Life lessons on two wheels to the tunes of the

Grateful Dead

This Week in Grateful Dead History

Week 1

I wish I was a headlight on a northbound train.

1/2/70, Fillmore East, New York, NY

Even the most cursory examination of the lyrics of Grateful Dead songs quickly uncovers one of the most fundamental aspects of the band’s identity: This is an American band, rooted in American culture, and built around easily recognizable locales and deeply American principles and history.

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This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 44 – October 31, 1971
Searchlight casting for faults

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a holiday that commemorates the lives of beloved friends and family members who have passed on. Originating in ancient Mesoamerica (Mexico and northern Central America prior to the Spanish invasion and conquest in the 16th century), the two-day celebration takes place on November 1 and 2, and is said to reunite the living and dead.

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 15 - April 5, 1971
Goin’ down the road

Deadheads invariably have a great story about the moment they knew they were a Deadhead. For most, it was the first time they saw the band live, but for me the magic moment arrived a full four months before my first show. It was the Summer of ’74, and I had returned home from my sophomore year at UCLA, ready to spend the summer working at a day camp, saving money, and partying with my high school friends who had scattered to various colleges in a virtual teenage diaspora.

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 42 – October 16, 1974
Once in a while you get shown the light

There are so many things I love about mountain biking is that it would be impossible to list them all. But if I had to pick the aspect of the sport I love best, it would be the way getting out on two wheels represents a true “sabbatical” from life. Once the rubber hits the dirt, and I embark on another adventure in the wilderness, all of my troubles seem to melt away. And after conquering a completely different set of obstacles on the trails, the ones waiting for me at the trailhead somehow seem more manageable than they did just a couple of hours earlier.

Stew Sallo, A.K.A., The Deadhead Cyclist

Stew Sallo is the author of the book, The Deadhead Cyclist, and founder/owner of Boulder Weekly, an award-winning alternative weekly in its 30th year of publication in print and online at BoulderWeekly.com. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz, he cut his teeth as a publisher in Santa Cruz for 10 years before relocating to Boulder to start the Boulder Weekly. He has been a Deadhead since the summer of 1974, attended his first Grateful Dead concert at Winterland in San Francisco on October 19, 1974, and has since been to some 200 Grateful Dead concerts. Stew is an avid mountain biker, plays competitive baseball on three teams in his home state of Colorado, and travels each year to play tournament baseball in California, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, South Dakota and Florida. In 2003, Stew founded the classic rock band, Hindsight. He plays a Martin D-41 in the band and sings lead and backup vocals. Stew lives in Boulder, CO with his wife of 23 years, Mari, and their 12-year-old dog, Bella.

Life lessons on two wheels to the tunes of the

Grateful Dead

This Week in Grateful Dead History

Week 1

I wish I was a headlight on a northbound train.

1/2/70, Fillmore East, New York, NY

Other Posts

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 44 – October 31, 1971Searchlight casting for faults

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 44 – October 31, 1971

Searchlight casting for faults

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 15 - April 5, 1971Goin’ down the road

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 15 - April 5, 1971

Goin’ down the road

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 42 – October 16, 1974Once in a while you get shown the light

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 42 – October 16, 1974

Once in a while you get shown the light

Stew Sallo, A.K.A., The Deadhead Cyclist

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 44 – October 31, 1971
Searchlight casting for faults

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 15 - April 5, 1971
Goin’ down the road

This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 42 – October 16, 1974
Once in a while you get shown the light