aging

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.

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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.

1/11/2026:  5,011 Miles Bicycled in 2025, 6 Years & 4 Months of Daily Cycling… And I Get Pepper Balled at a Protest for Woman Killed by I.C.E.

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

Renee Nicole Good was killed–apparently unnecessarily–by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) officer at a protest of immigration policy in Minneapolis the other day, reigniting a protest movement with over 1,000 events across the country. Your dude attended one tonight that involved some angry young folks marching around downtown Austin and chanting anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) slogans. At one point, two people set a Department of Justice flag on fire. I thought it was dumb and counterproductive; and should have been my cue to leave. But the Texas Department of Safety–who was kicked out of a joint operation with the City of Austin for aggressive law enforcement actions–again overreacted by firing pepper balls that spew out a gas that causes eyes to water and breathing to become inflamed. This caused the crowd of several hundred to disperse coughing, wheezing, eyes burning. Some were prepared with gas masks and stayed in the smoke, and soon after many marched down Congress Avenue without a permit. Your dude was not too badly affected, and biked home. As I wrote on Strava, my sinuses needed to be cleared out from cedar fever, anyway.

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Top 10 Tips for the Aging Cyclist

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

Hi. Your dude here. I recently griped again about that which ails me. I’m somehow but barely managing to keep biking each day, even when it’s slow to low mileage. It occurred to compile a list, a la Letterman (David), though not as amusing, but more useful. (No wives were cheated on my or interns schtupped in the making of this blog post, having neither, wife, intern, nor hit TV show.) Anyway, if you’re doing things right, you are currently still alive as you read this and so you’re aging, too. Very relatable. So, if you bike, walk, hike, run, swim, etc. you might resonate with the idea that the old bod is not able to do what it used to do (be do be do). Without further ado, and no doo doo, here’s…. Dudey!

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Three Decades Since A Dude First Landed, Bikeless, in Austin

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

March 3, 1991. The first Gulf War had just ended. I was out of college a few years and had been traveling and moving around a bit. I grew weary of that, so I did the logical thing and went home. After a year slinging Southern cooking and helping out dear ma a bit, I bought a lightly used car. I went to one last steak night with my dad and brother, and moved in with a friend in Austin, Texas. Today her eldest turned 22, so I stopped by for a COVID-safe outdoor birthday. People trickled by, and I told one about the mom,“She’s my oldest friend in Austin. Looks pretty good for 85, don’t she?” (She’s much less.) With that history and my anniversary percolating in my brain the last two weeks, I figured it’s time for a little trip down memory lane.

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November 2019 Strava Stats: 581 Miles on My Bicycle

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

After another 20-mile day today getting disc brake pads for Sophie the Fairdale, and then putting them on at Yellow Bike Project, I thought I’d write about that. But it seemed somewhat familiar, so guess what? It turns out I already did a post about brakes for Sookie the Fuji. So I’ll write about the month that just passed instead, which means eleven months down, one to go. I didn’t take a day off as I certainly have earned, because, goals. (Though a couple of days I only biked a mile or two, I’ve been riding daily since my birthday October 11.)

I also continued my habits of doing yoga and walking as well as of course writing this blog or editing and revising my book daily. As for all the biking, it was to make up time from this summer (presents are still accepted). Anyway, 581 miles is very good for me, especially with an injury that really slowed me down. So I had a good month on the bicycle despite of that. Herewith are the numbers for your reading pleasure.

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When Life Gets in the Way of What You Really Want to Do

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

As if exhaustion from being out in the Austin, Texas heat wasn’t enough of a sign that I should stay in this evening, I just dropped something heavy on my foot. Now I’m sitting here with ice on it. I was going to have to miss the only open shop night at Yellow Bike Project anyway because I thought it was yesterday and went there for nothing. So while I’ve been out walking a bit more, I’m also getting plenty of heat exposure. I call it sun poisoning, or Vitamin D overdose. So, my bicycling is sucking.

I am writing this post because that’s what I do every Wednesday, Monday and Friday night for over a year — for now). I’ll have a much-needed shower, do my half hour of gentle yoga (probably all on the floor) and hopefully collapse into bed for a full night of rest. But what do you do when life gets in the way of what you really want to do? Whether it’s ride your bike, write your book or blog, etc., how can we do it all? (Hint: You can’t.)

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What If It All Came to An End Tomorrow? Buddha’s Five Remembrances

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

Being away from home and my bike for a day has put me in a contemplative mood.  Mysterious recent health challenges have made bicycling harder than it should be.  It’s already hard enough, in 100 degrees, being a fathlete, trying to not get dead by distracted drivers, not having a light bike with 27 gears anymore.  For 19 months I’ve had the luxury to do daily walking, writing in my book or this blog, and doing yoga every day (the latter for much longer).  And on most of the days of my life for the last 14+ years, but especially since 2015, I have ridden my bike.  Over 20,000 miles since 2005, by my count. What if it all came to an end tomorrow?

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Sitting Is the New Cancer — Unless You’re On a Bicycle Seat

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 16 Comments

Good news! I just saved a bunch of money on car insurance! That’s because I don’t have a car! There is more in the good news department, according an article on Gizmodo, “A Lifetime of Cycling Keeps the Immune System Young, Study Finds.” First published in Aging Cell, the study tested older people who were active and inactive, as well as inactive young people. The immune systems of what the scientists called “non-elite older individuals (master cyclists)” and the younger sedentary ones were similar. Hey I like the sound of that, “master cyclist!”

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