A little of this, a lot of that to start the trip

I’m writing this post from beautiful Buffalo, Wyoming where they don’t call the wind wind but rather natural enthusiasm. And there’s a whole lot of natural enthusiasm in these here parts. And also a whole lot of pouring rain. Went for a bike ride this morning up Crazy Woman Canyon and got chased out of the Bighorns by hail and then by what can only be characterized as a wall of water descending out of the lead colored skies. Oh, and let’s not forget the lightning that was close enough that you heard the crackle before the bang. It was truly biblical and a fitting start to a trip that will hopefully see us in Jasper, Canada inside of a week. That is if our good friends to the north are in an accommodating mood and still allowing Americans to cross the border, notwithstanding the nasty battle over tariffs and such.

Oh well, the road that beckons always throws something new at us. Just a couple of days ago I was doing some drywall work up near Leadville and complaining about how hot and dry it was at 10,000 feet. I did get a chance to spend some time in the mining district above the town and here’s some of what I saw...

Right now I could go with some blue Colorado skies and some warm, or at least warmer, temps. I have a feeling that as we head further north the sweatshirts may make an appearance but who knows... only time will tell!

Giving up retirement for... Bike to Work Day!

My former coworkers would be proud of me. I actually was up at the crack of dawn (well almost...) to join the 21,000+ registered cyclists for this year’s Denver Bike To Work Day. A beautiful cool morning made for a spectacular trip downtown but the forecast is for it to get a tad warm so I’ll support my fellow riders on the way home in spirit. By the time I got back to my starting point it already was turning into a sweat fest. This year I saw signs indicating there would be aid stations this afternoon as well. For the 25+ times I participated as an actual commuter my only complaint was that there was plenty of aid stations for the ride INTO work but none on the way home so kudos for the organizers of this year’s event to coax or cajole volunteers to man (or woman) the aid stations again in close to 100 degree heat.

Heat can be a killer to cyclists especially if they fail to stay hydrated. It was obvious that some of the riders out this morning are only occasional cyclists and if they spend their work day in cool air conditioned comfort they’ll be paying a hefty price on the way home. 

Of course the real test for the organizers of Bike to Work Day is how many of these occasional cyclists make the effort (and effort it takes) to ride not just today but on subsequent days this summer.  By the way I was feeling (and sweating) by the end of my ride the thought crossed my mind that Denver’s organizers might have to give some thought to moving Bike to Work Day earlier in the year. The month of May is actually Bike to Work Month nationally and it would definitely be cooler although in Denver May, especially early May, can still bring the threat of not just cool but downright cold weather so there’s no right answer.

So kudos to all those intrepid riders who took part today. And to those on the e-bikes (battery assisted bikes which are apparently becoming more and more popular) who zipped by me I’m not jealous. Nah, not the least bit...

A hot time in Leadville...

I'm sitting in a conference room on the Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, CO waiting for a Town Hall meeting to start. This morning my wife and I participated in Lake County's wildfire evacuation drill. We have a cabin in the area and thought we'd be good citizens and help out the folks who'd potentially come to our aid if a wildfire did rear it's ugly head up in this neck of the woods.

It was a dry winter at 10,000 feet and there have already been some small spot fires but according to local fire officials even those early small fires have been demonstrating fire behaviors not usually seen until late July and August.

Fire is of course a natural occurrence. The problem is that more frequent smaller fires have been suppressed for too long allowing for the fuel supply (trees and brush) to build up to dangerous levels.  Based on the turn out of agencies participating in the drill they take the potential of fire very, very seriously and appear well prepared (as well prepared as is possible...) but nature, and fire specifically, knows no real master so all of us involved in today's exercise can only wait and hope that the real deal never occurs. Yet we are left with the realization that it perhaps is not so much a question of if, but when.

A Thank You to the NFL but not for what you think

When Mr. Kaepernick first went down on bended knee during the National Anthem in the Fall of 2016 to protest racial inequality and police violence against minorities I was angry and upset that yet again someone was disrespecting our flag and our Anthem. Like Mr. Trump and many Americans I couldn’t accept that a highly paid football player would take it on himself to become a symbolic focal point for oppression and racism in this great country.

The NFL has now come full circle by announcing its policy that players must stand for the Anthem or protest unseen off the field. You’d think I’d be cheering the NFL for doing the right thing. Instead I’m writing today to thank the NFL for another reason. For showing me that I was wrong. As viscerally gut wrenching as I find it when someone disrespects the preeminent symbols of our nation I find it far worse that I now live in a country where citizens don’t stand out of respect for the flag and Anthem but stand because they are forced to. The fact that so many Americans voluntarily rise to their feet in community at the playing of the Star Spangled Banner is a tribute to all that is right with America. But Mr. Kaepernick, along with all those who ultimately joined him in silent protest, have made me think, and realize yet again (how many times do I have to be reminded...) that our country is far from perfect and we all need to continue to work, together, to make it - as our President would tell us - “Great Again”. And perhaps that is what Colin was trying to do.

In the days since that now infamous knee first touched grass there have been too many subsequent shootings of unarmed black men, too public refusals of establishments from simply allowing minority citizens from using the restroom, too recent racist tirades from celebrity sitcom stars to think that we unfortunately don’t have a very long road ahead to bring us as a people back together as one nation. The NFL’s new rule doesn’t help us along that path. In fact it makes the path longer and more difficult by continuing to divide us. My father, long deceased, was a veteran who along with millions of others fought and died, in part, to preserve the very right to protest injustice wherever it rears its ugly head. He knew, like Mr. Kaepernick and now the NFL have now reminded me, that you can’t force respect for anything - even our country - but we can work together to make it truly worthy of that respect.

My apologies to those who graciously read my humble words expecting a simple chronicle of my physical travels for straying off the Road That Beckons (the name of this blog) into an area of social tumult. But my journey through this life I’ve been given has not just been a physical one. I’m not the same person I was in the brashness of youth nor will I be the same as I am now when I become an old man (hopefully many, many years from now!). I continue to learn from almost everything that touches me and every day I come to the conclusion that the older I get the less I truly know. Thus the journey, the road that beckons, continues.

One more for the road

Tomorrow I'll be leaving my oasis in the desert to head home to, what I'm hearing is, snowy Colorado. Just when the local Phoenix radio stations are forecasting the first 90 degree temps of the year. Oh well... Last year we had 90's and 100's during Spring Training but as I've mentioned in recent blogs this year's Spring has been a little cool down here in the desert Southwest.

This morning I was up before the crack of dawn in order to, well, film the crack of dawn. Dawn and dusk are known as the golden hours for photographers and the desert offers its own perspective on that. When I'm freezing back home wondering what happened to Spring (it is almost April after all), the desert at dawn and dusk is what I'll most cherish from this trip. For those still enjoying the winter wonders of late March here's a quick glimpse of what you've been missing...

Closing day Spring Training 2018

They say it ain’t over until... well, you know.  I don’t know about that, but yesterday was a wrap for Arizona Spring Training at Surprise Stadium. They packed a lot into one game as it saw the Kansas City Royals taking on, and ultimately losing to, the Chicago Cubs whose fans, as I’ve mentioned before, tend to pack the stadium. They didn’t disappoint yesterday as the announced attendance topped 11,000 which fills every seat in the stadium and the lawn seats as well. I suspect a lot of fans elected not to actually sit in the overcrowded grass areas so it was really standing room only for this one.

It was also the annual Thank You lunch that the Stadium puts on for the Sundancers volunteers, or as they are referred to in the stadium - the yellow shirts. If you attend a game at Surprise you won’t be able to miss them. From parking attendants to ticketing, to monitoring the stands and hosting the 50/50 Raffle this volunteer group helps raise funds for needy causes and has awarded more than one million dollars in scholarships to area youth in recent years. If I lived in the area this is an organization I’d join in a heartbeat. They definitely add a special character to the atmosphere at Surprise Stadium and a nicer and more helpful bunch of folks you could not meet.

One of the worst kept secrets is that a lot of Spring Training merchandise is deeply discounted the last day as the vendor would rather move it than pack it and save it for next year. Thus the Pro Shop was full with fans for most of the game and by the end was looking pretty darn empty. I’ll be helping close down things over the next couple of days before making my way back north to Denver. It feels like it was just yesterday I was departing home in a snowstorm and from what I’m hearing weatherwise I may be returning the same way.

If you’ve been reading some of these blogs thanks for tagging along for Spring Training 2018 Arizona style. Hopefully we can take it all in again in 2019!

A march of a different kind

Yesterday saw High School students from around the country and around the globe march in protest of gun violence. Regardless of where you stand on this issue I think everyone might concede how sad it is that High Schoolers actually have to take to the streets of America because they no longer feel safe in school. My wife graduated from Columbine several years prior to the shootings there and I can remember marching with several thousand others afterwards in honor of the victims. Back then we were naive enough to think ‘never again’ yet school shootings have reached a crescendo where they happen on almost a monthly basis. I applaud the High Schoolers for actively trying to change things for the better but fear that the lesson they may learn is that politics - scratch that - politicians -really do follow the money and that the powers that be in this country are willing, as is apparent through their actions, or more precisely, inactions, to bear the sacrifice of dead young people on the altar of gun rights.

Another type of walk was occurring yesterday at the same time the High Schoolers were taking their literal and figurative steps towards positive change. This one involved young people as well but was in a far happier vein. Surprise Stadium brought in hundreds of Little Leaguers to be recognized before the assembled baseball faithful in celebration of these kids simple love of the game they play. From kids as young as 5 and 6 years old on up they marched in, eyes gawking at the crowded stadium. One can only imagine what a thrill it had to be for the kids as they took in their surroundings. For most it was their one chance to be on a Major League field actually dressed to play ball. It was especially cool when some of the Major Leaguers  came out of the dugouts to spontaneouly high five the kids. Too soon they will grow up and follow in the footsteps of their High School brethren as they move on from innocent pursuit of games to  the necessities of a world where people will try to kill them as they simply sit in a classroom.

May they enjoy their innocence for as long as they can.