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The Tour de France Departs in 10 Days from Nice. Nice! 10 Changes in 2020

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

Professional cycling’s biggest event was rescheduled from July to begin August 29, thanks to you know what. A few other pro racers have happened, and so there is hope Le Tour will start, and end, without problems. Of course there are always problems; it’s the nature of sport. Last year’s edition saw a huge storm blow up the last few stages with a landslide and flooding caused by snow and rain. This year is no different, except it’s completely different, again, thanks to coronavirus. Here are 10 changes and what to expect in 2020 with some of my commentary.

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It’s Too Hot, Too Hot, Baby, but I’m Still Biking

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

Back in June, I wrote a cute little post about it hitting 100 degrees once. Now, after about 30 days of 100+ days, June seems like sweater weather. For regular, or in my case currently daily bicycle riders, or anyone who walks, runs, or exercises outside, this is a problem. I’ve already written a post about how to deal with it, so I won’t repeat that here, though this is the link. This post is mostly to complain about it. Because who doesn’t enjoy a good rant? And blowing off a little steam might make us feel a little cooler.

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Stepping Up My Walking Practice (Sort Of)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

For many years, the magic number of walking for health, fitness and weight loss was 10,000 steps per day. But it was just marketing, not science, courtesy of a Japanese pedometer company’s promotional campaign that started back in the mid-60’s. A Canadian study shows that it’s just not one size fits all. But obviously if you’re overweight, have health conditions, are used to sitting down all day for work staring at a computer screen, starting with whatever you can do is the best course of action.

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10 Months of Daily Bicycling. Every. Single. Day.

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

When I began this particular experiment in #DontBreaktheChain, I didn’t even know it. It just sort of happened and at some point I consciously decided to go for it. So now, ten months later, I’m glad I did, But oy vey! Am I tired. Because it also includes walking, yoga, writing/editing the book or this blog, plus the rest of my life. There’s something very gratifying about it, while also I’m very aware that’s its all a bit too much. It could end at any moment, but for today, August 11, 2020, I’ve got 306 days in the bag or in my legs. Two more months, if I can make it that long, will be a year. Not bad.

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Do You Have Fitness Goals? Or Do They Have You?

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

First time readers, welcome. Repeat offenders, thanks. Today’s blawg is about overdoing it, aka overexercising. Which is a bizarre concept in today’s world, populated as it is with overweight people. I’m a member of that tribe, the people of girth. Or as I call it, fathlete. So when the idea of doing less exercise pops into my head, usually because some body part, brain or the whole thing protests, I tend to ignore it and push through. The result of that and all the biking, walking and yoga I do every day gets to be exhausting, especially if it’s a day without enough sleep. So as I sit here eating a bowl of kale, squash, other mystery vegetables to which I added ground beef, brown rice and quinoa, I’m pondering if it’s time to revise the plans. Maybe my questioning my fitness goals will shed some light on the subject for you. And as always, I enjoy reading comments.

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Austin Bike News Roundup for August 6, 2020

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

I haven’t done one of these roundups in a while. Because, coronavirus. My last one was in May. Inspired somewhat by BikingInLA and TexBiker.net, a roundup hopes to serve up some useful tidbits of happenings around town in the bicycling world here in Austin. Sometimes, it’s news about infrastructure, not so sexy, but important. And other times it’s even sobering and sad, like the senseless suffering and death of a cyclist who was hit by a car (the first of 2020).

I suppose that last one is fitting, given that it’s the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima Day and Nagasaki Day on the 9th. These tragic attacks remind us that the United States is the other country to ever use nuclear weapons, at great human cost. A Dude says nukes must be abolished before we can ever have peace. There’s a treaty that only 40 countries have signed and shamefully, the US in not one of them. Alright, sermon concluded. On with the way more fun and much less important Austin bike news!

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Un-Lazy Sunny Sunday 2: Anatomy of My 42-Mile Bike Ride

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

At 5:47 PM on Sunday, August 2, 2020, I headed out on Sophie my trusty Fairdale after an appointment I had ridden six miles to get to. I thought I’d put in another 14 miles to make it another 20 for the day. But in the back of my mind was the thought, “I’ve got several 150-mile weeks in a row under my belt. If I stop now, I’ll break that chain.” And if you know A Dude, you konw he likes to #DontBreakTheChain (first noted in Jerry Seinfeld & The Juiceman Can Teach Us About Making Healthy Choices (Day 2). There had been a little rain to cool things down, I was feeling a little better, and as the title says, I found my 40-miler legs. Sounds easy right? Maybe I make it seem that way, but nope, it’s never easy. Allow me to explain.

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622 Miles Biked in July 2020: This Dude Is on Fiyah!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

Alright, alright, alright. I don’t literally mean on fire. But it is a quote from Matthew McConaghey as Woody Wooderson in the Austin-area film Dazed and Confused. Matt is apparently one hell of a dude, citizen, University of Texas at Austin professor (really!), and he happens to live up the highway from me. Oh yeah, I guess he won an Oscar or something for acting in Dallas Buyers Club. That’s all a seque, because alright is how I performed on the bicycle in July of 2020.

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I’ll Tell Ya What I’m Watchin’ on My Telly (Part 3)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

Because I’m riding 125-166 miles per week lately, I was thinking about sharing more of my stats cycling about town. Or some news about the City of Austin Healthy Streets program expanding and taking public comment. The St. John’s bike lane project and outer lane closures downtown on Congress Avenue making temporary bike lanes are noteworthy. There hasn’t been a bicyclist die in a car crash yet this year (that I know of), which is great. I could do something about saddle sores, how bike shops are still short on inventory, or a piece about another bicycle website here in A-town. There’s bicycle seat adjustment, more about my Garmin watch (their site crashed today), or any number of other bike-related news that you can use. But nah, I’m gonna write about TV. Because, coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic. There are plenty of dystopian future movies and shows, but one in particular seems exactly right for this moment in history in which we find ourselves.

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Book ‘Em Dude-O! I Completed Editing My Bike Memoir. Now What?

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

Just a little over 11 months ago, I wrote a post titled I Finished My Book, but It’s Far from Over. Now, I’ve finished editing it. Well, you’re never really finished editing until it’s published. Even then, there may be future editions. Point is, I’ve come to a place where I need to find some other eyeballs. For my collection of eyeballs. Just kidding! I mean having other people read it. Particularly an editor. Therein lies the rub. Because editors are like unicorns – a few people claim to have seen them, but they’re extremely rare. And they possess some powerful magic:  they’re able to get your book published — or not. So I’m looking for my unicorn. Or eyeballs. Or unicorns with eyeballs. I mean magical unicorns with eyeballs. Yeah, let’s go with that last one.

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