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Bike Austin Says the Healthy Streets Program Is Under Threat

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 8 Comments

An email from Bike Austin arrived in my in box recently. Forced to cancel events by the virus like many volunteer-run non-profits, they must do most of their work in cyber space. The email is about the take-over of certain streets by the Austin Transportation Department. Basically they set up plastic barrels and barriers that slow down cars and have signs instructing motor vehicles that the road is for local use only. The goal is to allow people to more easily walk, bike, skate, etc. with social distancing during pandemic times and maybe beyond. Is that such a bad thing? A Dude thinks not, I think.

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600 Miles Biked in August and 4,325 So Far in 2020

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

Another month, another 600 miles. I eked out the last 20 or so late on the last night of the month, after being forced to slow down due to the heat — 29 days of 100 degrees F or more! — and the accumulated tiredness. But I got ‘er done, somehow. And that’s the thing, when it comes to goals, you either meet them or you don’t. Or put another way by famed peacemaker and Nobel Prize winner and President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, “I never lose. I either win, or I learn.” winner Of course, they’re arbitrary and frivolous, we can all agree on that during the global pandemic. But biking is still legal here in Central Texas, and it helps A Dude to keep moving. If exercise is like a drug, then cycling is my medicine of choice. So herewith, posthaste, and without further ado are my August and 2020 statistics on the bicycle.

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9 Tips Why You Should Buy Tip Beer for Your Bicycle Mechanic

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

What? You’re not buying beer as a tip for your bicycle mechanics? Well, that’s a faux pas big time. If you think about it, whether you’re an amateur or avid cyclist, your bike and your life is in literally their hands. So if they’re having a shit day and you come in and dump more shit on them, guess what? The quality of your bike repair may also be quite defecatory in nature. Or not, if they’re real pros. And if you’re taking your bike to the shop, you need them. I’m not talking about a keg a day, of course; you don’t want him/her to be drunk all the time, especially while working on your bike. The repairs could be half-assed and life-threatening. But if you’re not doing anything, you need to jump on board the beer wagon.

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You’ve Got a Friend in Cheeses!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

The former improv comic at Esther’s Follies said this to me without missing a beat. It was right after I had gone on and on about how much I loved cheese. Here in the Southern, predominantly Christian area of the US, that joke is extry hee-larry-us. Because, Jesus. Chees-us. Get it? Got it? Good. The same jokester once handed me a small piece of wood and said, “Feeling a little bored?” Which is also a great pun, but only relates to this post because cheese is often served on one. Anywho, I’ve had a lifelong love of the creamy stuff. And now cheese gets its own blog. Hey bicycles! If you don’t like it, you can suck it!

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Some of the Bike Blogs I Follow – Part 3

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

Catching up with some of my bike blog buddies, I dipped into the Reader function on WordPress. I see they are doing their thing, each in their own way, as they should. That by itself is inspiring, because it reminds me that I’m not really alone out there on the road pedaling away or in cyberspace writing about it. The words “bicycle community” are bandied about as if it’s a monolithic, coordinated effort, but it’s not either of those things.

Still, I believe there is a siblinghood (new word I just thought of — you read it here first!) of cyclists in the sense that if you ride a bike, you know the feeling of fun it can bring. So tonight instead of writing about myself again, of which I often grow weary, I’ll highlight a few of my fellow travelers. Check them out! I’m sure they won’t mind. And if you’re one of them I didn’t include, I hope to in a future edition.

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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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