You won’t believe this, because I still don’t believe it myself. I wrote a blog for Saturday, but couldn’t publish it because I didn’t have wi-fi. Outrageous, right? Well, it’s true. Someone I was visiting could connect but didn’t know their password and didn’t want to sit on hold with their service provider. By the time I got back to Austin, it wasn’t that relevant or great a post. So I missed a Saturday, big whoop. But what I didn’t miss was riding my bicycle, so we’re going to go with that as a theme. It is after all, the most wonderful time of the year, and any time you can be on a bicycle is pretty awesome.
Continue readingMonth: December 2019
Bike, Books & Other Stuff A Dude Was Gifted for the Holidays
It was the traditional yule affair for A Dude and relatives: Jewish delicatessen pickles, nova lox and bagels (hold the bread), a White Elephant gift exchange that included glares when a liked gift was stolen, but for once that did not end in bloodshed (not literally), a movie, walk and bike ride. I did receive some cool stuff so I figured why not share. Thanks to my relatives for their kindness and generosity.
Continue readingI’ve Got the Fevah! It’s Cedar, and It Sucks
I had cedar fever – an invasion of the breath- and sinus-snatchers last year, and it really was un-fun. It feels like the flu — body aches, congestion, headaches, runny noise, cough — but is not viral. It’s “just” allergies. But it’s bad enough that I took myself to the community clinic to get checked out. For three long hours. They nice nurse practitioner jammed a sharp pointy swab deep into each sinus cavity, and then also gave me a breathing treatment with the stuff that’s in inhalers. The bottle I had was expired, I guess I didn’t deem it important enough to keep that current. Boy was that a bad decision!
Continue readingA Rainy, Restful Day on the Eve of Solstice for a Bike Ridin’ Dude in Austin, Texas
Late autumn conditions have been dry, mostly sunny and not too cold here in Central Texas. Waking to some light rain and grey skies was a welcome change, just in time for winter which officially begins tomorrow. For a car-less dude like me, going places generally means getting on Sophie the Fairdale Weekender Archer bicycle and dealing with whatever Mother Nature throws at me. While I was prepared to ride in the rain, it turned out that I didn’t need to and so I chose not to take advantage and rest.
Continue readingAustin Bicyclist 2019 Death #4: Merry Daye, 45 – On the Very Road Where Bike Austin is Calling for Protected Lanes
At 2:25 am on Monday, December 16, 2019, Merry Daye, a black woman aged 45 and a male were riding their bikes south on Cameron Road. Her bike had a trailer, and she was working on it while in the bike lane. The man was on the sidewalk. A silver Dodge Ram truck (the irony of the name is not lost on me) veered into the bike lane, crashing into Merry, bike and trailer. The truck then did a hit and run and left the scene. Emergency medical services was called and came to the crash site. They found Merry without a pulse, but were able to restore her heartbeat. She was transported to the hospital where she died. For her, family and friends, it will be Christmas without Merry. Sources: CBS Austin, KXAN, Austin Police Department
Continue reading175 Miles: Reflections About Another Strong Week in My Cycling Journey
Biking 25 miles in one day can be challenging or easy depending on your abilities and how you feel. Then there’s the weather like wind, rain, cold or heat to contend with. Traffic can be very scary even if you’re used to riding in it. Also important are the quintessential questions that come up riding a bike like: what to wear, what to eat, where to go? I must have figured all that out because I managed to make it another seven days in a row for the 10th week. This past week I totaled 175 miles, which is huge – 25 miles a day if you’re counting. Or a mile for every hour of the week (168) plus seven. So what follows are some thoughts on my pretty stupendous week (or stupid, depending how you look at it; maybe it’s a little of both.)
Continue readingA Walk a Day for Almost Two Years
My daily walking habit began on January 1, 2018, and I haven’t looked back since. I may have missed one day but I often do more than the allotted 30 minutes. I make sure I hit 1.5 miles, and some days it’s 2.0 or more miles, or even two walks. I don’t write about it much because it’s not that remarkable, but to me it’s a good habit for life that I wish I’d established many years ago. It’s not easy when you’re busy, sick, tired, injured, it’s cold, windy and wet outside. Somehow, I have found the discipline. And what the rewards are subtle, they are worth considering starting your own walking practice if you don’t have one.
Continue readingStuff I Did: Dayum It Feels Good to Be a Bikestah!
I did some stuff. Maybe it’s a lot, maybe not but it’s hard to say. Everyone’s stuff is different. So if it’s okay, I’d like to tell you about my stuff. I guess that’s why you’re here. “What’s that? It’s fine.” you say. “Great, thank you, that’s very kind of you,” is my reply. Most of the stuff I did and which I’m going to tell you about has to do with bicycling. Other stuff is more tangential but still, I either went places on a bicycle or I talked about bicycling, so it counts. Without delay, here’s the stuff.
Continue readingPhotographs and Memories: A Weekend in the Biking Life in Austin, Texas
Like many people in the modern era who are privileged enough to have a smart phone, electricity and mobility, I take a lot of pictures. Some good, some not, a few great. Who’s to say, though? If you like them, great. If not, move along. Trouble is, I don’t use that photo platform named after your grandmother, so when I’m riding my bicycle and take a pic, it goes either here, on my Strava fitness app (follow me there if you’re a bikester) or doesn’t see the light of day. Occasionally I post a blog with a lot of photos and some words to explain them. This is one of those times. Enjoy the whole “picture paints a thousand words” thing, yada yada.
Continue reading2,191 Days (6 Years) of Daily Yoga Practice 12/6/19: Let’s Twist Again, Like We Did Last Summer
December 6 may be the most special day of the year for me, right after my birthday and of course Festivus. But seriously, it’s very important, because it’s when I celebrate my yogaversary. My as yet unbroken daily yoga habit started as a challenge from my sister-in-law in 2013. Then it became a test to see if I could keep going. In turn it transmogrified into a streak (as in #DontBreakTheChain). Now it’s a non-negotiable. But there’s really just one basic point: I just do yoga every day.
Pretty simple. All the other words I have, could and will say about it pale in comparison to that simple phrase. The additional descriptions are so much chatter in the mind. And maybe therein lies a deeper truth about the practice: it changes you, but in subtle ways, and at a body level so that talking about it doesn’t even really get to the point. It’s a feeling. If you do it you know, but if you don’t, you ought to try it – you might like it, even if it’s not daily.
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A Dude Abikes 