Editor's note: A previous version of this story identified Tucker's mother as Julie Connally. Her name is Judy Connally.
In the mid-1990s, on his daily commute by bicycle from Monument to Colorado Springs, Tucker Connally would weave between road and trail, dodge cars and rattle over stretches of railroad tracks, his dad Jim said.
Eventually, that ride would be transformed by a contiguous series of trails connecting Palmer Lake to Fountain that thousands of people use ever year. Connally, though, didn’t get to see it completed.
In 1998, he was in the passenger seat of a car driving back from a ski trip in Steamboat Springs when the driver lost control. The car collided with a snowplow, killing Connally.
Just after Tucker’s death, his parents, Jim and Judy, donated a commemorative stone that was placed at the Edmundson Trailhead off Woodmen Road along the route he rode before there was a connecting trail to Colorado Springs. Friday morning, 20 years after Tucker’s death and about a year after Judy's death, Jim and employees with the Colorado AAA Insurance Group worked to restore the weathered stone and weed-infested area surrounding it.
“Even though he had to ride down railroad tracks for 200 yards, he still rode his bike to Colorado Springs every day, so we thought it was appropriate to contribute to the tie-in between the Tri-Lakes area and Colorado Springs,” Jim said as he took a break from weeding. “It’s great that these people are here today to help restore the memorial that reminds us of Tucker’s kind spirit.”
“This project perfectly aligns with our values of wellness, community responsibility, and commitment to preserving our open spaces,” said Joni Arnold, who led the crew of AAA employees volunteering Friday. “We’re excited that we can be a part of something that benefits this community in so many ways.”
Just after Tucker died, his family also donated money to the community’s efforts to link the 17-mile New Santa Fe and Pikes Peak Greenway trails.
At the time, the city, Trails and Open Space Coalition and other partners had built much of the trail near the Air Force Academy but still had a couple of crucial obstacles before their vision could become a reality, said Dan Cleveland, former executive director of the coalition.
Though the proposed route was lauded by many recreationists, some living in the neighborhoods near which the trail ran were worried about safety and noise.
After a series of public meetings, enough compromises and agreements were made to break ground on the project.
The tie-in was crucial to the vision of a continuous trail running between Palmer Lake and Fountain that exists today, as well as a 876-mile trail along the Front Range between Wyoming and New Mexico known as the Colorado Front Range Trail.
“The memorial is one of many stories that we have across our region that we are connecting with these trail networks,” said Scott Abbott of the Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services. “Here’s the story of a commuter who would’ve used this trail connection, and down the road is someone else’s story.”
He continued, “We all have some sort of connection to a trail here, whether that’s in relation to our commute, our daily exercise routine or how we get out of the city and disconnect for a bit. The links made by this network all feed into those stories.”
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