Fun Facts

I rode a bike as a kid, but gave up cycling after getting my first (of many) car. When I was 30, we had our son. My older brother asked me, "What are you going to tell Mike (our son) when he is 12-13 and he wants to start smoking cigarettes like you do?" I had no answer, but I didn't want him to smoke. I signed up for a smoking cessation class, where I received advice to take up some form of exercise to help kick the habit. My choice was cycling. I've ridden every mountain pass in Colorado.

About Me

I am a grandfather with 3 grandkids, who live nearby. I hardly knew my grandparents who lived a thousand miles away. So we moved from our home of 50 years in Denver to Jackson Hole Wyoming, a town of 10,000 people, as many as lived in our Denver neighborhood. I work part-time as a photographer and ride my bike whenever the weather permits. A lot of time is spent at hockey games and other events the grandkids are involved in .(Boy-12, 2 Girls-7 & 9, all play hockey)

Experience

My first real job out of college, was teaching middle school English and Social Studies for 3 years. After moving to Denver, I spent 5 years as a real estate broker. Some years later, midway through my career as a restaurant entrepreneur, my wife and I volunteered 4 years for a non-profit educational foundation. We led 100's of small groups of adults and young adults, both in Denver and the surrounding states. This entailed travel to Central America, Europe and the Soviet Union

Approach

I've never been afraid of trying something new, if I know a little about what will be expected of me. I was not trained as a teacher, but my mother and sister, and friends were teachers. I knew I could draw on their experience. Worked 1 day in a restaurant in college, but assumed the main talent I needed was to become a competent business person. We ended up with the largest natural food restaurant chain in the US. Later, we bought a struggling bagel restaurant, it became Denver's largest.