and lube the chains and do a full trike lubrication of all the moving parts before she got picked up for her appointment. Me, well I'm updating the BLOG as the gray clouds have taken away the sunshine and the "Thunder Rolls" outside the window of the front room. Happy Trails, the weekend is looking hot and dry, LET'S RIDE!