On the 25th. Jo had a doctor's appointment, so I headed out solo and decided to head south to ride the Canal, Sand Creek Trails and come back on the gravel portions of the Pikes Peak Greenway to get back to downtown, then home. I first headed east on the Rock Island Trail to turn south on what I call the South Homestead Trail, but the city just calls it the Canal Trail over to Murry St. and then the Airport Rd. bike lane over to the Sand Creek Trail. Sadly the trail is starting to attract homeless and it was really bad were the trail goes into a underpass beneath Academy Blvd.! I was hoping they would have started to trail work to finish the Sand Creek Trail to Hancock Expressway and a to be built "lighted crossing" of the Expressway to get to continue on the Sand Creek Trail over to the Pikes Peak Greenway. Well no luck, it still dead ends in a dirt lot and has lots of homeless camps. Had to back track up then ride thru a little shopping center to pick up the Astrozon Blvd. bike lane over to the expressway, cross via the light, use the sidewalk over to where you can pick up the trail again. Finally got to the PP Greenway and headed west. This too use to be a very nice backwoods wide gravel trail but it's now full of trash and more homeless camps! :( There are still some decent sections along Fountain Creek but it's gone downhill over the years.
Took Tejon St. Bike Lane into down town over to the Weber St. Bike Lane back to our apartment. 21 miles.
On the 26th. it dawned sunny and the least windy day in the last 25 days!! Jo and I took a wandering ride over to Manitou Springs Swimming Pool Park to eat our brown bag lunch. Bummer the camera didn't get set up right to run a video to the park so I did get in a shorter one on the way back into Colorado Springs on the Creekside/Midland Trails. Headed north of the Palmer-Mesa Greenway back to the PP Greenway back to the apartment. We needed to get home a bit early so Jo could cut up veggies for our steak fajitas we are having for dinner, YUM!! 17 miles and lot's of smiles as we just took our time and wandered as we went. Couple of photos at the park and a 30 min. "one the way back video", enjoy! :)
The area looks beautiful. Some of the cities I have visited recently are very pro active cleaning out the homeless encampments. Many have fence off the popular places like under the overpasses and along bike and walking paths.
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