Austin

First Third of 2018: Round-up, Progress and Challenges

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

Today, May 2, 2018, I quietly observed my 18th year anniversary of moving back to Austin.  It was also the first day of the rest of my life since being laid off / liberated from my job of 11 years, the last day of which was six months and a day ago, on November 1st.  Accompanying those two milestones is the end of the first four months of the year.  With all of that, it seems like a good time to reflect upon where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m heading.  Get out those oranges and reading glasses, because A Dude’s a-fixin’ to do some navel gazin’!  (Note to my non-US followers:  If you are not in the US, navel oranges are a common variety here, because they look like they have a belly button, aka navel.  And navel gazing — staring at one’s belly button — is a metaphor for self-rumination.  We don’t actually stare at it.)  Orange you glad I explained that? Continue reading →

The Horror! Dockless Scooters Dumped in Austin

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

Today’s University of Texas at Austin publication, The Daily Texan, has a front-page story about the scourge of rentable so-called “disruptive” technology being dumped on our streets and the campus. See “Dockless scooters temporarily removed: New city ordinance suspends dockless scooters until companies obtain proper permits.” Basically these companies came in like Uber and Lyft and started operating illegally (or quasi-legally at best), and then the City of Austin had to play catch up and regulate them. We the citizens of Austin chased the ride-share companies out of town after an election, even though they cynically spent over $8 million.

As for rent-a-bikes, I don’t have as many problems with them, because that’s a big part of the point of this blog: more people can and should use bikes. But when they or scooters are clogging up the place, people dump them, vandalize them, or they obstruct lawful bike commuters and pedestrians, they’re a safety hazard to the operators and to others. So I have a few words about this. I’m like an antibiotic ointment: I’m topical!

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The Need for Speed: Watching Bicycle Races at the Driveway Series in Austin, Texas

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

Off to the Races!

Thursday evening I moseyed on down the Southern Walnut Creek Trail to a small racecar track in southeast Austin.  It was bike night, and the races were on.  I rolled up to a small sea of cyclists milling about, and a group of maybe 60 riding on the .62-mile track. Held from April to September each year, the Driveway Series (or just the Driveway, in Austin) was selected as the best races in the United States, according to a chat I had with the congenial and sometimes funny announcer Logan.  A former racer, he’s very familar with the sport and most of the riders, and was happy to share details between laps.

Sanctioned by USA Racing, these are the real deal.  There are different levels, 4/5 (beginners), 1/2/3, Masters (over 35), and Pro for men (which some women race in) as well as the same for women.  But it’s also a festive atmosphere with beer and food trucks, repair vans, sponsor tents, and music playing on the loudspeakers.  There were serious-looking cyclists from the not so fit to the super skinny lean young guys, and the super-strong beasts and some very nice and expensive bicycles.  Come along for a short lap!

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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 →

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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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 →