adventure

A 61-Mile Ride in Photos and Words

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

There’s not much of a positive note going on in A Dude Abikes land, biking or otherwise, but at least I did manage my annual long bike ride earlier in October. It was pretty tough, mostly due to the month of July off of all bikes, then only on a stationary bike for small rides while alternating days swimming, and then eventually getting back on the road. (My 6 Years, 8 Months, and 19 Days Streak of Consecutive Daily Bicycling Is Over talks about that.) And then, I was only able to do one 30-mile training ride. Herewith are some images from and some words about the big (for me as an aging fathlete) ride.

Read more: A 61-Mile Ride in Photos and Words

I got a very late start, around 2:30 pm because I was tired and not feeling it. It was also 94 F, which is abnormally hot for October in Central Texas. Plus, I had taken on a lot of water with some beet powder and also some protein, and those made me feel bloated and took a long time to, erm, pass. Eventually I got my stuff and act out there and rode over to my Happy Place, aka the Southern Walnut Creek Trail in east Austin, Texas. There are no cars, just other cyclists, pedestrians, and the occasional skater, which is really nice. And now the trail has been extended all the way to Manor, Texas. First up is my screenshot from Strava, the fitness tracker app. (Copyright 2026 Strava)

Below you see all the gear and goodies I took, the start of the trail, and A Dude Abikes in his T.ime I.n T.he S.addle custom jersey. I took my turn-of-the-century, steel-framed, skinny-tired Sommar, Fuji Finest bike that was gifted to me at a time when Sonnie, GT Arette, was temporarily stolen.

Images from the trail. They all show how dry conditions are; even the creek shown is low.

I stopped multiple times at the Austin Tennis Center, where nice guy and proprietor Lincoln gifted me with a Gatorade Zero as he did a few years ago.

As the golden hour approached, I was joined for about 15 miles by frequent guest rider Rhodney. We made it to Manor and turned around and came back. These shots of him turned out great.

More Manor. Not much to it, really. I thought I might make it there two times, but I detoured coming back and it got dark. I wrote a short poem to a strong rider I know who still goes on the group rides I used to do. He sort of jokingly hates Manor and makes no bones about it in his Strava ride titles. The poem starts like this: “Any dunce can go to Manor once. But to go there twice is twice as nice.” Which is not true, unless you live there, I suppose.

A few more random shots.

Here’s a telling final image from Strava. Not unexpected, but pretty sad. My new normal is not 100 miles a week, and often not even 50. Such is life after a setback.

One does what they can. The Dude Abides. But A Dude Abikes. Less, and slower, but still getting out there. Hope you’re doing what you can, too. Thanks for reading. ADAB, OUT!

Copyright 2026 A Dude Abikes. All rights reserved.

10 Years Ago Today, I Returned from My Epic Trip North: Reflections

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

On September 19, 2016, I flew back from Denver, Colorado to Austin, Texas after a six-state, epic trip north (plus a quick stop across the border in Canada for duty-free souvenirs). Five days earlier, I wrote my only blog from that trip. Mountain Time:  Biking and Hiking the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming. It would make sense for you to go read that first. I can wait. But either way, the lede is this: It was an awesome trip.

Read more: 10 Years Ago Today, I Returned from My Epic Trip North: Reflections

From national parks and other cool monuments, cities and the woods, meeting some cool new people, taking planes, trains, and automobiles (hitchhiking even, plus buses), and renting bikes along the way, I covered a lot of ground in three weeks. There was a Texas acquaintance I stayed with to start the trip Fargo, ND. Glacier National Park and the continental divide in northern MT, plus a natural hot springs in Bozeman. The was incredible Devil’s Tower and Yellowstone in WY. Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument in SD. Even the Minneapolis, MN airport and staying with some other friends in Denver as bookends were interesting and fun.

The down side of reflecting back on it now is that except for one other to the east coast a year later, the day after I was laid off an 11-year job in 2017, I have not been anywhere outside of Texas. I may have ridden my bike the equivalent mileage around the world–twice!–but I was recently reminded by some college friends in our annual Zoom reunion, and some other friends who have the luxury, time and money, that traveling to places is really cool. One guy went to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and pet cheetahs in its capital, Zanzibar! Another routinely flies to Germany and Argentina, and within California. Another stays every summer in a family house in Ireland. Others have a house in the Azores, or jet to Italy and Spain, and many other places. So while I have great memories about my trip, I’m pretty bummed that I’ve not been anywhere else nearly as exciting ever since.

Two quotes come to mind. The Buddha is alleged to have said, “Comparison is the death of joy.” (Easier said than done.) And Mr. William aka Billy Joel sang, “The good ol’ days weren’t always good, and tomorrow’s not as bad as it seems.” (Except sometimes they are.) Travel is a privilege, after all. I was lucky I had saved up the time and money from living in a literal utility room closet under the stairs so that I could take this trip. I do feel grateful. And yet it would be nice to

The other sad thing is I have a huge cache of photos from that trip, plus a bunch of GoPro videos I never learned to edit or adjust for the weird camera lens. When I look back at that dude, he was younger, thinner, and had a job. In other words, he was not if super happy he had a more stable life. He was also clueless about where he would be a decade later. Had I known back then what I know now, would I have done anything different? Probably not. But maybe I would have tried to make more money and go places.

But I sure did ride the hell out of my bike around here. And have begun doing so again out of the gym and on the road a bit after a forced month and more out of the saddle. But as mentioned in my last post, I’m not a prisoner of mileage goals. In fact, I don’t really care about my mileage, and might even skip today’s bike ride due to being tired. I started to swim two to three times a week and alternate that with biking. Eventually I may get back into some kind of decent shape, but it seems unlikely. Age, genes, and setbacks out of my control make it a struggle to do what I did back then. Plus, I was a decade younger. Aging sucks but they say it beats the alternative.

I’ll end by unearthing a bunch of photos. Enjoy this trip down memory lane with me. And if you have the time and money, I hope you get to travel and go on some adventures yourself. Maybe I’ll get to go on some other trips, some day. Let’s hope so. Because we all go on one last journey, to the undiscovered country called death. And speaking of that, while I’m not religious at all, but this tune just popped into my head. The haunting guitar is by the incredible Jeff Beck (who died recently, and is one of my favorite guitar heroes, possibly the best guitarist ever, even better than Texas-grown Stevie Ray Vaughn), and it is sung by the still-going Rod Stewart from 1985. It’s a cover of the Curtis Mayfield-penned original with The Impressions. People Get Ready.

People get ready
There’s a train a-coming
You don’t need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming
Don’t need no ticket
You just thank the Lord

more photos being uploaded very soon!

Photographs and Memories: A Weekend in the Biking Life in Austin, Texas

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

Like many people in the modern era who are privileged enough to have a smart phone, electricity and mobility, I take a lot of pictures. Some good, some not, a few great. Who’s to say, though? If you like them, great. If not, move along. Trouble is, I don’t use that photo platform named after your grandmother, so when I’m riding my bicycle and take a pic, it goes either here, on my Strava fitness app (follow me there if you’re a bikester) or doesn’t see the light of day. Occasionally I post a blog with a lot of photos and some words to explain them. This is one of those times. Enjoy the whole “picture paints a thousand words” thing, yada yada.

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The Kids Bikes in Stranger Things: Fighting Monsters, Freedom and Fun

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

I’ve just begun watching Stranger Things, the moody, spooky Netflix sci-fi series about a group of kids searching for one of their own who goes missing. And then the weird stuff transpires. Set in the 80’s, when I was a teen, the show has a very Stephen King vibe to it (there’s even a direct shout out to him). Season 3 is being released on July 4th, Independence Day, fittingly enough. Because like on the show, when you’re a kid, bikes mean the ability to feel free. The wind in your face and hair, and that feeling of almost flying, or floating. Luckily, grown-up kids get to recapture that sensation, too.

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Nostalgia for My Grandmother on Winter Solstice, the Longest Night of the Year

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

It’s winter solstice here in Austin, Texas, United States of America, and I’m feeling nostalgic. Not only because of the holidays, or working in a place with a long history here in town and in the country that’s closing down, or because a year ago I had ridden my bike alot more, and the year before that, even more. It’s mostly because my maternal grandmother died 20 years ago on December 22, 1998. This post is dedicated to her memory. (Check back after the holidays for more photos.)

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Conversation with Jim Sayer, Director of Adventure Cycling Association (Part 1)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

When I got wind Jim Sayer was in town, I jumped onto my computer machine and using electronic correspondence, I requested a meeting.  Since I missed him on my trip to Missoula, Montana where ACA is headquartered on my epic trip there in 2016, and have been curious about bikepacking/touring ever since, I was keen to learn more about ACA.  He was kind enough to meet me at a coffee shop and chat.  He’ll be doing a talk Tuesday, November 13 at 6-8 pm at Bike Texas, so if you’re in Austin, come on down!  I’ll post a follow-up after that event to share more.  But let’s dive into what the ACA is about! Continue reading →

Healthier Choices; Getting Out into the Community & Meeting Cool People (Day 4)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

Wednesday’s 16 miles on the bike began with a ride to a downtown coffee shop to talk with a very interesting person.  I can’t reveal their identity or the purpose of the talk just yet, but it was a good experience for me, and I hope for them.  So we’ll see how that goes.  You’ll read about it here, assuming you keep coming back to read A Dude.

While I was there, I spotted someone else of note.  That person was Jim Hightower, the populist former Agricultural Commissioner of Texas who has gone on to be a voice for progressive politics in Texas and beyond.  My second favorite thing he ever said was at a Ralph Nader for President rally where he was a warm-up speaker.  The crowd was rambunctious, so he said, with a Texas inflection, “This rally is hotter than high school love.”  Hilarious!  My favorite thing he said was, “I was born recently, just not yesterday.”  I said hello, he was pleasant and polite but he didn’t remember me from Adam.  Funny thing, years ago he considered me to be too radical for his radio show.  Instead he got my friend on the air, largely because he was an Army veteran.  True story. Continue reading →