Month: May 2023

The 2023 International Annual Ride of Silence in Austin, TX

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 14 Comments

The third Wednesday in May is designated an international commemoration of those people who lost their lives while bicycling. It began in Dallas, Texas, where A Dude was hatched, after one man’s friend was cyxling and got hit and killed by a car. It has expanded to hundreds of cities and countries (222 and 14 respectively this year). It’s called the Ride of Silence, which I wrote about in “5/5/23: 5 Things You *May* Want to Do for Bike Month.” Here’s a recap.

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5/5/2023: 5 Things You *May* Want to Do in Bike Month

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

It’s that time of year in the USA when the sun has come out, the snow has thawed, and the flowers have bloomed. Basically, it’s the best time to, as Queen sang, “Get on your bikes and ride!” In Austin, Texas, it felt like 97 degrees thanks to the humidity coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. Your dude just managed to ride eight miles to the post office before a storm blew in some lighting, thunder, and rain. Summer in Austin often feels like you’re wearing a hot, wet blanket while you bicycle, but sometimes it’s nice after the rain with a breeze. Regardless of weather, biking is what we do here at ADudeAbikes.com, every damn day for over 3.5 years. Like they say, a rolling stone gathers no moss. By now, you MAY have gathered that National Bike Month is here, so here are five things to do in Austin but also beyond, if biking is your jam–or you want it to be. (Mmm, jam.)

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Frankenbike: Helping to Keep Austin Weird

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 10 Comments

I attended my third Frankenbike on April 30th. This roving swap meet for bicycle people was held at Clown Dog Bikes in Austin, Texas. It was fun and interesting, like the first two, and also not very profitable for this dude. (I previously wrote about it here.) That’s ok. And oh yeah, some of the people who were there or who came by were weird. “Keep It Weird” is the slogan of Austin, the cool, anti-commercial, countercultural one at least. Contrast that with the so-called “Live Music Capital of the World” and place where Calfornian tech bros come to spend their First World money to jack up the damn rent. But at Frankenbike, cool things happen, namely connection and community. Which, in a post-pandemic-ish world, is still kinda weird. Allow me to explain.

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