It’s hard to follow up my profile of the amazing Dena Kinate.  If you missed it, you should go read it right now then come back.  But I’m going to try.  What comes to mind are miscellaneous bits of information about biking news.  I’ll try to make it interesting for those who aren’t in Austin, but no guarantees.  (That’s not an invitation to move here like 150 people do a day — or some crazy number like that.)

Anthony “Tony” John Diaz. Source: Change.org petition

Change.org petition

The Aftermath of Bike Fatality #1 of 2019

I hoped there might be more of an update about the cyclist killed last week.  He was identified as Anthony “Tony” John Diaz, a nice guy who worked at a TV station.  The only other update is news reports from witnesses that the bus driver was said to be speeding up and slowing down and generally acting erratically.  Drug tests and more information will take a while.   There’s also a petition to put a white ghost bike white ghost bike where he died, but the University of Texas threatens to enforce their policy to remove abandoned bikes. And amazingly, his aunt was quoted as saying she forgave the bus driver.

Another Bike Shop Bites the Dust

I was planning on a story about Performance Bicycles which closed its North Austin store due to bankruptcy of its parent company, Advanced Sports Enterprises.  That link says 40 of the 104 stores would be closing.  The south store appears to be open still, for the moment.

However, that happened two days earlier than advertised, so I missed the chance to go take pictures and talk to staff.  Anyway, hopefully brands like Fuji will survive.  That’s the maker of my now reitred Silhouette named Sookie.  We traveled together about 13,000 miles since summer of 2015.  Here is where you can (and must!) read my “interview” with Sookie.  Austin is lousy with bike shops, though.  Fortunately, the head of the Performance repair department has been swept up by one of my favorite stores, Sun & Ski Sports,

Bike Austin:  Rising from the Ashes

I’m not at liberty to say much about what Bike Austin is up to, mostly because it’s not much, and I wasn’t at the last meeting.  But I was at a previous one, at which two dozen of notable Austin cycling advocates got together.  The call was for an initial group of volunteers to join the four remaining board members to try to reinvigorate the organization.  After a number of setbacks and the departure of all its staff, the decision needed to be made:  Do we continue the organization?  And if so, how?

Fortunately, enough people feel strongly that Austin deserves and needs a strong organization to advocate for safety for cyclists.  The plan is to do it as volunteers for now.  I hope to be involved as time allows.  But it’s encouraging to see that while the website is out of date, the Facebook page is advertising Bike to Work Day. 

So, mark your calendars for Friday, May 17, 2019.  The day is usually observed by having numerous stations around town with donated drinks and snacks for bike commuters.  There’s also a contest for those who can visit the most stations, collecting stamps, with a party and prizes afterward.  I volunteered with the afterparty last year and had alot of fun.  Let’s hope it happens this year, too.

Biking Slower, but I’m Still Going

The massses aren’t exactly clamoring for my own personal news, but I’m including my training log for the last 35 days just for fun.  I had a slowdown this week.  Tomorrow I see a doctor and maybe he’ll have some idea why this seems to have been going on for some time now.  Sure, I’m averaging 105.5 miles/week, but it’s been taking me a longer period of time for a while.  Some of that is due to the winter cold, wind and rain.  Part of it was a pretty strong cedar fever reaction that turned into a chest cold and sinus congestion if not infection, the last vestiges of which (I hope) I’m still fighting off.  There’s also that big-boned bike gal named Sophie who is er, slower than the more svelt Sookie who as mentioned is now retired due to a crack.  Saturday, I slept for over 10 hours, but last night I was back to my old tricks of burning the candle at both ends  Maybe there’s just a sleep deficit that will take time to correct.  And with no rest days off the bike since December 25th, I am due for some serious rest and relaxation.  But I have places to go and things to do, and so there’s no rest for the wicked.  Speaking of sleep, good night!

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