“Seems to me you got you two kinds of bicyclists in the world,” the old man in the straw cowboy hat said out loud to no one in particular, leaning on his beat up old Ford pick-up truck, sipping on a Big Red. “You got them dead ones, and then they’re the ones who are about to get dead.”
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Bike Curious? Here’s the Perfect Pedal for a Slow Sunday Cycle in Austin
Years ago, I was pedaling past the World War II era airplane hanger at Austin’s former Robert Mueller airport, which I recall flying into right over where I lived. (Not the recent special investigator.) Now, Mueller is the one-word name (like Bono, Prince, or Sting) for the new urban, high-density (and high-cost) neighborhood that now sits on the former airport. Back then, somehow I’d been able to rent a room in pretty new row house owned by a nice gentleman from Ethiopia. That’s another story.
I biked but not much. On that night, I found the ride quite by accident and joined in. It was fun and easy, but soon I went on my way and didn’t go back. Skip ahead many years in time to a couple of weeks ago, and I ran into a fellow rider at the grocery store, Jason. He reminded me about the ride, and since I was on a bike and curious about Bike Curious, I showed up. Needing a recovery ride from Saturday’s hot and tiring 45-mile Mamma Jamma training ride, I went again a second time. Lemme tell ya’ all about it.
Continue readingRandom Thoughts from the Life of a Car-Free Bicyclist in Austin, Texas
Sometimes there’s no one unifying theme to a blog post, but even then, there is still a framework. Today, it’s that many factors affect my cycling, and also that there’s more to life than cycling. (Impossible, I can hear some of you saying!) Here are a few of those thoughts. As to whether they’re Deep Thoughts, you’d have to ask Jack Handy, which is an old Saturday Night Live skit. Basically he had short quotes that were inane, so I’m not claiming any wisdom. I am just sharing my experience in hopes it educates, inspires or at least amuses you as one of my millions of followers (any day now). Read on, it’ll be good, you’ll see. After all, I’m not The Dude, I’m just A Dude. And A Dude would never steer you wrong. That would be very un-Dude-like.
Continue readingI Think I May Have Just Accidentally* Founded a Neighborhood Bike Gang
(* on purpose) I posted this on Next Door tonight in response to yet another barrage of attacks on bike lanes on a street called Loyola Lane in Austin, Texas. I couldn’t resist sharing it verbatim with my blog readers. My previous two posts are here and here. I hope you like them all. If you’re in Austin, Texas and wanna join the gang (we’re nonviolent), let me know. Contact me via the About page.
Continue readingLe Tour de France 2019 Has Begun: Some Thoughts
Le Tour de France 2019 edition, the 106th, began Saturday. It’s already provided thrills, drama and unexpected results. I won’t give you any spoilers here in case you’re streaming and are already behind like I am. But I wanted to share a few thoughts about the sport of professional cycling’s biggest annual event.
Continue readingMeeting Bicyclists and Writers at a Poetry Reading in Austin, Texas
My first time at Malvern Books, a small independent store in Austin, Texas, was exactly what I expected and yet wholly surprising. The expected part was that people would come to hear the author and the poet, there’d be snacks before and Q & A plus schmoozing after. One Page Salon creator and host Owen Egerton had announced the reading of his good friend Walter Moore, who also read a page earlier in the week. When I bicycled over to the site formerly adjacent to Vulcan Video, I was greeted outside the door by Owen. He took a moment from his conversation with the smoking guest poet to smile at me. I thought he was opening the door but instead gave me a big hug. Sorpresa numero uno.
Continue readingHow I Biked 167 Miles in One Week and You Can, Too
Does 167 miles seem like a long distance to ride your bicycle in a week? If not, and you can easily rattle off that distance in a single day, then this post (and blog) will probably bore you. Good on you! Thanks for stopping by and not being all judgy. (Like Rootchopper, currently doing 300+ miles per week on his big ass No Name Tour.) Does 167 miles in a week seem impossible? Well, if so, this may also not be for you. Of course you’re welcome to come along for the virtual ride.
But what if you’re in between those extremes and have ridden 100 miles in a week before? Maybe you’re thinking, “Hmm, if this middle-aged fathlete (who isn’t the typical skinny cyclist stereotype) can put up some pretty big numbers, then I wonder if I can, too?” Well, this is for you.
Continue readingI Eliminated 99% of Flour Products from My Diet for 18 Months, and Guess What Happened?
Nothing. That’s right: bupkis, nada, niente, zero, zilch. I lost 0 pounds of weight. In fact, I’ve gained a little lately, more from knee pain caused by biking my ass off (metaphorically — see my post coming up Wednesday). But after foregoing all the tasty treats, delicious delights and amazing amuse bouches out there for an entire effing year and a half, I really have nothing to show for it. It’s really quite unfair. Perhaps there are other health markers that are a better gauge, but the point was to reduce simple carbs to virtually nothing and eat whole grains. Of course I wasn’t perfect with it, and still have a major problem with sugar, but it’s no where near enough to make up for all the bread and stuff I used to eat. So, I’m gonna kvetch about this.
Continue readingI Just Passed 20,000 Miles (17,000 Strava Verified) Bicycling in 4.5 Years!
The Kids Bikes in Stranger Things: Fighting Monsters, Freedom and Fun
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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A Dude Abikes 