The lighter side of the state Capitol, usually.

Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, who turns 50 this year, is sporting eyeglasses for the first time.

He blames the lege.

“With 700 bills to read a year, my eyes are failing me,” he quipped.

Salute to Colorado’s Olympians, and one in particular

With the Winter Olympics underway in Milan, and with Colorado leading the way with the most Olympians and Paralympians of any state, the state Senate, on Thursday, saluted Team USA and its Colorado members with a resolution thanking the athletes, their parents and families, trainers, and the communities and facilities that support them.

According to Team USA, Colorado is represented by 29 Olympians; the state Senate’s count is a little higher, at 32, including people with “meaningful connections” to Colorado.

The Colorado Olympians will compete in ski jumping, snowboarding, freestyle, Alpine, Nordic and cross-country skiing, bobsled, and hockey.

The tribute also brought in a special visitor: Rick Ball, a member of the 1972 US Olympic team that competed in Munich. He’s also the father of Sen. Matt Ball, D-Denver.

A Colorado native, Rick Ball competed in the team time trial, the “dreaded” (Capitol M did a few in her youth and hated it) race against the clock. The team finished 15th, although the third- and fourth-place teams were later disqualified.

Ball’s race was on the first day of the Olympics that year (August 22), so when the Palestinian terrorist group Black September attacked and killed members of the Israeli Olympic team on September 5, his race was already over.

In the days following the attack, which took place over 21 hours in the Olympic village, Ball said he spent his time on the bike to deal with the horrors of that event. He, however, recounted that his teammates, who still had races to ride, were not as happy to continue competing.

Everyone else had to go through a day-long suspension of the games, and, worst of all, he explained, they had to get back on their bikes and compete. The view was “screw this, what we’re doing is games, this is something else, let’s get out of here.” The Olympic authorities insisted the games continue and they did.

Emotionally, his way of dealing with what was going on was to get on the bike. Every morning, he said, he was the first to the cafeteria, then got on his bike and disappeared for the rest of the day.

With the passage of time, upon reflection, Ball was deeply honored to represent the United States, treasuring the events and wonderful experiences of training and racing that led up to the 1972 games.

It was hard to walk away from, Ball said. “You can’t push pedals for the rest of your life,” and he was already 28 at the time of the games. He went on to earn a PhD in mathematics and taught first at Boise State, and then his wife, who earned her PhD in business, was hired by the University of Denver. They both taught at DU for the next 30 years, until their retirements.

Cycling today? He says it’s in the gym. 

His best finish in a race was a points race in Fort Collins prior to the Olympics. A points race is a closed-lap race, about 50 miles total, and every five laps there’s a sprint for points, at 5-4-3-2-1. Ball said he wasn’t much of a sprinter, but he was very competitive as a road racer. As the race went on, he gained about three-quarters of a lap on the rest of the competition, head down, sweating, and bent over the handlebars. 

The time to complete the race isn’t what determines the winner; it’s the points. After winning the five points for each sprint, he started adding up how many points he’d accumulated after winning each sprint.

When he figured he had enough to win, he stopped, got off the bike, and watched the rest of the race. And he won.

“I enjoyed that profoundly,” Ball laughed.

And a fond farewell to…

Having been in this building since 1998, you get used to people leaving for bigger and better (usually) things.

That’s most true when the end is nigh for a governor’s time in office. With Gov. Jared Polis term-limited, his cabinet and staff are starting to look for that next big thing.

One of the folks who has been a steady and almost-always helpful presence is the governor’s communications director, Conor Cahill.

He started out as the governor’s spox (spokesman) and, in 2023, was promoted (?) to communications director. In his seven years in the gov’s office, he’s gotten married and now has two children.

His background prior to 2019 includes communications for the Colorado House Democrats, and before that, four years with Sen. Ed Markey, D-MA.

While at St. Anselm’s in New Hampshire, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in politics, he was a running back and wide receiver on the varsity football team (no, really!), and during the summer worked in operations at the Nantucket (MA) airport.

Friday is Cahill’s last day in the governor’s office.

His next stop? UC Health, where he’ll team up once again with former House Speaker and Polis Chief of Staff Alec Garnett.