Medicine Wheel will be working on building a brand spanking new trail, the Bonus Loop on Stephanie’s Trail, this Saturday May 19. The Bonus Loop will add a little variety and new views to the route. There will be two sessions, from 8am to 11am and from 12 noon to 3pm. Lunch will be provided by La’au’s Tacos, so either stay over after the morning session or come early for the afternoon.

As usual, take suncreen, water and gloves. Medicine Wheel will provide all the tools and assembly instructions. Don’t miss this opportunity to help create a new gem in the Colorado Springs trail system! Please RSVP Harry at harry@harryhamilldesigns.com and let him know if you’d like to work in the morning or afternoon. Crew Leaders, especially, RSVP. Others can show up but it makes it easier for them to know how many will be there.

Stephanie’s Trail is located in the SW corner of Bear Creek Park. They we will be meeting at the upper trail head parking lot on Gold Camp Road.

Besides volunteers willing to get down and dirty, they need a person or two to hang out at the trail head and help register participants, set them up and send them off in the right direction.

Can’t help Medicine Wheel out on Saturday? They have plenty of other trail work planned.

Colorado Cyclist is hosting a Giant Demo Day at Palmer Park on May 17th just for women. Demo time is from 5 PM to 8 PM.

Test ride a LIV/Giant Road or Mountain bike. Bring your helmet, Shoes, Pedals, Driver’s license, and credit card to demo a bike. Admission is Free. For additional details please call 1-800-688-8600 Ext. 143.

You may want to call the number above to be sure where they’ll have the demos set up. Usually they’re in the parking lot near the play equipment off Paseo Road near Maizeland.

The new CS West location is at 3020 W Colorado Ave. It’s only a few blocks from Red Rock Canyon Open Space so I’d think you could ride over and hit the trails. Normally with bike demos you need to have a credit card and ID to make sure you bring the bike back.

Ryan Kohler will be teaching basic and advanced dirt riding skills through discussion, demonstration and hands-on fun this weekend, May 12th and 13th. All abilities of riders are welcome – progress at your own pace. He will be teaching riders from beginner to intermediate the core skills necessary to enhance safety, fun, and learning on the MTB. Riders will start with a morning session of fundamental movements that are required for continued MTB success before progressing to an afternoon skills ride to apply the newfound knowledge.

Registration cost is $99 for the 1.5 days. Registration fee does not include food or drink. Lunch is on your own, but there are plenty of choices within riding and driving distances. Participants must possess a current and valid USAC racing license on the day of the clinic. For riders who do not have a license, one-day licenses can be purchased for $5 per day.

Some of the topics that will be covered:

• Basic skills including front wheel lift, rear wheel lift and bunny hop
• Dismount and remount (and efficient entry/exit to pedals)
• Cornering on different surfaces and turn cambers
• Pedaling cadence, low-speed balance
• Preserving momentum through “pumping”
• Maintaining control when bumped
• Body position and awareness
• and, of course, your questions and concerns

Get all the details on the skills clinic here.

The 2012 Santa Cruz Demo Tour is coming to Palmer Park, Saturday May 5th. Test ride new bikes from Santa Cruz Bicycles. The bike demos run from 9 AM – 2 PM.

Test ride the Nomad Carbon, Superlight 29, Tallboy Aluminum and more. Riding the demo bikes is free but you’ll need a credit card and ID so you accidentally don’t ride off into the mountains. Take your shoes and own pedals so they’re compatible and what you’re used to.

Reps from Santa Cruz and Colorado Cyclist will be available for tech questions. Call 1-800-688-8600 Ext. 143 for further details.

The Chick-fil-A Saturday morning breakfast rides start up tomorrow, May 5th, and will run through Septempter 1st. It’s a bike ride for all ages and abilities. The rides start at 8:00 AM so arrive a little before that. The rides start at Chick-fil-A at 575 Garden of the Gods Rd.

You should be able to ride 9 miles for the famly ride. The other level rides vary between 11 – 28 miles and last about 2 hours. Helmets are required. Enjoy a FREE Breakfast entree after the ride.

Also check out the Chick-fil-A Breakfast Rids Facebook page and meetup group.

The rides lead up to the Chick-fil-A Ride for Heroes on Saturday, September 8, 2012. For more information or to register www.PatriotsFestival.com

The wonderful ladies of WMBA of Colorado Springs know how to throw great parties. If you’ve ever been to one of their season kickoff meetings or their Halloween Crits, you know this first hand. If you haven’t experienced one of their parties yet, you need to be at their Season Kickoff and Membership Drive on Thursday, May 3rd at 6pm at the Warehouse, 25 E Cimarron St.

Ladies bring your spouses, kids, and friends to sign up or renew your WMBA membership. WMBA will provide light appetizers. They’ll have an awesome prize drawing that includes a bike and two RockShox front suspension forks: a Revelation and a Reba!

Medicine Wheel has released their trail work and event schedule for the next several weeks. Go to the Medicine Wheel website or their Facebook page for more details.

• Wednesday May 2 – Spring Creek Trail – Cheyenne Canon 5:00 PM till dusk
• Saturday May 19 – Stephanie’s Trail Bonus Loop – West Bear Creek Park – 2 shifts, 8:00 AM and Noon-3PM
• Wednesday May 23 – Stephanie’s Trail Bonus Loop – West Bear Creek Park 5:00 PM till dusk
• Saturday June 2 – Josh Osterhoudt memorial ride and beer
• Tuesday June 5 – Bristol Brewery Karma Night – $1.00 from every beer goes to MWTA! Come on down and have a brew.
• Saturday June 9 – Stephanie’s Trail Bonus Loop – West Bear Creek Park – 2 shifts, 8:00 AM and Noon-3PM
• Wednesday June 13 – Stephanie’s Trail Bonus Loop – West Bear Creek Park 5:00 PM till dusk

There will be USAC categories and a citizens race. There will be no 1-day licenses sold so you either need an annual USAC license or race the the citizens class. USAC registration is here and the citizens registration is here.

The start is 200 meters up Highway 105 from Palmer Lake. Racers proceed north for about 5.5 miles to West Fox Farm Road and turn right on West Fox Farm Road for 2.5 miles before turning right (180-degree turn) onto Spruce Mountain Road. The finish line is about 400 meters outside of Palmer Lake. The 15.2-mile course has 704 feet of elevation gain and 744 feet of elevation loss.

For additional information, see the race flyer.

El Paso County had trails projects on the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority draft list that was approved by the County Commissioners on Feb 28, 2012. The trail projects were later removed. After advocacy efforts by the Trails and Open Space Coalition, the Commissioners agreed to postpone voting on the PPRTA-2 list.

PPRTA is a 1 cent sales tax set to expire in 2013. Voters will be asked to reauthorize the tax in November. It’s a “transportation” program – not a “highway” program, because it includes transit and non-motorized projects. The first PPRTA included money for the Pikes Peak Greenway – the spine of our trail system.

What are some of the county’s trail projects? El Paso County staff listed 9 trail projects to include on the county’s list. One favorite would have provided non-motorized transportation options for enlisted soldiers at Fort Carson. Another would have connected an existing trail to a Junior High School. The top three projects would have cost $391,609. That’s .24% of the county’s PPRTA-2 share.

County Commissioners are now holding a public meeting on PPRTA-2, where trails projects will be considered for re-inclusion, due to advocacy efforts. The meeting is Thursday, April 26, 7-9 PM at Centennial Hall, Cascade Ave and Vermijo, Colorado Springs.

Why: Ask the County Commissioners to add Transportation Trails projects back into the proposed Capital Program list for PPRTA-2, which will go to the voters in November. If you can’t make the meeting, contact your county commissioner.

Talking Points from TOSC:

• Trails are an important part of the multi-modal transportation network solutions for the Pikes Peak Region.
• Commuters need trails to get to and from work efficiently and safely.
• School children need trails as a safe way to get to and from school.
• Trails provide environmental benefits, including cleaner air by reducing the use of fossil fuels.
• Trails reduce traffic congestion by getting people out of their cars.
• Trails reduce our personal and governmental transportation costs by using human power.
• You don’t have to be 16 to ride on a trail, they are open to all ages.
• The Cities of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and the Town of Green Mountain Falls all have included non-motorized trails projects in their transportation project lists. The County should also.
• Trails need continuity between points A and B. The County needs to be a player so trails don’t stop at the City limits.
• Having bike lanes included in City and County road projects absolutely helps address our transportation needs, but may not meet the needs of users who feel unsafe or don’t have the skills to ride next to moving traffic.
• Trails have been and must continue to be part of our multimodal transportation solutions for our region.
• Trails provide health benefits for commuters and trails users.