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!
After 2 days of on and off snow storms and a day of melting, we finally got in a ride. Headed East on the Rock Island Trail up to the Academy Blvd Path to go to a Mavrick Station for cheap unsweet iced tea and eat our brown bag lunch. Heading back on the Path and then continued East on the Rock Island to it's current end at a Cul-De-Sac on the access road just before Powers Blvd.
Now heading west on the Rock Island Trail over to the junction with the Shooks Run Trail, heading for the Good Neighbors Meeting House for another iced tea and eat our Think Bars. Enjoyed our late afternoon on the patio area and then headed back to the Storage Unit to tuck in the trikes!
Sadly, not much riding for the rest of the week as we have high chances for Rain, Wed-Fri. That and we each have "PACE medical appointments" on Thru. and Fri. Saturday, the 26th, we have our 1st. monthly PPRRN "MEET & EAT" ride and then Sunday is the 1st. "Motorless Morning" ride at the Garden of the God's Park from 5am to 12noon, so at least the weekend looks like "riding time"! Till we see you again, Happy Trail's.
April 11, we headed up to Angletech to get Jo's trike fitted with a new "BaFang inline e-assist system". 750W, motor 48V 14 amp hr. battery set up, replacing the old 350 W 36V 12. amp hr. battery "rear wheel hub motor" set up. I had a errand to walk to from Angletech so Jo hung out at Angletech through the install. We then headed out to do a test run on the Foothills Trail. The BaFang can be set for either 3, 5 or 9 levels. I had mine set at 9 levels as I like the way it feels better than level 3 or 5. Jo didn't like the 9 level set up feel and had a bit of problem with the new shifter lever. Her gearing was a big change, before she had a 50/40/30 triple front chainwheel and a 11x28 freewheel, now she has a 46 single chainwheel and a 11x28 cassette set up and no front derailleur!
I think we will return to Angletech to have Kirk, change her system back to "5 Levels" instead of 9 levels, it might work better for her! We headed to the downtown Starbuck's for a iced tea and our afternoon snack, then Monument Valley Park and the westside Pikes Peak Greenway, heading back to the storage area.
4/12- A really nice day to ride but, bummer Jo was fighting Sinus Problems so she told me to go ride, I took a Solo Ride and decided to just do the "Vincent St. Bridge Loop"! Took the Cascade St bike lane to the T-Gap Trail south to the Pikes Peak Greenway. Took the ramp up to the University Village Colorado Center and stopped at Panera Bread for a lunch! If the wife tells you to go ride and buy lunch, it's a great idea!! Tomato Basil BLT and iced tea, in the colder months add a cup of creamy tomato soup and the combo would be perfect!!
I headed up the Nevada Ave access path and the Cracked Trail past the BMW auto and Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealerships to get to the Vincent Frontage Road path and rode the loop over the Vincent Street Bridge over to the Cottonwood Creek Trail south and the Pikes Peak Greenway south past Criterium Bike Shop to pick up the Cascade St access off the Rock Island Connector. Heading to the storage area, a Short but HOT Solo Ride!
Monument Creek heading south along the Pikes Peak Greenway
Pikeview Water storage and a good view of Pikes Peak
4//15- Errand, Angletech and "wireless microphone TEST Ride, We headed over to the Centennial Blvd south extension, heading north to the retail center and UPS Store off Fillmore and Centennial, plus stop at King Soopers Market. From there we headed north to get to Angletech. We had Kirk switch Jo's e-assist system from a setting 9 Levels back to a 5 Levels and SUCCESS, Jo liked how the system worked so she's now happy! All the time I was testing the wireless microphone adapter for my Go Pro 6 video camera and after making the video, it works so again, SUCCESS!! We finished up the ride on a few different trails and back to the storage area, Good day!
4/16- Weekly Food and household supplies RIDE, with snow coming in on Friday we needed to get in a Food and supplies ride, headed to the Walmart Marketplace via the Rock Island Trail. Got all the needed items, loaded the trailer and headed back on the Rock Island to the apartment to unload FOOD!
Then we decided to spoil ourselves and instead of the normal Mc Donalds burger, we headed to downtown on the Cascade Street bike lane to downtown and get a Italian style lunch and iced tea!! After pigging out, we headed to Monument Valley Park and then again on the westside of the Pikes Peak Greenway/Rock Island Connector and up to Cascade St. and headed north to the back street to our storage unit. Mission Accomplished and Enjoyed!
Ok, that' all for now folk's! We still have a LOT of medical appointments due to switching to PACE senior medical program and we have a evil, COLD front coming in for Friday and Saturday, starts rain/snow mix turning to SNOW so anywhere from 2 to 5 INCHES of the ugly white stuff! On Easter, it's better but it will just be watching the snow melt and SLOPPY out, maybe a ride by Tues. or Weds. Get out and RIDE if you can as Spring and Summer are always way to short! BJ :)
Happy Easter from BJ and Jo Ondo to YOU and Yours, Happy Trail's
4/8- Well, the PACE Medical appointments, keep coming in but we needed to go get some Food and Household Supplies! Headed out from the storage unit over to the Rock Island Trail to head to the Walmart Market Place on Union and Constitution. Got the shopping done and headed to the apartment to put the goods away. Headed out to lunch and then rode a few more places to get in 20 miles, not bad for errand ride!
Weekly Food and Supplies Ride, emptying out the trailer up to the apartment!
4/9- We needed to get the "rental car" set up for our road trip to see our daughter Jenn's College Graduation in TN. So, we left the storage unit heading to pick up the Shooks Run Trail over to High Street and the Bijou Street bike lane to Chelton Drive and the Knobb Hill-Enterprise Rent-A-Car building. From there we had to use the Sidewalk up to where the bike lane starts on Chelton Drive and heads north up to the Rock Island Trail and the Academy Blvd bike path over to the Mavrick Station for our brown bag lunch and iced tea.
We got back on the Rock Island Trail, south and then the Weber St. bike lane downtown and stopped for a photo at the new, "Meanwhile Block food truck corner", the food trucks are there on Wed's and Saturdays only.
The new Meanwhile Food Truck Block was empty, the trucks are there on Wed's and Sat!
Then we stopped at the entry to the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum for a 2nd photo opp.
Headed over to America the Beautiful Park to pick up the Midland and Cuchares Trail and then the Walnut St bike lane over to the Mesa Springs Greenway up to the Pedestrian Overpass over I-25 to Monument Valley Park. Stopped and ate our Think Bars. Picked up the "westside" of the Pikes Peak Greenway heading north to the Rock Island Connector and Cascade St. and bike lane back to the storage unit. 24 miles of errand and rambling! :)
All caught up, on 4/11, it's a ride up to Angletech to have Jo's new INLINE E-ASSIST System installed on her TRICE T trike! Till next time, Happy Trails!
Hello viewers, we haven't got in a ride for a spell due to Bi-Polar WEATHER, rain, snow, high winds! That and, we been enrolled in a new Medical Program called PACE, it's a program that only works with low-income Seniors here in Colorado. We have had to do a lot of "appointments" lately and between the two, it's left little TIME to ride, RATS!
On Sunday, even with a chilly wind and a high only at 50F, we bundled up and took a ride on the Templeton Gap or T-Gap trail along the drainage canal up to it's current end at Ranch Drive. Headed back down and picked up the Flintridge Rd Bike Lane up to Starbucks on Academy Blvd and Union Ave for a HOT tea and our brown bag lunch. Back to the T-Gap trail and the T-Gap bike lane over to the Shooks Run Trail to America the Beautiful Park got on the Pikes Peak Greenway to Monument Valley Park. Stopped and ate our snacks, then headed back to the Storage Area. Jo has appointments on Monday and BUMMER I am stuck at home awaiting a UPS package! Our Apartment is in a LOCKED building that the UPS drivers don't have a key to get in so I'm stuck waiting, arrugh! Of course, it's sunny and 60F outside! Here is a Relive Mapping Video and a YouTube Video of the ride, enjoy!
March 23- Food Run: Didn't have time for a longer ride so we did our weekly Food Run. Headed up Rock Island over to Constitution Ave and Union Ave to go to the Walmart Market Place for food and supplies. The store is getting a total redo so it's a RPITA to find things but we got it done. Rode back to the apartment and put the frozen items in the freezer and then decided to head to the McDonalds on Midland Trail and 31st. Street. Quick BOGO free double cheeseburger and iced tea. From there retraced the route and back to the Storage Unit and the walk home!
At the apartment to unload and head out to BOGO free lunch! March 26- We rode up the Pikes Peak Greenway and, on the way, back decided to see if the
Sinton Trail at I-25 and Elliston St. had re-opened and yes, it's usable again so when we have to go to Angletech on April 11 to have a new "inline" E-assist system installed on Jo's trike, we won't have to go the long route over Centennial Blvd! It was just a nice day to ride, sunny, lite winds, a early spring day to be out and about on the trikes.
A view of Pikes Peak from the patio at Starbucks on Centennial Blvd and Fillmore St.
Nevada Ave Path heading to the University Village of Colorado Center to pick up the Pikes Peak Greenway heading south!
PP Greenway heading up to the Pike View Reservoir
BJ and his ICE Trike at our storage unit to tuck in the trikes and take the walk home.
March 27- We headed from the storage unit to the Cascade St. bike lane south to get to the
Tejon St bike lane, through the massive construction at Tejon and I-25. Had do a couple of minor detours but finally got over to the Cheyenne Blvd bike lane heading west to 8th. Street. For the last several months they have been doing road construction on Cheyenne Blvd west of 8th Street, we have been forced to use the sidewalk before being able to get back on the road!! The goal was to ride up to the start of North Cheyenne Canyon Park and also stop at the Sacred Grounds Cafe for 2 iced tea's to go with our brown bag lunch!
After lunch we headed up to the Starsmoor Visitor and Nature Center at the foot of North Cheyenne Canyon. Stopped in and gave a couple of dollars to the donation box! Oh, I forgot about there was NO construction up to Sacred Grounds Cafe but now they are repaving the Cheyenne Road up to the Starsmoor Center but at least they had Flaggers to stop traffic till we could get up the hill!! LOL, maybe the next time we head up that way, the road construction will be finished, and the Bike Lane Lines repainted, it would be great not to have to fight construction!
The Starsmoor Visitor and Nature Center at the foot of North Cheyenne Canyon Park
A Trail marking sign at the Starsmoor Center, where sever hiking trails start
A babbling brook next to the Starsmoor Center
We stopped at the Good Neighbors Meeting House on the Shooks Run Trail on the way back to the storage unit
March 28- Riding the T-Gap, Austin Bluffs Trails with a "sidewalk" ride to create a loop over to the Rock Island Trail heading west. Leaving the storage unit, we got on the Cascade St. bike lane over to the Templeton Gap Trail and headed east. Rode the T-Gap to Austin Bluffs Parkway and use the Austin Bluffs Trail to Brenner Pl., where it ENDS! Jumped on a sidewalk heading west to American Drive, another sidewalk up to Academy Blvd. Heading south, we rode it to just past Palmer Park and stopped at the Mavrick Convenients Station for Ice Tea and our brown bag lunch.
Picked up the Rock Island Trail heading west to the RI Connector and the Pikes Peak Greenway. We rode the "westside" section of the PP Greenway to Monument Valley Park and stopped to sit at Stanley Lake for our snack stop. Headed north over the Pedestrian Access Bridge over I-25 to the Mesa Springs Greenway heading north back to the Cascade St bike lane and to the side street that leads to our storage unit! Another really nice, warmish day, sadly coming to an end on Saturday afternoon with rain showers from then through Sunday, RATS!
Stanley Lake at Monument Valley Park
Rock Island Trail
Mesa Springs Greenway heading north.
Well folks, that's the END. Weekend looks rainy and chillier, might be able to get a ride in on Monday but Tuesday we had medical appointments and Wednesday and Thursday look like MORE RAIN! All the Best and HAPPY TRAIL'S!
We decided to find out what a new "inline" e-assist system would cost for Jo's TRICE T so we headed up to Angletech to talk with Joshia and Kelvin. Jo's trike came with a Generation one EBO (Electric Bike Outfitters) rear hub e-assist motor and EBO specific battery. As we bought our trikes used, we have NO idea on how old the motor and the battery are, but the battery needs to be recharged after every ride now so it's down to 25-mile status. The motor is getting louder so it's TIME, even though the expense is a lot to get her a newer, more powerful system.
We had them order a 750 W, 48 V, 14 Amp Hr., inline (bottom bracket install) e-assist system, The parts and labor came to $2700 dollars, YIKES, but the cheapest NEW E-Trike is a Terra Trike Charge model, and it starts at $3300 dollars, so we decided to just upgrade her old TRICE T. Hopefully it will arrive soon, and we can get it installed. After paying up, we headed up to catch the Foothills Trail, WOW they had a wildfire out there and it burned from the top of the hillside down to the Asphalt Trail, but the trail is still ridable!!
It's Amazing the houses are still intact and not damaged, the wildfire crew did a great job!
Rode over to the 31st. bike lane and the Midland Trail to Shooks Run Trail, Rock Island Connector Trail to Cascade Ave and finally back at the storage unit! Got appointments on Monday and Tuesday so next ride will hopefully be Wednesday, Happy Trails!!
March 16- Headed north on the Pikes Peak Greenway and up the Cottonwood Creek Trail. We were going to go all the way to the current end of the concrete on the CCT but after getting thru the tunnel on the northeast side of the trail, Jo's battery really dropped in power level even though we charged it! So rode up to the street exit for Austin Bluffs and turned around, heading southwest back to Cottonwood Regional Park and down the CCT, then headed south over to the Good Neighbors Meeting House for our Think bar and iced tea. From there back to the Storage area. Too bad the battery dropped as it was a nice coolish day and the ending of CCT is in a open area that is really to HOT to ride to in the summer time temps!
Stopped at Criterium Bicycle Shop and used their patio area to eat our brown bag lunch
The Pikes Peak Greenway, a bridge over Monument Creek right before Criterium Bicycle Shop
March 17- We head up the Rock Island Trail to do a status check on the new "lighted crosswalk" at the junction of RIT and Murry Blvd. Yea, it's now a working crossing light! It's a real great place as it's really hard to get across 4 lanes of traffic, playing "dodge car"!!
We were going to go to the current end of the trail at a Cul-de-Sac just before Powers Blvd but Jo was feeling hungry so we turned around and went to the Academy Blvd Path over to the Mavrick Station for our brown bag and iced tea lunch. Then headed into downtown and decided our afternoon snack stop would be at Loyal Coffee. Haven't been there for a long time and it's easy parking for the recumbent trikes! From there, headed to the storage unit and the end of the ride, walked home!
Decided to stop at Loyal Coffee in downtown Co. Springs for our iced tea and Think Bar
Notice the "little girl" painted on the wall, it was just Jo and I at a huge wooden table
March 21- We headed up the Sinton Trail hoping the construction at Ellison St. had finally let the trail be open enough to get to Angletech, RATS, it was still closed off, so we had to detour on Sinton Rd. Not the best route as the pull over lane is missing in places but we had really little traffic, so it wasn't so bad. Headed north on the sidewalk of the Garden of the Gods Road. Had the tech's at Angletech check the battery output and do a test on the rear hub e-motor on Jo's trike. We bought our trikes used from them and Jo's came with the rear hub e-assist motor so it lasted 2 years. We went into CC debt big time and ordered a new 48V 14amp hr. 500 W Bafang inline e-assist system, should be in next week to have it installed with a new rear wheel and new 7 speed cassette! I have the same system on my ICE Trike but mine is only a 36V so she will now have the stronger system! :)
Then we headed north got on the Foothills Trail and wow, the wildfire last week burnt the whole hillside down to the asphalt trail before they could stop it!! Followed the trail to the 31st. St. bike lane, which halfway down was closed due to road construction. We jumped on the sidewalk to get to the Midland Trail back into the Springs and Cascade St. back to the Storage unit to end the ride!
Wildfire burn on the Foothills Trail top of the slope all the way down to the asphalt trail!!
That's it for now, tomorrow is Sunday and it's suppose to be a bit chilly so we will be doing a "Food Run" with trike and trailer so probably no video but who knows. Next week is looking much warmer so we should get more videos coming out SOON! All the best!
March 9: Our local area election for City Council is in early April and the ballots were out fast this year. We headed out to the downtown area to drop off our ballots at the El Paso County Building. After that was done, we headed through town over on the Pikes Peak Ave bike lane to pick up, Shooks Run trail over to the Good Neighbors Meeting House for herbal/berry iced teas to go with our brown bag lunch! From there we rode several other trails here and there and ended up back at the storage unit to tuck away the trikes!
El Paso County Building, downtown Colorado Springs, is where our closest ballot box is located.
The start of the Shooks Run Trail, just off the Pikes Peak Ave Bike Lane
March 10: The main destination was Manitou Springs but we wandered here and there on multiple trails and bike lanes. It was a beautiful late winter day, almost 70 F and we were really enjoying being out and about on the recumbents!
March 11: After getting the new drive train for BJ's trike back on the 6th., I noticed that my chain seemed to be "auto-shifting" by itself here and there. We headed back up to Angletech www.cycledifferent.com where Kirk readjusted the rear derailleur and did a couple other adjustments for me. We headed west on Garden of the Gods Road to a Mc Donalds for a big mac with the 25 dollar gift card a rider named Steve gave us on an earlier ride. Again just riding here and there on different trails and bike lanes and ending up at Safeway food store to get a couple of items for lunches and dinner, then headed to the storage unit.
Stopped at the Pickle Ball Courts in Monument Valley Park for nature break and then to the Pikes Peak Greenway
Afternoon snack of a Think Bar and iced tea at Good Neighbors Meeting House on the Shooks Run Trail and then over to Safeway food store and back to the storage unit
February 27- A second run to Angletech, after getting the trike back to the storage unit to tuck it away, I decided to adjust one of the front brake cables. Well I found the cable was frayed so on Thurs. Feb 27, we headed back to Angletech for a new brake cable to be installed. After that we road the Foothills Trail, 31st bike lane over to check out the new Hammond's Pastrami and Deli that opened up inside Trail's End Taproom at Colorado Ave and 30th St. Really good brisket sandwich and coleslaw on the large patio area! We will return, headed back via Midland Trail and the Weber St. bike lane to the storage unit. Sunny but chilly day!
Foothills Trail heading towards the Garden of the Gods City Park and 31st. Street bike lane
Selfie on the Foothills Trail, pardon the GLOVE in the corner! ;) February 28- Wanted to check to see if any progress was made on the new "lighted" crosswalk at the junction of the Rock Island Trail and Murry Blvd. A little bit but still not up and working as of yet! Headed back wandering here and there a bit then headed back to the storage unit.
Our favorite rest stop/bench along the Rock Island Trail
The lighted crosswalk at RI and Murry Blvd, heading East towards Powers Blvd.
Lighted Crosswalk heading West
A photo of BJ doing his Video Shooting along the Rock Island Trail
We stopped at the ONLY picnic table in Porta Park along the trail for our late afternoon Think Bar, restroom and break!
March 2- T-Gap Trail North- Rode up the Templeton Gap Trail heading North East to it's current ending point at Ranch Road. Headed south to the Fork in the trail and then east on the Austin Bluffs Trail to it's ending point then back down the trail to find a place to get tea and eat our snack. More here and there riding around before heading back to the storage unit to call it a day!
Heading west on the Austin Bluffs Trail and crossing the bridge over the drainage canal
After crossing over the bridge, we turn south/southwest heading back to the Templeton Gap Trail down to the Cascade Street bike lane and heading to the storage unit.
March 6- My 2011 ICE Sprint 2 Special Edition trike is 14 years old and was built using a Shimano Caprio rear wheel hub and special 9-30 tooth cassette. They don't make the "Caprio System" anymore so the cassette was worn out and you CAN NOT add a modern cassette to a Capiro wheel hub! Had to buy a rear wheel and new 9 speed cassette! I got a upgrade to a 11x40 cassette to get some more low/climbing gearing!! I also had them take off the old "disc brake parking brake" and install "locking" brake levers that lock the front brakes instead. The Reason? That disc brake always rubbed or squeaked and never really did a good job of being a parking brake! now it's all gone and makes it easier to hook up my cargo trailer and the levers with locking pins make it so the trike doesn't move when applied!! :)
We've been waiting on a small Colorado State Income Tax refund to get this new drive train installed, it finally showed up so it's great to have it done! Thanks to our Tech, Kirk at Angletech! We again headed up to do the Foothills to Midland trails but the clouds and chill was setting in quicker than the weather stated so we just headed back to the storage area using the "westside" of the Pikes Peak Greenway and the Cascade Street bike lane!
That's all the riding for now, it's March 7th. and gray with clouds and more possible rain and snow overnight to mid day on Saturday the 8th, RATS!! Till next time, Happy TRAIL'S!
We had a real cold and wet spell for like 10 days so we finally got a decent day and headed off to Manitou Springs via the Midland Trail, stopping at the Colorado Ave and 31 St. Starbucks for our brown bag lunch and a hot tea. It was at least warm enough to sit outside but we had the polar fleece and windbreakers on! Then continued on the trail over to Fields and Schriever Parks and to the current end of the Creek Walk Trail. Heading back the same way, it felt good to be riding again! Over to the Weber St. bike lane to the Good Neighbors Meeting House for a 2nd hot tea. Picked up Shooks Run to the Rock Island Trail west, Cascade St. and into the storage unit!
Bringing home the weeks' worth of food and household supplies!
Again we had several cold, wet days before a day decent enough to go food shopping!
February 24, we decided to check on the construction progress of a couple of projects effecting bike paths and bike lanes and make our way up to the Starsmoor Center in North Cheyenne Canyon Park. First was the new path along Tejon St and the intersection of I-25.
The right side is basically complete, but the left side path is still not finished, rats, luckily, we needed to stay on the right side to stop at a Mavrick Station outside patio area and a hot tea with our brown bag lunch. Alas, NO hot or Ice tea, bummer! Ate lunch and headed for the center on the Tejon St bike lane and then the Cheyenne Blvd bike lane, (sadly the painted lines for the bike lane have faded away all the way to 8th street!) :( Well the road construction again forced us up on the sidewalk for several blocks, then we got back on the bike lane up to the Starsmoor Center. Ah, note to self: The Starsmoor Center is CLOSED on Mondays! Headed back over to Shooks Run Trail and Good Neighbors Meeting House for the TEA we didn't get earlier then back to the storage unit.
The Official Greeter at Angletech Recumbents of Colorado Springs, Colorado
Great view of Pikes Peak on the Centennial Blvd South Path
My new ASSIST BARS on my ICE Sprint 2 Special Edition
February 25, Headed up to Angletech to get my new, ASSIST BARS installed on my trike, I have been having a harder time getting OUT of my low seated trike as I get within 5 months of turning 70 yrs. old! I also had my left side drum brake shoes checked for "glazing" as they have been squeaking a lot lately. After we got done at Angletech we decided to see if they had finished the Pikes Peak Greenway "WESTSIDE" trail's concrete work and fencing. We were lucky as the workers let us pass by and continue down the trail so you all got the FREE TOUR before the official unveiling has happened! Rode down to America the Beautiful Park and the "confluence point" of Monument and Fountain Creeks. Then headed back to the storage unit.
That's it for this blog update, will bring you more soon, thanks for reading, it's very appreciated, BJ :)
