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Glassholes! Bike Lane Parkers! Disappearing Sidewalks! Oh My!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

Cycling Is Great for Your Health but Hazardous to Bikes

The sun is shining, there’s little wind on a crisp but warming winter’s day.  I mount up my bike and my feet start pushing the pedals like a thousand times before.  The legs are pumping as if through jello.  My lungs are lit on fire; every breath burns.  I’m going as fast as I can, but it feels like I’m barely moving.  Looking around, none of my fellow riders are with me.  But this time is different.   I’m not in a race, leading or last place.  I just have cedar fever.  And I’m only on my way to a community clinic to sign up for health care, since Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) health insurance is prohibitively costly.  And as if today’s natural air pollution wasn’t hard enough, I encountered another of bicyclists’ worst enemies:  people who throw their glass bottles on the ground.  A Dude Abikes calls them “glassholes.” Continue reading →

The Next Door App: Lost Pets, Stuff for Sale and Hatred of People on Bikes

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

People on Bikes and Lanes for Them Are Here to Stay

Today I was going to post about a Safe City Cycling Class, but due to cedar fever, my body was devoid of most energy.  So I posted up in my bed to take an extended siesta.  I’m still feeling as if I were run over by a truck, so bear with me.  I hope to attend the next class on Saturday and report on that then.  Looking around for a topic, I realized the Next Door War on Cyclists going on today would be a “fun” one.  Not being sure about permissions and copyrights, I will just quote from there instead of put whole posts.  When someone brings out the word “douche” and they’re not French or talking about a shower or feminine hygiene, let’s just say it gets pretty heated.

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A Potpourri of Cedar Fever, Perfectionism, Abundance, Vegetables & TV/Movie Links

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

Perfect Is the Enemy of Good

I don’t know who said that, but my dear brother has repeated it more than once.  I was reminded of the phrase when I realized I was not going to be able to ride my bike today.  Despite a high temperature of 64 F, it was windy and cedar pollen count was in the high category.  This happens every winter in Central Texas as the juniper berries release a viscous, visible and very nasty allergenic yellow plume that coats everything and sends some of us into fits of paroxysm.  Another reason to not move to Austin!  Combined with other ailments, it is a “double plus ungood situation.”  British author George Orwell wrote that in his disturbingly prescient book 1984.  About 2018 government shutdowns, bi-partisan extension of US government spying on its own citizens, El Grande Pared de Mexico (great wall of Mexico), he would be saying “I told you so.”

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Sunday Summary: South By Southwest, Supplements & Sleep

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

South by Southwest, Sign Me Up!

Today I cycled on down to the Austin Convention Center to sign up for the first time as a South by Southwest (SXSW) volunteer. It was a pretty diverse and interesting group of folks, with lots of crews vying for our attention. I settled on a crew that would allow me to work just during the education portion so I could enjoy the whole rest of the conference. My perk for those 52 hours will allow me to get into the music festival for free (it’s $1,200 to register) and some venues like film, comedy and so on.

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How It’s Going So Far in 2018 with the Biking, Blogging, Walking and Eating

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

So Far, So Good, But a Long Way to Go

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A Buddha statues at Aveda. But is that a chocolate glazed donut in front of him?

After a number of posts heavy with images, information and links, I think I’ll just write about how I’m doing with everything.  But first, a picture of a Buddha from Aveda Institute.  I got my second ever face treatment for only $21 for an hour.  Self-care is allowed whether you’re a cyclist like me or unable to do much if any physical exercise at all due to a chronic situation.  The massage and various products did make it feel better.  Whether it looks better is a matter of opinion. Continue reading →

Bike Austin Wants YOU to Help Save Lives by Becoming an Individual or Business Member TODAY!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

Volunteering to Make Austin’s Streets Safer for All

Bike Austrin logoToday A Dude visited the downtown Austin, Texas office of Central Texas’s leading bicycling and pedestrian advocacy and education non-profit organization, Bike Austin.   My goal?  To get trained by amazing Community Development Planner Shavone Otero on how to engage Austin businesses to become members to keep the group alive.  That’s her pointing at me in the photograph.  Together with the Bike Austin Education Fund, their mission is to:

“…improve quality of life for all of Austin and Central Texas by growing bicycling as a form of transportation, exercise, and recreation.”

Pretty simple, but not so easy to implement.  Austin traffic continues to worsen, with projected population growth.  Amazon is considering us for another headquarters, which would add 50,000 employees and their families to the roadways.  According to the INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, Austin ranked 42nd worst traffic in the world.  Drivers spent almost two full days per year in their car.  That’s up 24 slots from 66th worst in 2016.  So bicycling is going to play a vital role in that whole… let’s just call it a mess. Continue reading →

The Germination of an Idea: Coaching People on How to Ride Their Bikes

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 8 Comments

Put Me In Coach, I’m Ready to Teach

My Fairdale Weekender Archer outside a spin place

As you may know, Dude Abikes has been happily unemployed since November 1st.  He stays busy biking, walking, yoga-ing and of course blogging.  To keep the gummint offa his back, he does job search activities.  Today there were three, the most interesting of which was a “speed coaching session.”  I biked 8 miles to the Domain, a collection of pricey apartments and even pricier shops.  A Dude ain’t fancy, but doesn’t mind if others are.

A handful of people gathered in to WeWork, a co-working and meeting space. to hear a presentation, meet the coaches, and then spend some time with one discussing our goals, hopes, dreams, obstacles and the like.  It was free, there was fruit, cheese, nuts and such, and we each got a free book.  Mine was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, an antiquated but still classic self-help guide that I’ve never read but will now.  Pretty cool stuff for a cold Thursday afternoon. Continue reading →

Did You Know You Can Get a Free Health Coaching Session at Natural Grocers?

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 10 Comments

Still Cold Out, but A Dude Must Ride

It was down to 18 F last night with still some icy patches on the ground, so today was not a great day to get out.  But there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, it warmed up a bit so I put on 20 articles of clothing and headed out.  Unless this is the first post you’ve read (and if it is, Yay! Welcome!), or if you’ve read the article about me in MLK Day’s Statesman, you know that some ongoing topics of this blog are food, diet, and weight loss.  About six weeks ago, I signed up for a free health coaching session at Natural Grocers, the Boulder-based health food store.  I figured I’d tell you about this useful tool you may not know about.  (NOTE:  This is not a sponsored post, but if anyone from Natural Grocers wants to pay me for it, please get in touch!)

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Walking in a Winter Wonderland, Rumi-nating on Where the Journey Leads

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray
I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day
I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A.
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day

— “California Dreamin'” by The Mamas & The Papas

Baby, It’s Cold Outside. So What? Go Exercise, Dude.

A Dude Abikes does not think of himself as a quitter but he has let go of many things over time, some by choice, others not (car, job, a really nice pair of Ray Bans). Some wisely, like trying to be a vegan. Others, maybe not so skillful, like eating frozen pizza (haven’t had one of nature’s most perfect foods this year so far). Today I kept my walking every day for a month practice going. If I Don’t Break The Chain and make it all year, I’ll have walked over 400 miles — on purpose! Someday maybe I’ll be at a weight where I’ll feel it’s safe to run again without damaging my feet and joints. For now, I’m just getting out there and putting one foot in front of the other for half an hour, even if it’s 28 degrees F like today. That quality of doing it no matter what that I’ve tapped into with the yoga, biking and no-car-having is not really something you can teach. But I think everyone has the capacity for being resolute, stubborn, determined or committed. I also put on 19 articles of clothing, so I was prepared like a good Boy Scout. Yes, A Dude really was an Eagle Scout.

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Read All About It! A Dude Abikes Featured in the Austin American-Statesman for Biking 10,000 Miles in Two Years!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 36 Comments

I Am Ready for My Close-Up

Awesome news! After two years and 10,000 miles of bicycle-riding documented on Strava (and before that, many thousands more), your friendly neighborhood A Dude Abikes has been featured in a story mentioned on the front page and then appearing on D1 of the Lifestyles section. It is titled “Can a Regular Guy Pedal 10,000 Miles in Two Years? This Dude Did.” Read the full story in the Austin American-Statesman.

img_20180115_112245863872301086.jpgThe article is alot longer than I expected, with photos too. Cool!

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