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5 December~2007

A couple of weeks ago I went to see Neil Young in concert at the Wells Fargo Threatre Downtown. Everybody has to walk a couple of blocks from 14th street down to the doors which are near Speer. I seemed to be the only one to take a bicycle and turn that 15 minute walk into about a minute and a half, and did the same when coming out.

It was a good show - pretty interesting to see Neil play 'Old Man,' a song he wrote when he was 24. He is now 62, sharp and playing well.  He talked about his project of restoring his 1959 Lincoln to electric power.  Neil's long time wife Peggy opened the show. She wore a black dress and black and white western boots, and played mostly country tunes. 

The first album I bought as a teenager was a Buffalo Springfield album.

Check old a video of Neil playing Old Man when he was 24.

I love this town, and am definitely used to the urban environment. It is always faster to get places on my mountain bike than walk, even in winter. Snow is usually not a problem downtown, since they clear the sidewalks so quickly. You just have to watch for icy spots, especially after dark. When I have had enough of riding I put my bike on a bus, and with my unlimited bus pass go anywhere in this city.

One time I was travelling via bike on street and sidewalk, whichever was faster, and slipped in between a pole and a tree to get around some pedestrians. My handlebar clipped the tree, and since my hand's were on my handlebar extensions and not the brakes, I lost control and took a spill. I tried to get up and out of there right away, but couldn't because ny brake pads that were out of wack. I had to stay put and accept a big serving of humble pie.

Last Saturday morning was a little rugged, because when I left home at 8:30 the temperature was still in the low 20's. I bundle up pretty good, and after five minutes started generating heat, which makes for a warmer ride. The problem on days like that though is that the heat from your face fogs up your glasses or googles.  It is worse when you are going up steep hills and pumping hard. The only solution is to take them off for a while.

I am hooked on riding my mountain bike, because it gets me outside and keeps me in shape. On Saturday just as I was coming though downtown after my storytelling class, the late afternoon sun broke through and cast a glorious winter light on the buildings for about 5 minutes. I was glad to be out to see it straight on, not through the glass of a windsheld.

I went to college at Metro State of Denver, and even back then always took the bus downtown.  I would walk over to the Denver Public Library and study by the windows on the second floor, where I could look out to the trees of Civic Center Park.  That was 1974.

In the late 80's and early 90's I would get off work early on Friday's and pick up little Amy and Alyssa and go downtown to meet Janet, who worked down there.  It was great fun, and I remember the girls watching for their Mom to come out of her office in her dress and white tennis shoes, carrying her office shoes in her bag.  Both girls would yell 'There she is,' and run up to hug her.

(to see a 700 pixel wide image of the above collage, click here; to see a 1400 wide pixel image of the above picture, click here.)