Month: September 2019

Getting Back on the Bike After a Break: It’s Like Riding a You Know What

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 10 Comments

After the last month and more of too much work and especially of driving a car, I finally managed a day off. Fortunately, on Sunday nights there’s a group bike ride called Bike Curious, about which I’ve previously written. The ride itself is usually pretty mellow, but in this case we had a substitute leader who picked some roads that were a little dicey, hilly and sandy. Still, overall the streets flat and familiar and the pace was slow. It was a good way to ease back into biking. Today I’m a little sore and tired, but the hardest part was actually just getting myself out the door. If you’ve ever been in this situation you will relate to this post.

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Writers Block: Real or an Excuse?

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

You’re staring at a blank screen. The cursor blinks at you, tauntingly. Thoughts scurry across your mind like (insert whatever scurrying thing comes to mind here). Nothing seems good enough to press publish, interesting or worth writing about. Yet, you have a deadline, external or self-imposed. It’s time to blog and nothing comes to mind that is blog-worthy. What do you do?

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Autumn Is Here-ish, but It’s Still Hot. Thanks Alot, Climate Change!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

I just heard that September in Central Texas was HOTTER than July. That’s nuts. You know what else is nuts? A Dude Abikes not riding his bike most every day, and in fact, hardly at all. But because I’m working my tuchus off so I don’t have the time or energy to bike, the silver lining is that I’m avoiding having to bike in the ongoing heat wave. However, the downside of not biking is weight gain, feeling blah, and as if I’m cheating — which I am. Because, work.

Meanwhile, Greta Thunberg, the 16-year old Swede who has become the face of the climate change movement was in the US for a speech and the climate strike. I haven’t read much but what I have is impressive. And by the way, I know one thing that can help: ride your damn bikes, everybody! Of course you could say it’s hypocritical of me driving a car for work for eight weeks, and you’d be right. But I’ve done plenty of miles (20,000 and counting) and will do plenty more soon enough.

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Como Usar el Arte de la Siesta para Mejorar Tu Ciclismo

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

El sueño es algo universal que comparten todos los animales, al menos los mamíferos. Muchos mamíferos toman siestas, incluidos los humanos, pero tenemos la capacidad de elegir dormir en cualquier momento que queramos. En este detalle, tenemos mucha suerte de tener esta habilidad. En estos días de una epidemia de falta de sueño, la siesta es la respuesta perfecta para restablecer su estado de salud. Claro, con mas descanso, puedes viajar por bici mas fuerte y rapido. ¿Y quien no quiere eso? Exactamente nadie.

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Shoal Creek Bike Lanes: Wheels Are in Motion

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

The Austin Transportation Department has made good on plans to enhance bike lanes on Shoal Creek Boulevard. This may not be earth-shattering news considering how the US — currently led by a sociopathic, deranged lunatic — may go to war with Iran at any moment over bombing Saudi Arabian oil production facilities. We may not be able to do much about that, but riding one’s bicycle down a safer street with a protected bike lane reduces dependency on those polluting, (ex)pensive petroleum products that seem to bring out the bellicosity in people. Let’s focus on the good news about the bike lanes, shall we?

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Bicycling Magazine’s Article: “I’m a Fat Cyclist—And I Don’t Need to “Fix” My Body”

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

I just saw this September 13, 2019 article in Bicycling magazine by Kailey Kornhauser. Since I routinely refer to myself as a fathlete, I couldn’t pass on sharing and commenting. Subtitled “My weight doesn’t need to change. But the bike world’s attitude toward me does,” I think she nails the point home that overweight people can and do ride bikes and deserve respect. She puts the fat-shamers in the bicycling world on notice that their discriminatory views are harmful, outdated, unacceptable, and actually damaging to the sport. A Dude has dealt with plenty of unspoken and spoken anti-fat discrimination, so it’s high time this issue gets the attention it’s due. Let’s talk about it.

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The Cars: Mood, Motion, and Music

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

As I drove around a borrowed car doing my job today, numerous songs by the band The Cars played. The reason was that lead singer Ric Ocasek had died of heart disease at age 75. For many Americans, The Cars are a band whose music instantly transports your mind back in time. It brought back some memories of driving my first car as a youth (a VW bug).

Their songs were a big part of the soundtrack of my teenage years. When their first album was released, I was just a couple of years shy of the perfect age of hearing their music and seeing their videos on MTV. But I soon caught on and caught up and became a fan. I even was in a garage band that played their song “My Best Friend’s Girl.” As I drove on my job, the band played on.

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Lazily Leaning Lightly Into the Low Lulls

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

As mentioned in the recent post Car-Free Dude Drives Borrowed Auto, Doesn’t Die, I’m working a lot and having to drive a car to do it. Since I’m in Austin, Texas (at least that’s where everyone keeps telling me I am), and it’s only mid-September, it’s still hitting 100 degrees many days. That’s true even if it’s not actual temperature because of the heat index (aka real feel) or humidity.

Point is, I ain’t biking much at all. It’s either miles or money, and since I’ve done plenty of the latter, it’s high time for the former. And that got me to thinking: What do you do when choice or circumstance keep you from your routine and goals? Come on inside this cozy post and A Dude’ll tell ya how he rolls. Or doesn’t.

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Two More Austin Bike Shops Are Closing

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

It’s no secret that while bicycling is popular, bike shops are suffering. This hit home for A Dude when he was in Bicycle Sport Shop on Guadalupe yesterday and learned that it was going to shut down. Retail will stop on September 28, but repairs may continue for a little while. When word hit two years ago hat the local chain was taking over the site of dearly departed Ozone Bikes (which lasted 23 years!), people were happy and relieved.

BSS will still have four stores in the Austin area.

But the sales of nearby college students and homeowners never materialized. It’s especially sad because this is where Sophie the Fairdale Weekender Archer that I won in a raffle came from here, and I’ve gotten to know the shop folks. The good news is that all the employees they’ll all be able to be absorbed into the remaining BSS shops to keep their jobs.

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