I joined the "National Bike Challenge" which started May 1st. was only able to get in 7.7 miles but did a lot of HILLS to compensate for the time. My ride was around the Security Area where I live but I did a lot of squiggly streets between the hills to get some miles on STRAVA so they could auto update to the Love to Ride-National Bike Challenge! Enjoyed the ride in windy, partly sunny conditions, which looked a LOT better by afternoon as the day started with total DARK clouds and no sunshine!!
National Bike Challenge this is the link to NBC, join up and have some fun, BTW, I still need 5 recumbent trike riders to fill my team, "TEAM Recumbent Trike" (a total of 8 members per team) so pls. join up, thanks! :)
Oh, well I did know a round about way to get to the Midland Trail so I headed out and picked it up. The Midland Trail is a older trail, that's been changed a lot over the years. It's nice cause it's got several places with small/short bridges over Cheyenne Creek heading west from downtown. It's mostly concrete except for a section from 21st. to 25th. Street, which is currently set up for a detour on sidewalks and back streets. In the past you rode the trail to Ridge Rd. then it took forever to cross the intersection of Colorado Ave. and Ridge Rd. Now they are building a "under the street bike/walk accessway" that will hook to a "Bike Island Rest Area" between C. Springs and M. Springs! Hopefully completed by summer/fall 2019. For now the "construction flaggers" will stop auto traffic so a bicycle can pick up the detour route back over to the trail into the Manitou Springs Swimming Pool Park. From there it continues as a graded dirt path for a while and then you have to pick up "back streets" into Manitou Springs down town itself. Did a 12 mile round trip, after I got the trike stowed back in the Van, I went over to the "Tiki Bar" at my LBS, (The Colorado Springs Bike Shop) and got a glass of their "homemade" Bicycleville Root Beer! Sunny, breezy, 70F.
