Author: By Susan Davies Special to The Gazette
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Trail Talk: Where do e-bikes belong?
Electric bikes are a multi-billion-dollar business, with North America the fastest growing market in the world. Colorado law allows e-bikes to go wherever bikes are allowed but gives cities the authority to prohibit them on trails. Class 1 (pedal-assisted) bikes are allowed on all hard-surface trails in Colorado Springs. Expanding use to include Class 2…
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Trail Talk: Exploring Colorado’s beautiful wilderness shouldn’t come with fear of stray bullets
My brother, father, uncles and cousins were all deer hunters back in Wisconsin. I learned to shoot a .22 when I was 12 and enjoyed target shooting using soup cans at my grandparents’ farm. Guns are a tool and have a purpose. I am also an avid hiker and love to lose myself above Palmer…
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Trail Talk: 2020 a reminder of the beauty and fragility of nature
Ta-ta 2020. You brought us fear, chaos, economic hardship, canceled vacations, weddings, funerals and plenty of grief. You also taught us a few things. We were forced to look at our lives, narrow our focus to what and who was truly important. Many of us spent more time outdoors because it was one of the…
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Trail Talk: Sharing a path and a smile
A friend visiting from Chicago remarked on how friendly people are on our trails. When he hikes near his home, people ”greet” each other with a barely perceptible nod. They are reluctant to interrupt the oh-so-rare solitude. Out here, nearly everyone he encountered either smiled broadly, offered a hearty hello or stopped to chat. He…
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Trail talk: Get Barr Trail help, too
New and shiny almost always trump old and familiar. New trails constructed over the past couple of years in Ute Valley Park and Red Rock Canyon Open Space are exciting additions offering variety and new challenges. But let’s take a moment to pay tribute to one of the region’s most popular and venerable trails on…
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Trail Talk: Updates on trees, trails in Colorado Springs
Remember Paul Harvey’s popular “The Rest of the Story” radio program? Fact is, there are times when we hear the start of a story, get whiffs of possible solutions and then the flow of information ends. I thought I’d use this opportunity to give you the next chapter in a couple of stories related to…
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Trail talk: Have your say on proposed land swap in involving The Broadmoor, North Cheyenne Canon Park
Is the proposed land trade with The Broadmoor a stroke of great luck for Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services? Or is the plan lopsided? I’ve heard both opinions, and it’s something the hiking/cycling/equestrian community needs to consider. The proposed trade would give the city public access and ownership of Barr Trail, the Manitou…
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Trail talk: Give the gift of time to Colorado Springs projects in 2016
During the next two days, more presents will be wrapped and unwrapped than at any other time of the year. In this busy holiday season, take time to give yourself a simple gift – a few quiet minutes on your favorite trail. And while you walk, run or ride, consider one more gift that doesn’t…
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Trail talk: Venture outside in Colorado Springs for truth on trails
When someone talks smack about a friend or sibling, I don’t take it quietly. And I feel the same way about the trail system in the Pikes Peak region. Let’s start with El Paso County’s “Blue Book.” Some readers might be shocked to learn that the people who list the pros and cons of an…
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Trail talk: Fort Collins a role model as a city for cyclists
“You live in such a beautiful place!” We’ve all heard that sentiment from visitors. We never grow tired of hearing it. Recently, however, a visitor shared a very different assessment. Her assessment came from a bicycling perspective. In Colorado Springs to attend a bicycle workshop, this Fort Collins resident justifiably criticized the region’s lack of…