Second half of my bike commute route…
Big Catholic school or home
July 2006
Monthly Archive
Sunday Jul 30 2006
Sunday Jul 30 2006
Most days I bike to work. Colorado weather is beautiful in the mornings, and most winter days are sunny, so even in the cold the air feels good. My other biking posts have more sites devoted to the practical use of bikes for transportation and other utilitarian purposes.
Other Denver rides: Cherry Creek Trail . Downtown Platte River Trail
My daily commute: in reverse order…
Leaving work, sterile office park area, many sprinklers
Tuesday Jul 25 2006
Check out the kick ass infrastructure of Denver’s Platte River Trail. I regularly commute to work and back through some nice quiet neighborhoods, but this was my first trip down to the southwest suburbs along this trail. From the REI store downtown this travels about 15 miles, and after biking by a few factories it opens up into a wide open greenway with river access, and separate trails for biking and walking. It’s signed well, and there’s exits and cutoffs for trails to the west side, (Morrison being one ride).
This trail runs all the way to Highway 470, and connects to the 470 trail which wraps around the southwestern side of Denver, and into the foothills.
Sunday Jul 23 2006
I recently saw a write up for The Boca Room in the Denver Daily News, a small free paper in Denver which somehow manages to have more typos than my website.
They highlighted the Boca Room as their featured business on July 10.
Quickly skimming the article, I paused at the line “Steak Dinner for $5″, and made a mental note to frequent them soon. True to the paper’s prophecy, last Friday night I enjoyed a small steak, potatoes, veggies, and bread for $5, complimented by $1 PBRs and $2 wells. There’s other dinner specials, and my food was prepared well, not just “bar food”.
All this in a hip and funky environment. However rather than the stuffy clubs in other trendy areas offering similar music and ambience, The Boca’s patrons seemed relaxed and personable, making it a more “neighborhood bar” atmosphere.
I ate dinner early, and spoke briefly with Dave Mot, the owner, who has been working 15 hours a day since opening, and complimented him on the groovy furniture and warm colors, and vowed to return soon.
This place is definitely a great addition to Colfax, and this type of independent business is sure to improve the reputation of Colfax, yet keep it fresh.
At Colfax and Marion, they’re open Tuesday through Saturday.
Their web site: http://www.bocaroom.com/
Sunday Jul 23 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13989890/site/newsweek/
‘Nuff said…
Newsweek
It Was the Veto of a Lifetime Once the ‘pro-cure’ movement clarifies and penetrates, it will be hard to stand firm against saving the lives of your constituents.
July 19, 2006, was a dark day for anyone who, like me, has experienced life-threatening illness. President Bush’s veto of a modest bill that would have merely allowed surplus embryos from fertility clinics to be used for pathbreaking research instead of tossed in the garbage is more than a political blunder. And for those with a friend or relative who is sick, in other words, almost everyone,it is more than an abstraction. By slowing cures for several major diseases, this decision may well doom thousands to die prematurely. It contradicts the whole idea of what it means to be “pro-life.” (more…)
Friday Jul 21 2006
Taken at the Royal Gorge Bridge in southern Colorado during my recent 150 mile bike tour.
After realizing she wasn’t a character in the jamboree band, I couldn’t help noticing the uncanny resemblance, (save for the dark hair), to queen Divine, aka Babs Johnson: most illustrious star of the movie Pink Flamingos.
I admired her garish style for a bit, and as I continued on my ride I wish I could have followed them home, or at least to the parking lot to see where they were from.
Monday Jul 17 2006
Central Colorado
by James | under Colorado . The West , Travel , Travel Journals , Travel PhotosLeave a Comment
A part of Colorado that’s overlooked by many visitors is the Arkansas River Valley, from Leadville along highways 24 and 285 south to Salida. Most people visiting Colorado in the summer pass through Denver and head west up Interstate 70. This is where the large and well known ski resorts are located, and provide plenty of summer activities too. However the area south of Leadville offers many recreational things to do, with cheaper lodging, and a more rural setting.
An alternative after visiting Breckenridge or neighboring cities in the summer is to travel south on highway 24 through Leadville, and continue south to Buena Vista. The scenic hill climb to Leadville has some great views, and past Leadville the highway follows wide valleys and the railroad into the Arkansas River Valley.
Cloud City Cafe, Main Street Leadville
Traveling from Denver it’s a two and a half hour drive down highway 285. After climbing some steep hills into the mountains west of Denver the land opens up in wide fields before arriving in Buena Vista. The land along this stretch is a drastic change from the mansions overlooking the hills along interstate 70. Along 285 past Bailey you’ll still see large parcels of land with a single small home or trailer sitting solitarily, with horses occupying the rest of the land. The mostly two lane road passes small local bars, hardware stores, and fishing stores serving the nearby South Platte River. It’s a much more rural and slower feel than speeding through the steep canyons on I-70.
Small motels can be found in Buena Vista or Salida. There’s plenty of camping sites along the Arkansas River, and up into Independence Pass, (the shortcut to Aspen), and in Cottonwood Pass, although high elevation campsites such as the one we recently stayed at can get chilly at night.
Buena Vista is the best base for recreational activities. A small town in the center of the valley it makes a great location for hiking, rafting, or climbing activities. Several rafting companies can be found along the Arkansas River.
Friday Jul 14 2006
For a relaxing day in the spring, summer, or fall the Denver Botanic Gardens offers a tranquil oasis in the city. Located about two miles east of downtown, it’s easy to catch the #10 bus from 17th Street, and find the entrance just two blocks south on York. If coming from Cherry Creek it’s a 10 block walk up Josephine, (or choose a quieter parallel side street). Or the #24 bus runs operates about every half hour.
To the west of the gardens (walking along 9th or 11th Avenue) is Cheesman Park, which is a great place to walk and take in views of the skyline, mountains, and adjacent mansions and modern high rises.
Through the spring and summer the gardens offer concerts in the evening. For nearby coffee or a meal visit the Congress Park neighborhood (my home) and dine at Chef Zorbas greek restaurant or Diedrichs Coffee, just four blocks east on 12th Avenue. Nohana Sushi is five blocks north up York on Colfax.
Denver Botanic Gardens web site.
Monday Jul 10 2006
July 8 and 9 I joined our work team and rode in the MS150 bike tour in support of Multiple Sclerosis. About 2,500 people rode in the two day tour, and traveled from Denver to the Royal Gorge Bridge in southern Colorado. Despite biking to work daily I’ve never ridden this long a distance in two days, so on the second day it felt great to complete the steepest and most difficult last 15 miles up to the bridge and back. We did 80 miles the first day, and the second day did 70 miles.
Monday Jul 10 2006
Yours is a very bad motel. Well, the motel is a wonderfully shabby dive that I felt completely comfortable in. The owners however, merit this tedious tale.
When I read customer reviews on travel websites and newsgroups, I occasionally come across long bitchy reports about how horrible a flight was, or how terrible the service was at X restaurant and the like because things weren’t absolutely perfect. My immediate thoughts are, “What high maintenance pain in the ass customers”, and wonder why people are incapable of such inflexibility or being happy without perfection. I expect surprises when traveling, and it makes it all the more spontaneous and interesting. Except for last weekend, which of course requires the detailed and wordy review I detest:
Wednesday Jul 5 2006
Cafe Kabah . Valladolid
by James | under Eat . Drink , Mexico , Travel Abroad , Travel Journals[2] Comments
Well it’s July so you’re probably not heading to the hot and muggy Yucatan anytime soon, should should you be tooling around the peninsula be sure to spend some time in Valladolid. This was my favorite small/medium town that I visited. It’s in the center of the Yucatan Peninsula, right between Cancun and Merida.
We found a place to unwind at the Kabah Cafe, on the southeast corner of the Zocalo. On the second floor above a pharmacy the Kabah has excellent lattes, sandwiches, and desserts. Comfortable couches or a seat by the window make this a great place for sitting above the corner people watching.
There’s plenty of board games for passing the time, and friendly faces to strike up a conversation with.
Tuesday Jul 4 2006
Ok family, friends, and strangers who read my site regularly. (Who am I kidding).
My trip to The Holy Land Central Florida is complete.
What do you do in Orlando and surrounding area if you have no interest in theme parks, studio tours, characters in costume and $10 hamburgers? I spent the long July 4th weekend on a solo trip tooling around central Florida. My actual motivation for traveling was to visit and catch up with my aunt residing in Ocala, but I managed to absorb some of the humid atmosphere of the central Florida area as well.
Having experience at many short weekend trips, I figured it would be a lot of fun to fly down, drop in and spend some time with a favorite family member, do lunch, and fly home. Perhaps parlaying such experiences into a book titled, “How to take a worthwhile vacation in under three days or less”. The perfect best seller for our travel starved society.
From my home in downtown Denver I took the ultra convenient RTD express bus to the airport from the Market Street Station. It’s about an hour trip from downtown to the airport, as it makes some stops before hitting the freeway, but it drops you off right at the ticket desk, saving the need for parking, shuttles, and long walks. Armed with only my messenger bag, a change of clothes and a few books, I was airborne in no time, and arrived Orlando later that afternoon.
What I didn’t realized about driving in Orlando is that a casino size bucket of quarters comes in quite handy in the rental car, as every freeway except interstate 4 is a toll road. No problem, I scrounged up some change and was on my way. Planning on driving up to Ocala later that night to visit my relative, I headed to downtown Orlando to see what was happening.
Passing the Channel 13 “Stormchasers” van going 40 in the left lane, I was quite happy to see a Waffle House every single exit of the freeways, a place I enjoy passing time in on road trips, and which Colorado could use a few more of.
I arrived downtown, which was clean, laid out well, but not to busy this Saturday night. I parked in a garage, and the first restaurant I saw was Tijuana Flats, a burrito place similar to Chipolte or Qdoba here in Denver. Tijuana Flats was the best place I ate at, and the atmosphere was very anti-corporate, despite being a medium size chain around the south.
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