Time For Biking!

This past Saturday was Groundhog Day, and happily, Punxsutawney Phil DID NOT see his shadow, which means that it will be an early spring. And appropriately enough, it reached 65 degrees here in Denver yesterday, which is the minimum temperature I require to go out biking.  And that is exactly what I did.  I headed to Lower Downtown, through Washington Park and the older neighborhoods that lead to Denver's 16th Street Mall, on which bike riding is allowed on Sundays (any other day of the week, they shoot you).  On my way, I stopped to take a self portrait (known as a selfie these days) in front of the Grant-Humphreys Mansion (as seen in the photograph on the left), where many years ago I attended the wedding of my fellow University of Denver Bookstore co-worker Aziz.  Aziz worked at the DU Bookstore while he was working on his doctorate degree in international studies.  Once he graduated, he could not find a teaching job, and when his wife was transferred to Colorado Springs, he started selling cars, where he made so much money that he never even considered teaching ever again.  As long time blog readers know, Aziz, who is from Algeria, had a grandfather who received a pension from the French for fighting the Germans, and a pension from Algeria for fighting the French.  Talk about a win-win.

When I arrived in Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo), the place was hopping, and I suddenly remembered that it was Super Bowl Sunday, and in 20 minutes the ultimate football game of the year between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams was about to begin, and fans were queuing up to get into the View House. Since Denver football fans lough both of these teams, I was surprised at the crowd.  But then again Denver hipsters are willing to celebrate any event, any time, especially if they can dress up in costume.  No costumes for this occasion, but I did notice that a homeless man (on the left side of the photograph), was trying to get around the hipsters line in in front of the View House.  Quite the contrast. I wonder who he was rooting for?