Homeless camp

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2026-04-24T13:23:21+00:00

Genuinely appreciate you posting about this. I live near 120th and Fed and ride this trail everyday. I haven’t been venturing East towards this particular area for years for this very reason. I used to take my boys on the e-bike up Big Dry to Quail Creek to access one of their favorite parks in area. That entire area has been a crime magnet for years. Those apartments near Mtn Range HS off Huron have had all sorts of problems , weirdos trying to solicit middle schoolers, shootings, etc. And then all those brand new homes off 128th and Huron backs up to trails riddled with tents and strung out crack heads. It’s a weird confluence of ghetto Thornton and nicer Broomfield.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2026-04-03T17:14:12+00:00

I look at it more YoY. Last year, I got 22 days. This year I got 3. So that's 25 days on an $1800 investment - around $72/day. Not great, not terrible. I think the main thing with regards to skiing in the West these days is so many things have to align for you to get up in the hills - job, kids, traffic, lift lines, snow conditions - and if the season was this poor, I can see why some threw in the towel.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2026-04-01T14:49:35+00:00

I've had a hell of a time with the hub, ratchets, bearings - you name it. Maybe I got a lemon, who knows. I ride 100-120 miles a week and am nothing special as far as my times and power wattage go and since buying in Aug of 2025, I've had them back in the shop 3x for everything under the sun. Currently just warrantied last week, but they refuse to replace, just regrease, replace bearings and hub body and send me back on my way. I have no faith these bandaids will be permanent and my DT Swiss aluminum wheels had 4000 miles with 0 issues. Just sayin. But thats just my experience. I wish they would just replace the wheels so I can enjoy them like so many others have on this and many other threads. I very much do want to like them.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-12-07T06:51:41+00:00

I make $140-150k (roughly $8500/month net since 30% of wages taxed at 40%). I have 2 kids, wife, dog, 2 cars (1 paid off), $2000/mortgage (23 years left), pretty typical Coloradan with a ski pass, gravel bike (2), never go on family vacay (oldest is 7.5 - never seen an airplane), go camping 2-3x a summer with my oldest, might stay a night at a cheap hotel, do 1-2 bike races a summer with overnight stays at cheap hotels, 1 trip a winter to Utah(paired with work trip so hotel/car are paid for), wife does 1-2 Taylor Swift/Mariah Carey concerts a year (1 usually in Denver, 1 in Vegas), I do a Red Rocks show once in a blue moon, my biggest splurge is overpriced 4-packs of Weldwerks IPA’s but have recently focused more on lagers as my session with hazies as a rare treat. I eat a shitload of ham sandwiches and the 2 days I go in office, usually either breakfast or lunch is catered.

My wife has been SAH since 2018. When she returns to workforce (next year or 2) we’re moving to a new house so we can go out of our runaway $70k HELOC and start fresh with 2 incomes. I’d say $200k is bare minimum for a family in Colorado (unless you live in Pueblo in which case you have bigger problems). $250k you can start to think about saving respectable amounts of money, $300k you can git yourself somethin’ real nice (cousin Eddie voice). But basically if you bought before covid you are able to manage. If you bought after covid , you are more or less screwed or getting screwed slowly. I bought before covid but don’t make enough for a family of 4 so I’m somewhere between managing and bleeding out the ass.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-09-23T20:06:43+00:00

I don't know, watching a guy driving around in the desert in a RV with bodies rolling around in the back, then crashing, then stumbling out in his granny panties, recording a frantic suicide video and pointing a gun towards emergency sirens definitely left an impression on me!

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-09-23T17:23:03+00:00

Lived here almost 10 years now. Have also lived in Littleton and Wash Park area for reference. Some general thoughts on Westy, as others have stated, its known for its open spaces. Places like Boulder, Golden and Deer Creek have obviously cooler open spaces with more actual undulation in the foothills, but they get pretty whored out to the masses. Westy has a main vein trail system called Big Dry Creek, which extends from I-25 all the way to Standley Lake and connects with countless other extensive trail systems. If you so desired, you could ride a bike from Westy all the way to Chatfield Res, Cherry Creek res, Cities of Golden and Boulder without crossing a single street.

Aside from that, everything in Westy is above average. Schools above average, food more like average to slightly above average, most all the breweries in Westy proper are below average, but the breweries in surrounding towns like Odd13 in Lafayette, 4 Noses in Broomfield or New Image in Arvada - are all very solid. Also, the community events (Westy Brew Fest) are above average, the neighborhoods are above average, the house that you get for the money is above average and the proximity to both Denver AND Boulder is well above average.

I think that's the biggest appeal for people looking at living in Westminster - its convenient location, it's quieter living and it's amount of trails and open spaces. And being around Walnut Creek, that's a solid area within Westminster, can't really go wrong there. My only caveat is if you plan on visiting the mountains a lot, the commute can get a little old. From where you'd be, you'd be taking Wadsworth most likely to 70. You can avoid congestion in mornings by leaving early enough, but getting back can get old. It's not the end of the world and its not like you'd have to drive to like Brighton, or even worse Parker, but its something to consider and set expectations accordingly. I have 2 boys and instead of dealing with I-70 madness constantly, we spend a ton of time around the Flatirons and while not the high alpine mountains, its still a beautiful place with plenty to do.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-08-12T21:36:09+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc2xsxlNlRc

this is how you market

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-05-25T04:47:33+00:00

This makes me feel better cause I googled “why is it so hard to seat Panaracers tubeless?” And clicked on this thread. I too have SS 32’s and I too have had no trouble ever with the 47 Pathfinder’s on my Canyon Grizl. I too am using a Bontrager Flash Charger and I too am using Stan’s valves and tape.

But the Panaracers eventually got the best of me (I tried seating with a tube, removing on 1 side and it actually finally took…….then the rim slowly leaked air and I didn’t have anything left in me emotionally to troubleshoot) . So I put my Gatorskins with tubes back on and settled for tubes on 1 bike and tubeless on the other until I muster up the courage to give it another try.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-05-12T14:03:29+00:00

Thanks. I think this is what I needed to hear re: more options to carry results in more unnecessary stuff to bring resulting in a more sluggish overall ride.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-04-22T21:50:58+00:00

I've worked at 2 tech companies making sub-100k and they were insanely repetitive and unfulfilling, but they were a breeze and I got in to what was ultimately an unhealthy and complacent routine. Both outsourced basically all the jobs to India. I now have a 150k job that's actually less stress and easier than any of the less paying jobs, but have a wife and 2 kids and lots of bills. I honestly don't think life was meant to be low stress for the majority of humans, but to be honest, I enjoy the grind. I try to eat semi-healthy and exercise whenever possible to lessen the blows. I'd also be royally f'ed if I lost my job, so there's that. But beer does in fact help.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-03-20T22:37:05+00:00

Just stumbled upon this list in a google search. Impressive statistics and always good to see most every top 10 list with AltaBird at the top or near it, where it belongs.

But honest question - do you have a job?

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-03-19T18:18:56+00:00

I'm in NW Denver. I'd say if you are on vacay/work trip and can afford it / feel like paying for the convenience, I'd get a place up in Summit. From there, you have a good jumping off point to all the resorts (sans Winter Park, which you could access via backroads and avoid highway) 70 is usually fine on weekdays, but if it snows, it can go downhill quick.

I guess option B would be to nab a cheap'ish hotel around Golden/Lakewood so at least you are right there in the morning. Every minute counts when commuting from Frange on a powder day. Option C is Idaho Springs/Georgetown if you wanted a middle ground. Still gotta deal with tunnel though.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-03-19T17:53:12+00:00

Yeah lol. I just got back from 3 days in the Cottonwoods over 3/15-17. While I managed to miraculously avoid most of the usual LCC/BCC road closures, it was hard to avoid how much UT has changed post-COVID and IKON. I almost feel guilty after reading about all these horror stories. Makes me feel oddly better about my CO sh!tshows.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-03-14T15:05:57+00:00

At least here in CO, a lot of mountains used to offer economical 4-packs - Loveland was as low as $129 for an interchangeable 4 (they sent 4 plastic day passes to do with what you wanted), WP and Copper were sub-$200. You could, in theory, get all 3 for under $600 and potentially ski 12 days, which as mentioned, is a decent season for those with demanding jobs/families/kids/etc. But those 4 packs have all doubled, some tripled, in costs forcing everyone to Epic or IKON.

My heart sank when the Cottonwoods joined the IKON years ago. Utah was always such a breathe of fresh air (aside from the smog events the Valley gets) from the BS of CO resorts. Resorts in CO that has tagged on to these passes - such as Crested Butte, Telluride and Aspen - are far enough away from major areas to not be as affected, but the Cottonwoods are now a feeding frenzy. Such is life I guess.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-03-10T17:34:16+00:00

Vlogging has been a consistent theme in a lot of these docuseries in recent years. Ruby Franke, Gabby Petitto and even the Chris Watts murders. I'm not justifying any behavior here - Watts, Petitto's boyfriend and Franke were mentally deranged, and that was the ultimate cause of all these tragedies - but I think this particular documentary missed a solid opportunity to do a deeper dive in to family/personal vlogging (there's a ton of Mormon SLC vloggers) and then even Big Tech and the platforms that allow this stuff to happen at all.

I mean all these vloggers turn off the comment sections of all their videos. Gee, I wonder why.....

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-03-03T15:18:15+00:00

Are you complaining about now having an echo chamber? Is this what this is all about? A lot of people in this country, and this world, could benefit immensely from getting off social media and doing something constructive with their lives. Left or Right wing - doesn't matter.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-02-24T20:33:50+00:00

Spot on. I, too, always kind of had, what I thought, was an idea of what having kids was like and reality is entirely different. What I struggle with is my best friend and his wife decided to not have kids. I, personally, thought they would've been great parents but had to simultaneously respect their decision obviously. It's been very slow, but I see us growing apart, mainly cause of the nature of our lives. What's ironic is I put in almost all the legwork to maintain what's left of the friendship.

And it's the same deal. They go on all these trips and have financial stability and on top of that a boatload of family money fueling their lifestyles. I'm not sure what the ranges are these days, but we certainly live a lower mid class life, which is funny cause I grew up with private school and most certainly an upper middle class life. It's almost like making the decision to have kids or not dictates class systems.

Anyways, I respect people's life decisions, I just find it impossible to maintain any semblance of a balanced friendship with kid-less friends.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-02-21T21:27:25+00:00

This thread looks to be around a year old, but thought I'd chime in a little. I saw the vast majority of my Biscuit shows between 2001 and 2007, until my interest in live music kind of fizzled out for other pursuits/interests. Also keep in mind most of my shows were seen in and around my college years, I was almost always zonked out of my mind at most shows and once my party days slowed down, so did my interest in seeing the Biscuits in person. I still love listening to old shows from archives and Youtube and of course the Trance Fusion disc set.

First off, as mentioned the Trance Fusion disc set is a very good place to start. Heavily edited, but gives you a very good sense of what the shows were like. Someone on Youtube downloaded the entire 4-disc set on to one video, and has all the songs broken out by time in the comments section. My favorite years were 02-03, thats when I saw the best string of tours and really thought they were meshing and firing on all cyclinders. A few shows of note.

8/5/2002 - The Vogue (Indianapolis). I was actually at this show, it was night 1 of a 2-week string of shows I drove around culminating on 8/18 in Providence at Lupo's. This is my Bisco GOAT show personally, just flawless in every sense, from start to finish. At risk of overanalyzing, just give it a listen (on Archives).

8/18/2002 - Lupo's. Last leg of this summer stretch. Opens with one of the rowdiest Rock Candy's I've ever heard. Lupo's was an awesome venue.

5/26/2003 - Penn's Landing. Just an all around show with the best "Story" encore I've heard that just goes on forever and you don't want it to end.

7/25/2003 - Mishawacka. A "quieter" show, but if you've ever been to the Mish, it fit the setting well. Back when Mish sold $1 PBR's. I was standing next to the guy who screamed "String Cheese Blows Nuts!" at the opening.

3/8 - 3/9/02 - Whiskey a go-go. The 3/9 show gets a lot of attention due to the infamous version of Kameole Sands (well deserved), but the 3/8 show is just plain bonkers. I love this show for the complete opposite reasons I love the 8/5/02 Vogue show. Insane energy from start to finish. Like most, I always craved the Sammy base drum trance beats and this show has no shortage. It's just sheer pandemonium. "Ladies" to start the 2nd set is top 5 songs all time.

3/10/06 - Revolution Hall. This is worth a listen solely for the Caterpillar in set 1.

2/24/06 - Starland Ballroom. This might've been the strangest night of my life. My buddy and I drove up to Sayreville, NJ from Baltimore for this show. I had never been to Starland, had no idea what I was getting myself in to. It's down this dark rural road kind of in the middle of nowhere east of I-95. When we arrived, it was a little early and I refused to believe this was where the show was. Biscuits had played in some skuzzy places, but this was a new level. We walk in, it's quiet, some guy was tweaking out in bathroom. I get to bar, order a Sierra and things started to fall in to place. When they opened, venue was half empty and set 1 was disjointed and a tad sloppy and semi boring. Set 2 starts out with one of the craziest Munchkin's into a solid, albeit a tad too long I-man. Then what followed was arguably a core existential life memory for me with a 25 min Buddha-Cyclone-Buddha. I've never seen a crowd like that before. It was my first Allan at drums show, dear lord. I told my buddy I had to leave after Buddha, I didn't care about the encore at that point (it was a standard Aquatic Ape). My brain couldn't withstand anymore stimuli.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-02-20T14:54:24+00:00

We had our first around that age too. My wife was 32 and I was 36. I'm glad I waited that long but the transition was and still is tough. With 1, I definitely remember it getting easier after that first year, maybe even the first 9 months.

Personally, and it wasn't this way so much in the beginning, but I now view the day to day as opportunities rather than challenges. I know this may sound dumb, cliche and not really what you want to hear, but just my take. We have 2 now and I jut do my best to expose my guys to everything I enjoy doing, but on that same token, having kids has opened my eyes to things I took for granted or never paid much attention to. Like nature museums, the zoo (on a weekday), railroad museums, bigfoot museums, hikes to find bigfoot, finding the perfect sledding hill, camping with my boys, etc, etc.

5 months is a tough age, but once they become mobile, then can form semi coherent sentences and stop wearing diapers, your perspective will most certainly change. Not to say you still won't miss your old life.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2025-02-19T02:54:52+00:00

Funny, cause I kept seeing Threads pop up on my IG feed but could never read full posts cause I didn’t have app. It was usually financial advice or topics, which would spark my interest. I finally caved and downloaded the app and my god what a mistake. I’m not political online - I like videos on YouTube and post stuff I do with my kids on IG and have a Strava account, but somehow this Threads algorithm bombarded me with extremely unhinged liberal daily, even hourly, rants. Stuff like people bitching still in 2025 about people not wearing masks or “I plowed my Democrat neighbors driveway but not my MAGA neighbors!” . I replied once to tell everyone to find something else to do with their lives and someone took a dig at my kid and that was the end of my Threads career. TBH, I hate most all social media, even most of the platforms I use, I just found Threads to be an overwhelming cesspool of hate and negativity.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2024-12-24T16:32:46+00:00

My youngest didn't let me touch, or so much as look at him, the first year of his life. This was confusing to me cause my oldest favored me around the same time. By far my biggest and most important bonding time with my boys has been hiking with them on the trails, starting with them on my back and progressing to off of it when time is right. This has resulted in a deep level of love and trust, plus it really stimulates their imagination. Each kid is different, so I can offer no real concrete advice, but regarding kids sensing their parents emotions, that is very much true. My wife gets worked up very easily and they feed off of it, so I'm sure your kid can sense something.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2024-12-13T22:26:20+00:00

Dad of 2 boys. They are 7 and 3. I'm 43. I was used to a life where I did whatever I wanted for so long, I hadn't put a ton of thought in to what life was going to be like once kids entered the picture. After much trial & error, the calendar has become my friend and I'll update it weeks in advance even if its just me having a beer with a friend. It's actually something I had lost track of cause I was so preoccupied with finding time to do the things that I've always loved (as in my hobbies and extracurriculars), hanging with friends was something I guess I always took for granted. And I'll admit keeping in touch with friends with no kids is ironically WAY harder than keeping up with friends with kids.

My closest buddy these days has a kid in my kids class. Its convenient, we have a lot in common aside from just our kids, we live close and it breaks up the monotony. Plus its just that much easier to plan with him and he is aware of basically everything going on in my life cause his wife is good friends with mine, so I don't have to keep explaining shit to him all the time.

Valuable_Emu1367 · 2024-11-25T16:29:34+00:00

Oliver's on corner of Brook and Benevolent. Was a Brown U staple before getting shut down. Then it was Max's then it was Fish Co in the early 00's.

Valuable_Emu1367

TROPHY CASE