By helping educate staff about the many possibilities the Legacy Loop offers, and getting the kids out on bikes along it, we can highlight how the Loop can connect the many destinations available via a short and fun bike ride from home.
In support of the Colorado Health Foundation Legacy Loop grant being administered by Bike Colorado Springs, a group of children and staff from Meadows Park Community Center joined us for a pedal tour of the southern end of the Legacy Loop, a first-time event for this organization. We started with some bicycle safety training , taking in both bike-specific safety items and proper positioning on trails and roadway, and the hand signals we use to keep each other aware and safe while riding as a group.
We took the group on a route that led out of their Stratton Meadows neighborhood, through the very challenging connection under I-25 and onto the Pikes Peak Greenway. They pedaled north to America the Beautiful Park, stopping to enjoy the new “fish panels” recently installed as part of the I-25/Cimarron Interchange project along the trail corridor. A first-ever stop for all of them happened at the Kids on Bikes Pedal Station on Tejon in the heart of downtown, and then we continued on to the south end of Shooks Run Trail, to a trail facility and old railroad bridge, also a first-ever visit. After a 2.5-hour ride, the group ended up back at Meadows Park Community Center with a deeper appreciation for the spots easily accessible by bicycle just outside of their neighborhood proper and a strong desire to “can we go again soon”?
Bike Colorado Springs is using this kind of riding event to activate the Legacy Loop with residents of the Stratton Meadows neighborhood, taking advantage of the bike culture fostered by the Meadows Park Community Center and the Kids on Bikes Bike Library. By helping educate staff about the possibilities the Legacy Loop offers, and getting the kids out on bikes along it, we can highlight how the Loop can connect the many destinations available via a short and fun bike ride from home.
Rides like this are in support of the Colorado Health Foundation Legacy Loop grant, and maximize our ability to engage the neighborhoods around the Loop and expand that to a much wider audience.
Taking advantage of the exceptionally long, warm Fall season, Bike Colorado Springs hosted a special Kids on Bikes Halloween edition Popcycle Ride on Sunday, October 30th. 20 riders (and 3 dogs!) came out, many of them arriving in costume, and we enjoyed a very fun and celebratory ride along the Pikes Peak Greenway from America the Beautiful Park to the Popcycle Bridge, one of the key amenities located along the Legacy Loop. An excellent time was had by all, and we stopped at various points along the way to explain the coming Phase 1 improvements. As a bonus, we returned along the west side of Fountain Creek, a new experience for many on the ride.
Rides like this are in support of the Colorado Health Foundation Legacy Loop grant, and maximize our ability to engage the neighborhoods around the Loop and expand that to a much wider audience.
The goal was to better understand the connections … in support of the upcoming Bike Colorado Springs Connectivity Rides planned to take place monthly during the pilot project period.
On Saturday, October 29th Allen Beauchamp, the Education and Encouragement Chair of BCS was joined by our City of Colorado Springs Senior Bike Planner Kate Brady as they accompanied Carlos Perez and Richard Hedlind, local residents and supporters of the buffered bike lane pilot project along Research Parkway. The goal was to better understand the connections to places of value within the area that cyclists would commonly visit, in support of the upcoming Bike Colorado Springs Connectivity Rides planned to take place monthly during the pilot project period.
They spent a few hours on bicycles, exploring the connections to a number of various destinations, including the Cottonwood Creek and Woodmen Trails, Library 21C, Rampart Park with the Pikes Peak BMX track facility and the Union Towne Center shopping complex. The new buffered bike lanes made the connections to these facilities much more efficient and safer than having to share the multi-use paths that run alongside Research Parkway.