Even more Fake Summer rides here in So. CO. in March!!

 Arrugh, again I have fallen way behind in updating the blog so here is more "Fake Summer Riding" here in Colorado Springs, Colorado, LETS RIDE!

March 19- Rode the Homestead Trail North. 

This trail is really hard to get to the starting point, it's got NO "signed" starting point! You pick up the first turn to the left, while heading across Academy Blvd and heading east on Mazeland Dr. There is a dirt and grass trail along the small drainage canal and that takes you to Penrose Park and the dirt/old asphalt trail, heading south. Lots of broken asphalt and dirt patches but just after Oro Blanco, it turns to concrete for a while heading north. The rest is mixed asphalt and gravel. We only go as far as the Trail Overlook; it's too rutted and slick gravel on a steep downhill!! It's also only a once or twice a year ride, it really beats up on the trikes!

March 21- Food and Supplies Ride. 

Time again, to go get some food, hooked up the cargo trailer and headed to Walmart Market on Union Blvd. Then headed out to lunch after that and back home!

March 25- "Fake Summer" ride to Palmer Park Overlook

Jo had a rare "lunch date" with her sister Sue so I took off on my own, headed up Rock Island Trail to go to the Academy Blvd Mavrick Station Store for a HOT DOG BBQ chips and iced tea lunch!! Decided to challenge myself with a steep climb on a thin 2 lane only black top road that is the ONLY road in Palmer Park barely safe enough on a recumbent trike!! The view is excellent!

From there I picked up the sidewalk on Circle Drive to get over to the T-Gap Trail down to the Pikes Peak Greenway and up to the UVC Center for iced tea at Panera Bread. Back to the Greenway and home.

 March 26- Errand Run and a different view of the Garden of the Gods City Park, (Mostly a music video).

First, we headed to the Walmart Super Center on 8th. street to return 2-wallets that the pockets were too small for credit cards, etc. to FIT into!! Made our way over to the Midland Trail, headed west to get to Ridge Road. We stopped at Mc Donalds for, cheap iced tea!! Ridge Road heading north goes through the back side of the Garden of the Gods park. Picked up the Foothills Trail heading east to the Sinton Trail west, Pikes Peak Greenway and home.

March 28- Creekside Coffee House, Cottonwood Creek Trail and a bit more

It was supposedly going to be mostly cloudy, but the sun came out and the temps climbed quickly! Headed up the PP Greenway to get to the junction with the Cottonwood Creek Trail. Did a right turn onto the CCT and headed east to get to the Creekside Coffee House for iced teas and brown bag special. Headed back down the CCT to pick up the Vincent Frontage Road and Path down to the Cracked Trail, heading south along Nevada Ave. Followed the path to the UVC Panera Bread for iced tea and a FREE loaf of bread, it pays to be a MEMBER! Then back down the PP Greenway to the apartment, calling it a day. Great day to Ride!

THAT'S ALL FOLKS, till next time, Happy Trails and BTW, HAPPY EASTER Holidays too! 

And still more March Rides!

 We headed out to Angletech, to get Jo's new 9 speed drive train installed by Joshia, it was gray, cloudy and Very Windy! At least, there wasn't any snow and the trails and streets were mostly clear. 

March 13- Got to Angletech, then walked over to the Black Bear Diner for lunch, we met up and talked to guy named Pete, I believe, he too was getting service work done on his recumbent trike. He was going to pay the bill, load up the trike and meet us at the Black Bear but alas, he never showed up? Might have needed more and just couldn't find the Diner.

We headed back to the shop, after lunch and Jo's trike wasn't quite done, the "rapid shifter" wasn't working well, he got a different one installed and it was fine, Jo did a test ride around the complex area and was quite happy with the results. From her old 7 speed, friction shifter set up to a 11x40 9 speed, rapid shifter set up! Headed back down Sinton Trail to the T-Gap Trail to get in some more miles and let Jo get a bit use to the new drive train, yes, it did also receive a new, long cage rear derailleur too! Off of the T-Gap to Nancy Lewis Park and then home via the Rock Island Trail!

March 14- PPRRN Meet & Eat ride to the Creekside Cafe- A Meet & Eat is a self-lead ride to a destination to "gather to meet and eat"! I try to set up one a month, in the warmer weather months for the Pikes Peak Region Recumbent Network (PPRRN). Jo and I told members that if they wanted to ride up together meet us a Criterium Bicycle Shop on the Pikes Peak Greenway at 10:15 AM. We waited a bit later and Mark and Diane rode up; we headed up the PPGW to pick up the Cottonwood Creek Trail and head to the Creekside Coffee House. 

Enjoyed the company on a very nice morning, heading northeast up the CCT to just before Union Blvd. The Creekside Coffee House is hooked to a local church; it has a very nice patio area and an even nicer inside area too! We had a very good sandwich and iced tea, enjoyed the company of Mark and Dianne, they told us about their ride on the AZUB 25th. Anniversary gathering overseas and all about the Tuson TOT recumbent rally in AZ. After all was said and done, Jo and I headed south for an errand run to Walmart for Yarn and new wallets. Mark and Diane headed northeast for home. We rode the PPGW over to the 8th. Street Walmart and then headed to STIR's for more iced tea and a protein bar, then back to the apartment.

That's it for now folks, between weather and medical appointments, etc. we haven't gotten in any more rides. Jo has a dental appointment on Thursday the 19th. so, I will be out and about on the "recumbent" on a solo ride as the temps are going to be a new record high in the 80 F range, WOHOO! Happy Trails! :)

More March 2026

 Last Friday, we got 5 inches of SNOW, Saturday, freezing AM temps but then warmed up enough to do some serious melting! Sunday was a beautiful day, sunny, 65 degrees and lite winds.

March 8th- Friday, 5 inches of SNOW, Saturday, Soggy Melt, trails and streets, Sunday, LETS RIDE

With 5 inches of snow wasn't sure we'd be able to ride Fri/Sat or Sun but on Saturday, it finally warmed up enough to melt a lot of the snow off the trails, it let the city crew plow thru quickly. By Sunday it was mostly dry trail and streets, so we headed out on a ride. We made a Loop Ride out of Sinton/Foothills/Shooks Run and T-Gap Trails. 

March 9- Beautiful Weather for a Monday Ride

It was a really nice day for a Monday, so we headed out to the North Cheyenne Canyon Park area. Using a lot of bike lanes, Tejon St/Cheyenne Blvd and some back streets we headed up to the park and stopped at the Picnic Grounds for a bit, then we headed east on the Cheyenne Blvd bike lane and more back streets over to Southgate Panera Bread for iced tea and our brown bag lunch. From there over to Monument Valley Park, up the Pikes Peak Greenway but found the trail closed at Unitha St. 

Decided to take Recreation Way back to the Legacy Loop Trailhead, back on the PPGW but again it was blocked off, we had to move a small barrel and put it back to continue to the Rock Island Trail over to Shooks Run Trail and to the STIR Coffee and Cocktails Cafe in the Bonn Shopping Center. After a second iced tea and snack bar we headed back to home the way we came. Really nice day for a RIDE!

March 11- Service Appointments at Angletech in the Sunny but COLD morning with a very bitter WIND!

Due to the Snow, we never made our Saturday afternoon service appointments at Angletech. We rescheduled for Wednesday the 11th at 1 PM. We headed up via Sinton Trail to the shop to get both rear derailleurs adjusted and have my headset checked out. Headed out via a walk to the Black Bear Diner for a great little "Cheeseburger combo basket" and Iced Tea.

 The wind was "bitterly COLD", even though the sun was out! We got back to the shop and picked up the trikes, talked to Joshia about a drive train upgraded from 7 speed and friction shifter set up on Jo's trike to a 9 speed and rapid shifter set up! He came up with an affordable set up so we will be heading back to Angletech on Friday at 11 AM to get it all installed, YEA! 

Note: Sadly, I did shoot some video BUT, after loading it from the camera into the computer, somehow, I erased the video segments off the computer so NO YouTube Video, RATS! That's it till next time folks, HAPPY TRAILS!

Last of February and into March

 Well today, Friday, March 6th., its SNOWING big time, hopefully it won't last long as we have a service appointment at Angletech on Saturday, at 2 PM. We have had some decent weather going into March, until today! Here is the last of February and some March rides.

February 27-A much less WINDY ride on different trails, lane, etc. 

We headed up the Templeton Gap Trail off of the Pikes Peak Greenway to the junction and chose to ride the Austin Bluffs Trail to its end point. A nice day, no jackets needed. We ended up taking a back street to head to a Mavrick station store, but it was the wrong street! We did find a new trailhead off the street to get back on the Templeton Gap Trail! Headed south and west to the frontage path to pick up the T-Gap bike lane and headed to a place for lunch and iced tea. Lots more bike lanes to finish up the ride.

March 2-A ride to the Creekside Coffee House. 

Decided to go to the Creekside Coffee House for tea and the brown bag lunch. Headed out Pikes Peak Greenway to the junction with the Cottonwood Creek Trail up to Creekside Coffee House. Then headed up the CCT to the CCT Park, did a turn around and headed back down. LOL, again it was misc. trails and bike lanes to a few places before we headed back to the apartment. Another nice day for a ride, so far March is doing better than February! 

March 4-Food Run and Lunch Ride. 

We needed to get in a Food Run over to the Walmart Market Place off of the Rock Island Trail. Food and supplies loaded into the cargo trailer and headed back to the apartment. Decided to head to the Mavrick station store on Garden of the Gods for a good Hot Dog. From the apartment to the Pikes Peak Greenway and on to the Sinton Trail heading west. Didn't us the "Tiny Tunnel of Terror", picked up the double wide sidewalk to Garden of the Gods Rd and headed into the Mavrick Station. Decided to head up the double-sided sidewalk up to GoG Rd and 31st. Street and headed back down the other side on the Sinton Trail back to the PPGW and back home!

March 5-Ride to check out the "status" of the newly built Galley Rd. bridge and to see if they re-opened the Homestead South Trail. 

Headed up the Rock Island Trail to the junction with the Homestead South (otherwise known as the Canal Trail), although the top portion has been open, it's been blocked off at the Murry Blvd crossing for more than a year! Sadly, there are 2 under passes that are as usual full of water, mud and rocks so we have to use the normal street crossings at those intersections, :( The Trail Closed sign was pulled off the trail after Murry Blvd, so we headed down to Galley Rd. Galley Rd. is now open, one lane in each direction. The big surprise was the new street crossing light and the now, doublewide sidewalks across the new bridge!! 

From there, we took back streets and sidewalk down to the Starbucks at Hwy 24 and Murry Blvd. Got our iced green tea and ate our brown bag lunch. Headed back the same way up to the Rock Island, then turned east to ride to the RIT ending point at the frontage road just before Powers Blvd. Headed back on the Rock Island Trail, west to Cascade St. and over to the Building Three Coffee Roasters, for iced tea and snack bars outside at the Lincon Center from there got back on the PPGW heading south to Monument Valley Park, then over the I-25 Pedestrian Bridge to the Mesa Greenway to its end, back to the PPGW and home. Someday, they will take the Homestead South Trail and continue it to hook up with the Sand Creek Trail but that's for the future. 

That's it so far for March, we will let you know if the snow melted fast enough for us to make our Saturday March 7th. Service appointment at Angletech of if we got snowed in and have to do our rides on the Recumbent Exercise Bike! HAPPY TRAILS