I must have been hungry when I wrote this post, going by the title. But this is not about food you eat while riding your bike. It’s one of those posts wherein I list various random bike stuff, thoughts and news. It’s usually a combination of stuff I did, saw or read about that isn’t enough for its own separate post. The blurbs can be educational, factual, just a slice of life, or even a rant. I bet you’ll find at least one of them interesting. I think I’ll go have a small snack while you keep reading. If you do, thanks!

This Is What Democracy Looks Like

I biked by this sign the other day. The City of Austin is collecting input on pedestrian and bicycle improvements on another street. It’s always a good idea to contribute and advocate for safer streets. Let’s hope plenty of walkers and riders chime in so the car people don’t block all the improvements we need to not get deaded. The Austin Motion funds come from a bond election yours truly helped advocate for back in 2016. And the majority of those millions went to cars. But the point is that cars drivers have to learn to share the road, and separate cyclists and pedestrians with things like protective barriers and signals and so on which makes the streets better for everyone. If you live in Austin, take action at this link.

A Dude A Guides?

Someone emailed me out of the blue to ask for my help. They wanted me to guide them by bike comfortably and safely from their home by bike to a hiking trail and another part of town. I was happy to oblige but then they said they were traveling out of town and I haven’t heard back. I suspect that means they changed their mind. If not, I’m still happy to do it. That’s the sort of service I’m very well qualified to offer, both as a fairly proficient and prodigious cyclist, and an almost licensed League Cycling Instructor. I ought to just put my name out there like fliers at bike shops and see what happens, but I have not yet. If you’re in Austin and want to hire A Dude, get in touch via the About page.

Scary Rain Rides

Rain in Austin has made bike riding a bit dangerous and scary lately. I check the radar and minute cast carefully, and count the time between lightning strikes and thunder. Tonight I curtailed my ride as a storm approached. Not a minute after I got inside a very big, loud and bright lightning strike hit very nearby. So I’m glad I was cautious, sort of. I had started out by riding toward the darker clouds.That was because I wanted to be riding away from them and closer to home when they opened up. So that worked out. “If you hear the roar, don’t ignore” is a new phrase I just learned, thanks to government emergency warning system. The image shows some of my recent rides from the Strava fitness app.

Strava Sells Out

Speaking of Strava, the word means “strive” in Swedish, I recently learned. How appropriate, because they are sure striving to piss off their loyal free users to make money. They claims it’s so they won’t go out of business. They haven’t raised any VC (Venture Capital – not the Viet Cong) in three years, don’t have ads and are not profitable after 11 years. So they do what any kind-hearted corporation does: introduce a bunch of free features over five months, get people hooked on them, and then move them — plus a bunch of things that have always been available on their free version — behind a subscription paywall. So my training log, monthly stats and who knows what else are gone. It’s understandable, but it’s a pisser. Another reason I should have a fundraising button on this blog. For a very detailed account about this, see this Bike Radar article.

There’s No Harm in Garmin

I lost my cadence meter a while ago, but I am not training for a race so it’s a bit extraneous. The Garmin speed sensor, however, will allow me to use my heavy old red indoor bike trainer and capture the mileage. It mounts on the rear hub to count distance and yes, speed. It’s useful when I don’t want to bike in the rain and lighting for example, but still get in some exercise. Zwift is an online program requiring, of course, a paid subscription. It has a video game-like format where you connect your data to the computer and race live against others.

Another reason to raise funds, but again, I’m not a racer. Although I am looking forward to Maverick, the movie sequel to Top Gun with Tom Cruise. The stunt reel I saw looks incredibly real, because it is. Say what you will about that guy’s fake religion, but he’s got zero fear. But I do not “feel the need… the need for speed.” To quote another 80’s action movie, “I’m gettin’ too old for this $%@*!” (Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon)

Well, that’s about it for now. What’s up with you and your bad bikin’ self?

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