BobbyG

...and the good kind of adventure!

It was time for routine maintenance on the car. So yesterday, I dressed in my commute kit, put the bike in the back of the SUV, and drove to the dealership (coupons made it cheap).

Then I rode to work. Planned the route which took me down some streets and through neighborhoods I haven't biked (or driven on) on before. Eventually I hooked up with one of my regular routes.

When it was time to pick up the car I had a challenge; it's the same issue I have with my normal "short route". There is an old bridge I can take in to work on the "short route" but can't take home, due to safety concerns (there have been fatalities).

So I asked Google maps and it directed me to the Sand Creek Trail. I had considered the Sand Creek Trail a dozen years ago when searching for a route from work to my step-daughter's house. But it was dirt and went through creekside thickets full of shady people conducting shady business.

However, Google Street View showed the trail to now be paved!

So I popped Google navigation in my right ear and set out. After passing by the Olympic Ice Skating facility (Yay, Colorado Springs!) I navigated some back streets and picked up the Sand Creek Trail where it meets the southern portion of the Greenway Trail and smack dab in the middle of a Frisbee golf course!

While the Sand Creek Trail winds along Sand Creek alongside some industrial parks, it was still pastorially picturesque. The pavement was of the wide sidewalk type, and the under-brush was cleared off way to the sides for clear views ahead and behind. There were a fair amount of transients walking and biking along with their belongings, but not any threatening types. There were also some folks out walking, running and biking for fitness (I assume).

Unfortunately, the trail crosses a busy road at a point with no traffic signal and it was rush hour. So I rode down a couple hundred yards to a light and crossed there. But instead of riding back to the trail, the street has the recent addition of a bike lane, so I took that instead. Eventually I ended up riding a half-mile of sidewalk before re-encountering the trail. Next time I think I will go back the 200 yards to the trail.

From there it was a quiet street, and then a street with a bike lane and then...I was back at the dealership.

It's only about 5 miles from the dealership to work, so I biked about 11 miles yesterday as opposed to my normal 18-20. Had I taken the dealer shuttle I would have biked 0 miles yesterday.

It's funny, when I have to drive somewhere and take a new route, it almost never feels like an adventure. But on the bike, it almost always feels like magic.

riverdrifter

Sounds like a good day! I used to live in Colorado Springs, I still miss it.

pdlamb

I smile every time I drop the car off and answer the question, "No, I don't need a shuttle, I've got a bike instead."

BobbyG

I don't know how long ago you were here, but there have been plenty of changes over my 27 years here, (and even more over my wife's 56 years here). Some things have changed for the better, some for the worse.

But then, I guess it's like that everywhere.

riverdrifter

Yeah that's true everywhere. We left about 10 years ago.

We moved to the Springs from the flatlands. I remember saying to someone when we first arrived, "How do you get anything done here, with that mountain staring at you all day?".

BobbyG

I work down by Quail Lake and my first week here in 1992 I literally ate lunch at the park facing the mountains.
This is the view of Quail Lake a half-block from my office.

wipekitty

Ha, reminds me of my first year in Boulder out of the flatlands. Every little thing - the gas station, bus stop, grocery store - seemed so scenic that I had to stop and take a picture (a bigger deal when pictures used film). It got old after a bit.

The whole front range has changed a ton since I left.

no motor?

I was impressed with how scenic your commutes were, but this puts them in perspective.

Smokinapankake

I lived in Colorado Springs 1990 - 1994 when I was stationed at Fort Carson. Cut my MTB teeth riding Buckhorn / Cap’n Jack’s. Lived in a dive apartment behind the McDonald’s on the corner of Nevada and Cheyenne Mountain Road. I had a girlfriend who lived in some apartments just south of Quail Lake. I loved the area, but it’s been 20+ years since I’ve been there. I should go back this fall...

noglider 

I know, right?!