Templeton Gap Trail

With some good but windy weather, I got to ride the Templeton Gap Trail, This trail starts off the Pikes Peak Greenway and heads east. The trail is now 99% paved or cement which is a real improvement as there use to be a lot of "broken asphalt and dirt".  You head slightly north then up over a large hill, heading to Nevada Ave. You have to use the crosswalk light to get to the path on the other side, that continues east to Portal Park, a nice place to stop for a snack.

The trail now has two roads on each side of the drainage ditch, take the trail on the "right" side as that one is in much better shape and let's you continue east, via a small tunnel. At the top of the tunnel, turn LEFT along the street and then you start heading "north", this takes you to the bridge at Austin Bluffs Parkway, to continue north, you go "under" the bridge via the drainage flow and to the end of the trail at "Ranch Road", this is approximately, 3/4 of a mile south of Academy Blvd. and Union Blvd. If you take a "left" at the bridge the trail heads east along the Austin Bluffs Parkway, over 3 steep hills and then ends. You can pick up the Greencrest Trail thru Palmer Park but that's a "DIRT" trail made for mountain bicycling or you can continue north on a "sidewalk" to Academy Blvd.

Start of T-Gap Trail, off of the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail

You have to cross Nevada Ave at the Crosswalk light, to continue on the T-Gap Trail

Portal Park a nice place to stop for a snack! :)

IF you turned left at the tunnel this is what you'll see, heading north.

This is the bridge at Austin Bluffs, head down to continue north, head east over the bridge to go to Academy Blvd.

End of the trail heading north towards Academy Blvd. and Union Blvd.

It's around 5 miles long (one way) and has a few small hills to get the heart rate up, LOL! ENJOY! :)

A nice Sunday ride and some info on the Shooks Run Rail Trail

Well the weather finally cooperated and we got a nice "whole" weekend! When we only get "one" good weekend day,  we have to use it for our, "motorcycle" so we can take it down the highway and recharge the battery. Sadly our "storeage area" doesn't have a "electrical plug" we could use to just attach a "trickle charger"! :(

So Sunday we went out for a bicycle ride, finally and had a real great ride, we picked a older and shorter local Rail-Trail here in Co. Springs, called the Shooks Run Rail Trail. It's got some rougher places but it's a good ride and has "2 parks" for picnics and a full service coffee shop, (Dog Tooth Coffee Shop), right on the trail. I'ts broken up by several intersections with city streets but all in all it makes for a easy Sunday bicycle ride!

Here's our bikes and my wife Jo at the Start of the Shooks Run Trailhead, which runs south along Weber St. for quite a while. There is also a great little "50's style cafe" 1/2 mile down the trail, called Tasty Freeze Drive Inn. The trail wonders south, a mix of concrete, asphalt in various state of need of maint. but any MTB or fat tire comfort bike won't have any problems:

Trail head for the Shooks Run Rail Trail and Junction to the Rock Island Trail North.



Current end of trail just past the tunnels, one day it will hook up with Las Vegas Street and the Tejon St. Bike Lane.

A sunny but breezy ride in Feb., together! :)

On Sunday Jo and I actually got to ride together for a change, Jo hasn't been able to ride much, she used to commute to work but now that we live only "1 mile" from her work we just, "walk" there.  So her poor bike has been collecting DUST, I wiped it down and lubed the chain and we headed out to ride on of our favorite rail-trails from America the Beautiful Park, downtown to Manitou Springs. It's 25 mile round trip and Jo solder on as best as she could, she could really FEEL the lack of riding but it was Sunny, 65 F with a 15 mph. headwind, (both ways, the wind always changes direction in the afternoon due to down slope from Pikes Peak!).

We took it easy and just cruised, lot's of riders on the trail today as Jan. was almost a total loss, riding wise. We rode back street bike lanes and side streets to get to America The Beautiful Park and picked up the "Midland Trail" to the Creek Side Trail into Manitou Springs. The have a Subway's just outside the park so we ate a good lunch while sitting outside! :) Had a real good day but Jo was a bit beat by the time we got back home and then had to go food shopping! It was really great to "Share the Road", I wished it could happen more often! :)

A rest stop on the Midland Trail.

Jo and the bikes at Soda Springs Park, in Manitou Springs, CO.