A bit more of August 2025

 Ok, trying to get more August updates, here we GO!

August 16, Errand Ride to Angletech, we headed up to Angletech to check on the Status of our "wayward Ball Joints" for our trikes, the 2nd box of the order still has not arrived yet from England, RATS. I have had "foot burn" problems, i.e.: pain at the ball of foot area for some time! I have a lot less with the " Mid Arch mounted cleated shoes" than the standard mounted cleated shoes, but they are basically custom made by a guy in Florida. $250 for just bike shoes is very expensive!! 

I decided to try a different pedal; I got a set of Velo Orange Grand Cru spiked platform pedals and added a set of Terra trike Heal Straps! After several rides, they just don't GRIP as good as I have been told, RATS! Still, it was worth the try so I'm looking at selling these on Facebook and going to the "Adaptive platform pedals", they have a nickname of, Frankin Pedals but you can use ANY shoe or boot with these, and they are much cheaper than the "Mid Arch Mounted Shoes"!! Hopefully I can get them from Angletech, if not the Bicycleman Shop, in NY. sells them for $51.00 per pedal, which is a LOT cheaper than all metal Terra trike version!!

Rode to lunch and got back before the afternoon rains.

August 17, Errand Ride to Xfinity Store and rode the Vincent Bridge Loop, plus a bit more!

Had to go to the Xfinity Store as they raised our internet from 23 to 91 dollars a month!! They helped us out as we were at the end of our 2-year introductory period and got us on a plan for less than 50 dollars a month, so all is good! We headed out to pick up the Nevada Ave frontage path and worked our way over to the Vincent Street Bridge did the loop to hook up with the Cottonwood Creek Trail heading south. Again, with highly likely afternoon rain on the way, we headed for the Pikes Peak Greenway heading south and back to the apartment.

August 18, Riding with the Le Clerk's visiting from Indianna! We rode our triking friends from out of state around on some of the area trails. We stopped for lunch at Panera Bread at the UVC Center! It's always a pleasure to ride with these folks as it confirms that Recumbent Trike riders are a lot of FUN and enjoy putting on a few miles, a good meal and fellowship on the Trails!

Ok, there is more of August, I will add when I can! Until we see you again on the blog, HAPPY TRAIL'S!

Hello, finally some August updates, Ya I know, it's about time, LOL! ;)

 August 15th. Yes, dear readers I am behind my time when it comes to updating this blog! It's been a very busy couple of weeks with out-of-town visitors, med appointments, etc. so here is the scoop!

August 3- Homestead Trail Ride. We decided to ride a trail that isn't easy due to the POOR surface conditions and non-easy trail access. The Homestead Trail is a north/south trail that is really just "pieces of trail". Starting in North Penrose Park, which itself isn't easy to access you pick up a very beat up asphalt trail heading south to Oro Blanco, where it becomes not quite wide enough concrete heading north. Its only real feature is an excellent ridge view of a lot of the northeast side of Colorado Springs. 

Being on recumbent trikes we can only ride it as far as the gravel "overview" area, from there it heads, west down a slick, gravel, bumpy off camber hill before it turns north again and ends at High Chapparral Point. From there is a "single track and back street" find your way to a rough concrete and asphalt section that hooks into the Cottonwood Creek Trail. As stated, we only ride to the "gravel overlook". Someday it will be one of the most scenic trails in Colorado Springs and one of the longest, IF it ever gets completed! 

August 4- Food/Household supplies and Lunch Ride. Just a Food and Household supplies ride to the Walmart Market on Union and then Lunch after putting away the food/supplies.

August 7- Sand Creek and Pikes Peak Greenway (Gravel Section). Been awhile since we rode the Sand Creek Trail and the "gravel" section of the Pikes Peak Greenway before Nevada Ave in Co Springs. Starting out on the Rock Island turning on the Homestead Trail South to Galley Rd. From there, it's all sidewalks and back streets to pick up the Sand Creek Trail off of the Airport Rd. bike lane. Rode the Sand Creek to the hook up with the PP Greenway heading west over to Monument Valley Park and home! 

August 8- Heading to Manitou Springs on the Midland Trail but it was "Blocked Off" at 31st. Street! Headed down the west Pikes Peak Greenway from the apartment and picked up the Mesa Greenway over to the Midland Trail to ride to Manitou Springs but it was blocked off by Community Service Police and caution tape!!! Headed over to the Starbuck's at Colorado Ave and 31st Street for lunch. Heading back, it was still blocked off, so we headed back to downtown and home.

August 11- Offroad Ride to "Ice Lake" on the Santa Fe Regional Trail and USAF Academy grounds. This USAFA is a military installation, but they usually let riders use the South TRAIL Gate where the Santa Fe Regional Trail runs through. Sadly, it was CLOSED due to a high alert status all winter and up to a week ago. Since we hadn't been up there in a year, we headed up the PP Greenway, which turns into the Santa Fe Regional Trail just after Woodmen Road. It's all GRAVEL and some of it quite loose and deeper so it was kinda a test of the E-assist systems to see if it made it any easier to use our trike on gravely trails!

Made it to the south trail gate and squeezed thru, LOL, it was a much more enjoyable ride using e-assist that without it!! The trail will take you to Monument and Palmer Lake but without e-assist to help you "POWER" through to deeper lose gravel sections it's not an easy ride for sure!! Made it to Ice Lake and found some new picnic table, one the shade even and sat down to our brown bag special lunch at the lakeside! :) It was fun to get back up here and who knows, maybe now that we have e-assist, we might even try the "Glamping Campground" in Monument again sometime!! Headed home from there, a good ride!

August 13- T-Gap, Austin Bluffs, Shooks Run and Mesa Greenway Ride. Back to the normal trail rides so we decided to make a big Loop Trail out of several trails. It was HOT, 90F+ and sadly, smokey from Colorado and Utah forest fire smoke being blown by the wind into Colorado Springs! :( LOL, the reason we ended up at Shooks Run Trail is that I "BLEW BY" the right fork turn to take us up to the Starbuck's and Flintridge and Academy, so we headed to the Good Neighbors Meeting House on Shooks Run Trail to get Iced tea and eat the brown bag lunch! DUH! From there picked up the Pikes Peak Ave bike lane to get to the Mesa Greenway to the PP Greenway and back to the apartment!

August 14- Food/Supplies and Lunch Ride. The never-ending chore, when your, fixed income won't afford a CAR!! Yep, that time again so as usual, we headed up the Rock Island to the Union Blvd Walmart Market with the cargo trailer in tow to gather food and household supplies. Straight back, so the Ice Cream won't melt, LOL to the apartment, stow way the cold and frozen foods, then headed out to Smash Burger at the University Village Colorado Center for a Killer, grilled 1/4-pound Hot Dog, LOL, with iced tea and Sweet Potato waffle fries, no "brown bag" today!!! ;) 

That's it for now folks, more August rides coming up soon, out of town recumbent riders will be joining us as we sadly, ride towards THE END of SUMMER! :(

More July 2025- Trying to get Out and About on the Recumbent, between rainstorms and medical appointments!

July 13- Took a ride on the Templeton Gap Trail, starting at the junction with the Pikes Peak Greenway. A beautiful and hot day to ride to the current end point at Ranch Drive and Union Blvd. Turned and headed back to pick up the Flintridge Rd bike lane up to Academy Blvd and Starbucks for iced tea and the brown bag lunch. Made our way back to the PP Greenway and Criterium bike shop for a shade break, got back on the Greenway and headed home!

 

July 18- Headed up the PP Greenway to get to the Sinton Trail! The ride and is made up of short runs on few different trails and bike lanes. Ended up for an afternoon iced tea and apple at the Tasty Freeze Drive Inn, then home.

July 20- Food and Lunch Run!

July 21- Headed over to the Midland Trail to get to Ridge Road to ride through a part of the Garden of the Gods City Park. Stopped at a Sonic Drive Inn on Colorado Blvd, just off the trail for a hot dog lunch, can't live by PBJ only, LOL! Back to the trail to Ridge Rd and up a different backway into the GoG city park. Stopped at the GoG Visitor and Nature Center and used the restrooms, then took up the Foothills Trail to the Sinton Trail to the Pikes Peak Greenway and home!

July 25- Ride to Cottonwood Creek Trail to Cottonwood Creek Park

July 26- Headed up the Pikes Peak Greenway to pick up the backway to the Nevada Ave access Path and then rode to Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson to give a small donation to the "RIDE FOR KIDS", charity for the Ronald Mc Donald House. Big motorcycle ride and event but they were happy to get our donation, even if our recumbent E-trikes motors were a little under powered! LOL, we even got an event patch from there we did the Vincent St. Bridge Loop Ride and headed out for iced tea and lunch!

July 28- Hard Mount GoPro 4 TEST RUN on the Rock Island Trail. Decided I wanted to try to hard mount a GoPro to the trike to video "downhill runs" during a ride. The idea was so I can use "Both Brakes" while riding steep, fast downhill parts of the trail or road!! I have an old GoPro 4 "WITHOUT", EIS video stabilization and wanted to test how badly it would "Vibrate" on fast downhills. I did two sections of downhill, 1-without and video stabilization and 1-using the video stabilization program on my "video production software" to see any difference.

The without stabilization section was really bad on both downhills, the video production software video stabilization was at best, only a little better, rats. Going to get a more modern 2nd video camera for downhills as soon as I can. So, enjoy the ride and let me know what you think, thanks! 

   

Well that's it for July 2025, thanks for coming along for the rides and until we see YOU again, Happy Trail's!