WELCOME to: BJ and Jo Ondo's recumbent trike cycling blog! This blog has information about US, our "Bicycle/Trike History", and our RIDES, here in Colorado Springs, CO., the Pikes Peak Region, State of Colorado and anywhere else our WHEELS take us!
The snow and cold has let up for a few days, we've been able to get in a couple of rides!
Dec. 17. Errand and Lunch ride, a mixed trails ride and a brown bag lunch on a sunny day!
Dec. 19. A ride to the Cottonwood Regional Park using the Pikes Peak Greenway and the Cottonwood Creek Trail. Still quite a bit of snow and ice on the Cottonwood Creek Trail, sunny but breezy and not quite as warm.
Dec. 20, Today will be just a "FOOD RIDE", have to hook up the cargo trailer and get supplies and food for Christmas and Christmas Eve! Sadly, with the "shorter days" of winter not much TIME for a ride afterwards today but Thursday is looking decent, a bit chillier before the cold temps on Friday and possible lite snow might make a return for late for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and beyond!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, Peaceful Ramadan to all!! December is a very busy month of celebration for ALL of us!
Have to say, December has been a bit of a bummer as far as riding goes! We've had a pattern off snow, 2 days to melt, a couple of days that are sloppy but rideable and then more SNOW! We've been taking a lot more WALKS this month and even then have gotten caught in the snow more times this year than we can ever remember. Our rides have been short, errand rides, getting food on the best of the days but that takes a lot of time, packing up, shopping, unloading and with the daylight not lasting long, not much time left for a real RIDE!
LOL, infact today is SLOOPY on the roads and trails and since we live in a apartment, we don't have a area to wash the crud off the trikes, Sunday, one of the warmer days this week, of course we have to go get FOOD so again not any real rides. Oh well, that's life when you can't afford a condo in FL. for the winter months! ;) So for now, we wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a awesome New Years!! All the best in 2024! BJ and Jo
Well November has come to an end, all in all, it's been a good month to ride in 2023! So, let's wrap this month up.
11-22 Headed towards downtown to pick up the Midland Trail over to 31st Street, had our brown bag lunch and iced tea. Decided to head up the 31st Street bike lane over to the Foothills Trail. on the way, Jo got a shot of me creeping up the hills, LOL! Warm, sunny a very enjoyable ride!
Then the COLD and snowy weather hit so for a few days, we had to use the indoor recumbent exercise bike, bummer!
11-28
Had a few things going on so we stayed a bit closer to home, we rode what we call the Vincent Frontage Road Loop. It was a breezy and chilly day but sunny and still very rideable. After we stopped at Panera Bread for our brown bag lunch and iced tea, Jo wanted to get a photo of a local rock formation in Ute Valley Park so we headed up the back way using the detour trail over to the Nevada Ave Bike Lane, then the Vincent Frontage Road Trail over to the Cottonwood Creek Trail to get to the Pikes Peak Greenway.
11-29
Since we'd been north and east a lot so we headed South on the Weber St. bike lane over to America the Beautiful Park to pick up the Midland Trail into Manitou Springs. Another sunny but slightly chilly day for the last ride in November! We jumped off at 31st. St. to go to Starbuck's for our brown bag lunch and iced tea. Then back on the Midland/Creekwalk trail to Schyvier Park in Manitou. Headed back down the trail heading east, picked up the Mesa Springs Greenway, over to Monument Valley Park. Stopped at the Pickel Ball Court Bleachers, ate our afternoon snack, then headed up the BIG HILL to pick up the Cascade St. bike lane back to the storage unit. Tucked away the trikes and walked the 1.2 miles home as the sun was setting!
It's been a crazy last few weeks as first my younger brother Chuck passed away, he was a medically retired Army Vet and served in the OIF military campaigns. RIP Brother!! Then both my Mom and my brother Bob have been in and out of the hospital! My Mom lives with Bob so he is her main "caretaker", Jo and I had to take over and check on him at the hospital!
Things have very slowly returned to a "kinda normal state" so we have got a few rides in.
Nov. 15
We rode the Vincent Frontage Road Loop as we call it, stopped at Panera Bread for our unsweetened iced tea and brown bag lunch. We've been a bit lucky as the November weather has been nice! 70 F and sunny, the route is PP Greenway, a little bit of the Cottonwood Creek trail, the Vincent Frontage Road over to the Nevada Ave. Frontage trail. Felt so good to be back out on the trikes!
Nov. 16
Cascade St. bike lane to downtown, then back streets over to America the Beautiful Park to pick up the Midland Trail and head west into Manitou Springs and the Creek Walk Trail. Headed back down the trail to 30th. St. and stopped at the Starbucks for our unsweet iced tea and brown bag lunch. Midland trail back to the Weber St. bike lane and headed for the Barn!
Nov. 18
We haven't rode all the way to the Cottonwood Regional Park in a while so that was the days ride! Cascade St. bike lane, Templeton Gap trail west, PP Greenway over to the Cottonwood Creek Trail junction. Over the bridge and through the short tunnel, over lot's more little bridges. Cooler day with some clouds but still partly sunny, the ride is all uphill grade heading northeast to the park. LOL, besides the ride, we wanted to check out what the CITY calls restroom improvement. The park used to have a old full restroom, they tore it down and put in a 4 porta-potty stall with cover set up. The city said the old one was too expensive to upkeep, I say BS, but it's still a place to GO when needed and unlike a lot of our parks it at least has a restroom facility!
As the cloud cover was getting thicker, we decided not to do the upper portion of the trail and headed back. Again stopped at Panera Bread for the brown bag lunch and iced tea but we decided it was chilly enough to share a bowl of their excellent Tomato Bisque soup, YUM! From there, back down the PP Greenway over to Shooks Run Trail. On Shooks, heading north, we rode to check out if the concrete finally re-connection the Shooks Run and Rock Island Trails had been completed. YEA, it was so we rode the up the Rock Island Trail for a bit to the Templeton Gap Road bike lane. Headed back west on back streets over to Cascade St. bike lane and back to the storage unit to tuck away the trikes.
We've got a really mean looking COLD front coming and they are talking snow, YUCK, a bit warmer days on Tue. and Wed. so we hope to get in a FOOD run on Tue. and a ride on Wed. then the weather turns bad for several days so we will be riding the exercise bike, BUMMER!
It's that time of the year, the days and the rides both in numbers and mileage are less! It's been a pretty good November, only a few creepy days but with daylight savings, it's a real PIA, 1st. have to wait for it to warm up, then you only have so much daylight to ride! So here's our November 1st. ride,
This was heading home from a "iced tea" for lunch run after getting a new drive chain installed on Jo's trike.
November 2, We hadn't been up to the Starsmoor Center at North Cheyenne Canyon for quite a while. We road up Cheyenne Blvd. to Starsmoor, which is like a "ranger station/visitor center. Headed back down and stopped at the Sacred Grounds Cafe, again for "iced tea" and the brown bag lunch.
Check out the YouTube Video of the ride!!
November 4, We rode in the Colorado Springs Veteran's Day Parade in downtown. We rode with a group called the "Human Powered Veterans Group", this year was a bit different as we had NO upright bikes show up, just recumbents and customs! Stagged a 9:30 and started at 10:15, we try to do this every year, it's FUN. Turn out seemed a bit smaller but I was a beautiful sunny day so folks found other things to do, bummer!
Here's video of the Parade: November 7, Due to a on going family crisis, we needed a "chill out" ride so we headed over to Manitou Springs, via the Midland and Creek Walk Trails. Stopped at a Starbucks on Co. Ave. and 31st. Street for, you guessed it "iced tea" with our brown bag lunch. It was sunny and warm but a bit windy at times, there would be times on the trail that we were riding thru a "shower of leaves", LOL! Headed back to the storage unit via the Mesa Springs Greenway. Cold Front coming in tomorrow with a "trace to 2 in. of snow" so no riding on Wed.
Been a busy couple of days here so I will just catch up with the rides!
Oct. 21 we got in a longer ride as the Fall temps have been excellent for the last 2 weeks! My Mom had some A-Fib heart problems so she ended up the hospital for couple of days, bummer! She's back home in Security a Village area southeast of Colorado Springs. There are NO bike trails out there so we put in a 30 mile day on mostly bike lanes and back roads to get down to see her, she's doing much better!! :) We did stop at a new cafe called: Roll Up in Security to check them out, good food but a bit pricey for our meager budget!!
Got back home as the sun was slowly sinking in the western sky! It was great, as always to see Mom and I shot the video above for my Brother Chuck in IL.
On the 23rd. we headed out just for a ride in the last days of the lovely Fall weather here in So. Colorado. It's going to get quite chilly and WINDY by Friday this upcoming week! :(
We rode up to Vincent St. Bridge, then took the Vincent Access Road to the Nevada St. trail/bike lane down to Panera Bread for Iced Tea and our Brown Bag Lunch! Then rode south along the Pikes Peak Greenway over to Monument Valley Park and Stanley Lake, just north of downtown Colorado Springs.
Headed back to the storage unit and tucked away the trikes, a really NICE day to RIDE!!
Oct. 24, The clouds and wind got stronger in the afternoon so we just decided to do our Weekly Food Run to the Walmart Neighborhood Market Place to get food and supplies. Hooked up the cargo trailer to my trike, did the shopping and took the food back to the apartment. Food put away, the wind was getting much stronger so we decided NOT to ride and headed for the storage unit. No riding on the 25th. Dental appointment, YUCK!! Hopefully get in a short ride on Thursday as Friday, Saturday and Sunday the temps drop down to the 40F's with lots of WIND so it will be "Ride the indoor exercise bike time", RATS! LOL, just can't keep Winter away much longer! BJ
Well, things never change and as usual I'm behind on the blog updates so here it goes! It's been about the normal as far as rides go. On 10-8 we rode over to Manitou on the Midland Trail and the weather has been excellent!
On 10-9 we did the did the Foothills Trail.
On 10-15 we rode the "Motorless Morning" ride thru the Garden of the Gods, no cars allowed from 5 am to 12 noon!!
Our favorite, "Trike Personality" on YouTube is Sylvia Halpern and her trike, "Myrtle the Turtle". Out of the blue she called us and we found out she was in Boulder, CO. getting in some rides in that area and wanted to go on a RIDE with us!!!! So of course we gave her a tour of the "Garden of the Gods" and then Foothills Trail, over to Angletech we she got to visit with Kelvin and the Staff. From there we rode the Sinton Trail over to the Pikes Peak Greenway. Picked up the Cascade St. bike lane over to have lunch at Panino's Restaurant downtown Co. Springs. Via more bike lane over to the "Sky Bridge" at the US Olympic/Paralympic Museum for a grand view of Colorado Springs and America the Beautiful Park. Headed back to here campground in Manitou Springs via the Midland and Creek Walk Trails. We said our "so longs" and then headed to the storage unit, 40 mile day of pure FUN with Sylvia, she's a bright, bubbly in real life as on YouTube, it was just "awesome" to get to meet and RIDE with her and Myrtle the Turtle. She's heading south for the Winter Months in her Truck and Trailer touring set up!
The weather called for a nice day, 66 degrees, sunny with light wind! Jo is finally feeling good enough to want to ride after 14 days of fighting off minor Covid 19!!! It's great to have her back out on the trails with me!! :) The ride was nothing special, one of our most used loop rides. We did however do the start a bit different. We headed north on the Cascade St. Bike Lane and picked up the Templeton Gap trail over to the Pikes Peak Greenway. Rode up to Criterium Bike shop, had our morning snack. Then over to Cottonwood Creek Trail to the Vincent St. bridge, turned south on to the Vincent Frontage Road/Dublin Blvd/Nevada Ave Trail and Bike Lane over to the "Cracked Trail" (old asphalt walkway) over to the University Village Colorado Center and lunch stop of iced tea at Panera Bread.
From there south down the PP Greenway over to the Mesa Springs Greenway heading north to it's ending point at American Furniture Warehouse. Turned around back down the MS Greenway back to the PP Greenway. Stopped to try to help a fellow trike rider with a VERY jammed chain but couldn't get the chain out of the back of the cassette. Lucky a lady with a truck gave him a ride back to his house! Got a feeling they will have to remove the cassette to get that chain unstuck!! Becon St. to Wood Ave. to Fillmore St. west over to Kathy Ln. and into the storage unit. 18 miles in the Autum sun, welcome back JO!! :)
LOL, well as usual, I'm having to catch up here on the Blog!! Took a ride on the 24th. and rode the upper section of the Cottonwood Creek Trail, it's a section I only ride in the cooler months as it has NO shade!! It was a mellow temp day, 70 F and sunny and the ride was enjoyable. Sadly, Jo is still suffering a bit from minor Covid-19 so again I was riding solo, here's a video of the ride, Enjoy!
Sept. 26, I was told they had finished "Phase 3" on the Creek Walk Trail in Manitou Springs so I headed that way to check it out! Bummer, all they did was finish a bit of spur concrete to hook to a bridge over to the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce building! :( They didn't even finish the concrete up to the paved road?? Oh well I guess we have to wait till Stage 4 before it get's over to Soda Springs Park/Manitou Springs Visitor Center closer into downtown Manitou Springs! :( It was a nice day and I do like riding the Midland & Creek Walk Trail combo from Co. Springs to Manitou Springs!
Sept. 30, Well this ride turned out to be a double bummer!! Angletech was hosting a ride for a group from St. Louis, MO. called the Bright Spot for MS ride. Every Sept. for several years, Angletech let's this MS group use it's "DEMO trike/bike fleet" to spend 4 day's riding around Colorado Springs, CO. Sept 30. was day 4 and Angletech's customers were "invited" to ride with the MS group from the dealership up to the Red Leg Brewery for a social recumbent ride.
I showed up just before 2 PM. but their planed ride was changed due to the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail being used by the runners of the Pikes Peak Marathon!! It made them late for their catered lunch at the dealership so the ride up to Red Leg was behind time. Well it seemed I was the ONLY customer to show up and I just didn't feel right messing up the groups VIBE so I decided to bail the event ride. 2nd. bummer, I did shot a video but for some strange reason, it came out all FOGGY looking?? I guess heat or somehow moisture got into the case and didn't clear out so the video was ruined!!!! ARRUGH! As it was late afternoon I headed back to the storage unit and then home! LOL, sometimes the plan just doesn't work out!! ;) The weather is turning quickly, it's going to be quite chilly come next week, time to break out the "tights" and long sleeve shirts, summer has past! Ride LOW, Ride SLOW, Ride Recumbent!!
Well lot's going on thru the rest of September, Our high school 50th. year reunion, my uncle Merlyn Plumlee's induction to the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum "Hall of Fame", etc. Summer has done it's best to "hang in there", even though you can feel and tell that sadly, Fall is in the air. Major bummer is that Jo has got what the doctors are calling a mild case of Covid 19 so for the last week I have been riding alone! :( I got Jo the meds she needs and since there's "nothing" I can do to help her get over this damned virus, she told me to go ride and enjoy the warm temps while they last!!
Monday, Sept. 18, I just rode around the trails and then decided to head to Monument Valley Park and see if the City, got started in repairing the "Duck Ponds". The normal Monument Creek Trail is closed off as they are removing some telephone poles that are currently in the middle of the trail! I took Recreation Way over to Glenn Ave., which we renamed as "Gernaded Ave." due to the huge amount of potholes you have to avoid!! Sadly the Duck Ponds are still just a bit of brown mud water and no work has started on their rebuild.
Thursday, Sept. 21, I decided to do a "different views" ride, here is the video and a photo where I stopped at our neighborhood entry sign on a multi-trail ride around the city of Colorado Springs:
Friday, Sept. 22nd. was mainly a "errand ride" to find some lances for Jo's diabetic meter as our local Walgreens has been out for a while and she was down to zero!!! Headed up Sinton Trail and the bike lane on Centennial Blvd and found them at the Walgreens up that way! Rode the Centennial Blvd. bike lane up to 30th. St. to hook up at the Foothills and Sinton Trail Junction. Got a couple of photos at the "TUNNEL" on the Sinton Trail.
Stopped for a couple of photos of Douglas Creek that flows along the Sinton Trail.
Taking a break on Saturday, then will head back out on the trails and bike lanes on Sunday, looks like a great week of weather ahead before the gray and chill of Fall get's to full strength! That's it for now, Ride LOW, Ride SLOW, Ride RECUMBENT!!
