Safe Routes to School & The Dog That Nearly Ate Me. Oh, The Things I See Bicycling in Austin!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 16 Comments

A friend admitted the other day that she was enjoying walking more than bicycling around Austin lately.  That’s because she notices more things going slower on two feet than on two wheels.  I agreed that’s mostly true, but also said you still see some pretty cool stuff biking that you’d never notice whizzing by in a car.  Today was no exception, and a beautiful spring day to boot.  Please continue reading where it says Continue Reading!  (Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom — WordPress inserts extra white space I can’t get rid of sometimes.) Continue reading →

Please Be Kind to Cyclists:  Saving Lives One Bumper Sticker at a Time

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 11 Comments

On a Saturday in 2002, Al Bastidas was on his way to join an Austin Tri-Cyclists group bicycle ride.  A car hit him, knocking him off his bike into the air.  The wreck put him in the hospital where he was in a coma.  It changed his life forever.  Al, who is from the great cycling nation of Colombia but has lived in Austin, Texas for many years, had to go through surgeries and a very difficult rehabilitation.  You can learn more about Al’s story here.  But out of his tragedy, he created an Austin-based non-profit organization, Please Be Kind to Cyclists. Today I had a conversation with PBKTC board chair Garret.  Click to read more! Continue reading →

Dreaming in Daylight, Riding on a Rainy Night

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

“I awoke last night to the sound of thunder

How far off I sat and wondered

Started humming a song from 1962

Ain’t it funny how the night moves

When you just don’t seem to have as much to lose

Strange how the night moves….”

— Night Moves by Bob Seger

He awoke this morning from a deep slumber, face down, lines engraved on his face from the pillow. The unemployed, aging cyclist trudged to the bathroom then back to bed for a much-needed snooze after another late night staring at screens. Before the alarm went off, something outside the drafty casita woke him for good this time, and gingerly, he rolled out of bed. Not ready to face the wind and likely rain on his bicycle, he texted a fellow attender of the weekly job club, pleading for a ride. The gangly and kindly grad student (who may or may not have been spying on him for his thesis) agreed.

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Supahstar! Jersey for Raising $2,167 for Multiple Sclerosis in the 2017 MS 150

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

As returning readers may know, last April 29-30, I bicycled 202 miles in two days from Houston to Austin, Texas. That was extremely challenging for A Dude, but I did it, even adding 30 miles to get the “double century.” I’m also very proud of the fact that I obtained donations totalling $2,167 for treatment and research for the degenerative disease.  That was also challenging, since I didn’t (and still don’t) have social media available as tools to reach people.  But all the effort, suffering and training and even cramping on the ride was totally worth it, because in the end, I kicked butt both on and off the bike.

Today, the National MS Society had a gathering to thank us “Superstars” for last year.  I received a spiffy silky-smooth grey tech-t-shirt.  They had a nice spread with beverages We’re having nicer weather, so I got in a bike ride to do errands get downtown. At the gathering I met some biking friends, and a few of us went out to play pool after. It was a perfect ending to my half-birthday.  Then I biked home, making for a decent 20-mile day.  I know that’s not a real holiday, but it’s harmless fun.  I hope you enjoy the photos. Continue reading →

Cool Things I Saw Biking: Trash Cat, Tree Spider and Two Movies

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

After last Friday’s post, Part 2 of my interview with David Walker, I decided to not publish a blog Saturday or Sunday. I think it’s a really interesting story and fairly well written, so I wanted more people to look at that instead of pictures of cats. Nothing against cat pictures or other things that I’ve been putting up on my book-writing days, of course! I also just wanted a break, so I took one. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say. Here without further ado are a recap and photos from my weekend.

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ADAB Interview #1:  David Walker: If I Can Do It, So Can You! (Part 2)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 12 Comments

If you haven’t already, please read Part 1 first. It is at this link: Engineering a Comeback from a Life-Altering Event.

“David Knows”

Lying on his back in Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, Texas in October 1981 after losing most of his right leg in a railroad accident, David Crittenden Walker was scared. Of dying. Of never walking again. Of the pain. About the look of worry on the faces of his family and friends. They were staying overnight with him for the first week. He was getting Demerol shots every four hours, and they were “wonderful,” he said, because it blocked the pain. But that last hour before the next shot was excruciating. He would get loopy, then pass out. Because it’s so addictive (think opioid crisis), he had to be weaned off it as soon as possible. He also started having some hallucinations which freaked him out. His brain had to make sense of his new reality. David was 17 years old, and all of a sudden, he only had one leg. How the fuck does anyone live with that? Continue reading →

MLK on a Bike, the Struggle for Justice & My First Bicycle Consulting Client

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 11 Comments

April 4, 2018 marks 50 years from when The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated by a racist.  Imagine how different the world might be if he were allowed to live.  The movement to end the US war on Vietnam, the Poor People’s Campaign, the overall condition of African-Americans in the US, and many more were issues he advanced, making life better for all of us; they all could have progressed further much had he not been killed.

How much more could he have accomplished?  Lives saved?  Dignity restored?  Barriers broken down?  It breaks my heart to think these thoughts and to write these words.  As well it should.  We lost a true American hero that day.  But to cheer us up, here is a picture of him on a bicycle a year before his death, yes, riding a bicycle on Fire Island.  A Dude can link ANYTHING to bicycling.

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Meandering Monday Musings

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 11 Comments

Wandering, Wondering, Writing

Today was one of those days when I just couldn’t even.  I had to have a nap or was going to fall over.  Later I managed a short ride to the post office and library, and then walked home.  Something feels like it has been out of kilter for a while, more than just low iron.  I won’t go into the whole thing but whatever it is is annoying and troublesome.  Maybe the community health safety net will figure it out and heal me.  Ha ha ha ha ha! Continue reading →