Olympia, originally uploaded by kevindooley.

Yes, after walking away from an awarded an offer to host the 1976 Olympics due to worries about financial and environmental impacts Denver is not looking at a possible opportunity to host the Olympics in 2018.

Cool, but guess what they are saying a big worry would be… transportation up and down I-70. I just won’t stop hoping and working to see if the mountain train/monorail project will finally happen.

Here is the article… http://www.examiner.com/x-758-Denver-Skiing-Examiner

Gorilla Run, originally uploaded by theurbanbrain.

While I was out of the country I didn’t miss hearing about the economy. I didn’t miss the moaning and groaning about work, sales, business and the such. I didn’t miss the millions of hours of political commercials.

What I did miss, I am sad to say, was the news that there would be something as fun as a Gorilla Run today. Walking back from a delicious breakfast at Lola I noticed a lineup of Gorillas on the bike path as I crossed the Platte River Bridge. With zany costumes including bikini clad Gorillas, Guerrilla military Gorillas (clever) and business suit gorillas (perhaps a statement about the baboons on Wall Street) it looked like fun. One friend I ran into who was also watching the parade of furry costumes commented that they were surprised I wasn’t doing the race as it was “right up my alley”. I would spend some time thinking about the implications of this statement concerning my psychological well being if I hadn’t already thought the same thing. This would have been fun. It’s for charity with all benefits going to the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund, its healthy, and you get to be a little or a lot wacky. Dang, the first news that I truly regret hearing.

To learn more about the race for next year, and you can bet I’ll plan to be there, visit denvergorillarun.com. Oh yeah, the gorilla suit is included with your registration. It’s whatever you use to dress it up that is up to you.

The Cherry Creek Chronicle

I didn’t expect it, but checking through the popularity logs of this site one post continually rises to the top. I had hoped it might be something about saving the planet or taking a train to the mountains… but no… it’s about the Best Cougar Bar in Denver. Unfortunately the poll tied to this post got wiped out many many months ago when the site went through a major WordPress ugrade. One of the risks of being an early adopter I suppose.

For those who seem to find this the most curious of questions I will repost the poll. Feel free to share with me any new Cougar destinations I might have missed.

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For anyone who wants to read the original Cougar post click here.

A little rain wasn’t going to stop these runners from taking on the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon this morning. I just wanted to show these die hard runners taking off in the rain on Little Raven Street in Riverfront Park and a few of the finishers.

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Today Oil prices jumped over $10 a barrel, although I really don’t know how big that is but according to the New York Times it is the BIGGEST JUMP EVER. Just Frakking Great.

How did I know something was up, I noticed the stock market was taking a nose dive. So now everyone’s savings, 401K, [Read more →]

Last night I was fortunate enough to attend my first (yes, my first) concert at Red Rocks for the R.E.M. concert with Modest Mouse and The National. And yes, I cannot count on one hand how many people were shocked that it was my first concert. Don’t ask me how that happened, I guess my days in the mountains were just too booked. However I was still a slacker for putting this event off for so long. Red Rocks is an amazing place and it was an amazing show. And with the news about Obama winning the Democratic Presidential Nomination the show had a special energy for R.E.M. Michael Stipe began an earlier set announcing that Obama would be our next President and went through a number of songs [Read more →]

Quick, what bills are these?

In 2002, the American Council of the Blind began a lawsuit against the U.S. Government claiming that our existing currency discriminates against the Blind or the visually impaired.

In 2006 the decision came in in favor of the American Council of the Blind. The Treasury Department Appealed.

This month in 2008, the Appelate ruling is in and the decision stands! The American Council of the Blind wins for now.

I applaud them, but it’s not over yet. The Treasury has 90 days to appeal or as for Supreme Court review.

Before I go into this topic let me discuss my bias and existing point of view. [Read more →]

Don’t answer too fast… and read the links below.

It isn’t often that I get behind the wheel to drive on the roads, but every time I do I ask myself the same question…. “is it time for a new car”.

I don’t really have much in the way of driving. I cruise around Denver by foot, cruiser bike, by my ages old mountain bike, by bus, by light rail, by cab, and by scooter. I rarely drive my automobile (make that, my giant SUV). What drives me to get behind the wheel (get it) is usually a trip to the mountains which may or not have some bad snow conditions or carrying alot of stuff. [Read more →]

Reading the New York Times this week I was not surprised to see mention of our horrible traffic issue on I-70 between here and the mountains. What amazes me is that the train solution isn’t being pushed harder. Short term fixes work, well, short term. A long term solution is needed.

That’s on my wish list anyway.

So I finally got a chance to do the famous Winter Park Ski Train. With my ties to Vail it took me a little longer to give this a shot, but I am glad I did.

I’ll do a quick summary for those of you who are thinking about it. First of all, groups are the best. We had a group of 107 folks so we pretty much ruled a car and a half. At first I think everyone worried about seats and being right next to each other but the reality is that with train travel everyone is walking, talking, leaning, moving pretty much all the time. It’s a social scene on wheels.

The views are amazing, although again this became second place quickly to everyone being social. Yet far more scenic than a flood of taillights on I-70.

If you live downtown the Ski Train has a special appeal. We walked over the bridge in Riverfront Park right at 7:00 for our 7:15 departure. I personally set my alarm for 5:30 to take the pup for a long walk and to give me quite a bit of time cushion just in case, so it is not a good night to plan a big Friday out on the town.

Then on the train everyone greets each other, has fun, and kicks back and RELAXES all the way up. No white knuckle driving, no fighting traffic, and there is always a place to buy coffee or breakfast only a short walk away. Some slept, some read the paper, most chatted. Nice.

On the way back this gets magnified into a huge social gathering. Beverages flow throughout the car, there is laughter everywhere and no one is driving. What a great solution for downtown residents… instead of trying to balance doing apres with the drive home and fighting crowds on that sometimes painful return the ski train becomes the apres location. No risk, no worries. One person said it was just like staying in the mountains with no worries about the commute. Considering I carried my skis there and back in less than ten minutes I’d have to agree.

Some bits of advice for you…

Avoid car 2. It’s behind the engine so the front is sealed. Don’t worry, you don’t get any fumes but the lack of ventilation gets TOASTY. We had folks stripping down to the minimum so maybe chair two will be the naked car. Your choice.

There isn’t much you can do about this worry, but if you get behind a slower train your trip could take a bit longer. This happened on our way up but not on our way back. Not too bad, some folks slept longer and the train is comfy. But keep this in mind if you are making strict plans involving timing and make sure you have a puppy sitter on reserve in case your return is late.

Get your food or drink quick if you want it. They sold out of burritos pretty fast on the way up and while they had beer all the way through the trip back, the Stella was the first to go. Don’t forget they close the catering car when they think they are 30 minutes away from the station. This might be longer so if you want stock up before they close.

There is a great lounge car with scrabble and other games. Consider grabbing a spot there for awhile if you have a small group but be quick if you want a seat.

We will be doing the Ski Train again. Give it a shot for yourself. I forgot to mention that the train stopped on a cross track exactly where another train was heading at us. The folks in our car started getting a little bit nervous as it got closer.. and closer… and closer. Then we quickly moved, picture is one of others below.