bicycle

O Jogo Bonito: The Beautiful Game of Soccer (aka Football) and Yes, Bicycling

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

Back on February 5, I wrote a post titled “What the Super Bowl Can Teach Us About Sports Cycle-ology”.  The quadrennial soccer / football spectacle that is the month-long World Cup began June 14th, which very many people who are not living in a cave know.  After watching all 14 games over the last five days, I’ve been thinking about the lessons soccer aka football can teach bicyclists.  (I’m from the US, so I’ll call it soccer.)

THIS POST IS SPOILER FREE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ALL THE FIRST 15 GAMES! 

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What Two African Muslims Taught Me About Ramadan, Bicycling and Blogging

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

Ramadan is the month-long holiday of day-time fasting, prayer and other practices observed by people of the Muslim faith.  It ended yesterday, making today Eid al-Fitr.  What does that have to do with me and bicycling?  I’m glad you asked, so I’ll tell you.  Recently I wrote about self-compassion.  And then I met a man on a bike ride who was only riding at night.  When asked why, he said it was because he was observing Ramadan.  No water or food until nightfall, and then biking?  To me that was impressive because it showed some serious dedication to both his religion and his sport.  He’s a Nigerian living in Texas.

What does Ramadan mean
Source:   Oregon Public Broadcasting You Tube channel

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Kenya, a fellow blogger posted a story about encountering a poor woman on the street.  She too is an African Muslim who was observing Ramadan.  But despite the blogger being charitable and giving away some of her money, the beggar still berated her, and told her it was not enough.  One of the teachings of Islam is to be additionally generous during this month, and so she grappled with doing that but not receiving the gratitude she expected.  The two encounters were too coincidental not to share.

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4 Appointments and 1 Funeral = 0 Miles Bicycled Today

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

The other day I was gifted the use of a car by a super nice friend during their extended summer vacation.  It’s promising to be a hotter-than-usual summer here in Central Texas, USA (oh wait, it’s still only spring), so this is a real nice luxury for A Dude. Compared to me on my bike, cars are efficient, fast and comfortable.  I can arrive places without being sweaty, tired and gross.  Or transport stuff.  Take Sunday drives.  Drive getaway in exciting capers.  (Just kidding!)

The down sides are, as most people know, that cars pollute, lots of other people have them and get in the way, and they cost a lot of money. A problem specific to less gifted bicyclists who gut out the miles anyway (like moi) is that getting out of an air-conditioned vehicle that takes little energy to operate and then onto a bike which takes alot of energy is quite difficult, psychologically speaking. Especially when you’re tired, which I seem to be most of the time these days. A First World dilemma for sure, but it’s real to me who put in seven 100+ mile weeks in a row. So what’s A Dude to do?

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Coaching Your Self With Compassion Instead of Criticism

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

The other day I had a rare headache, and someone near me said, “Why not try some alternate nostril breathing?”  I did, and it helped.  Then the little voice in my head kicked in, and I started kicking myself.  “Why didn’t you think of that before?” it mocked.  “Why don’t you do more pranayam every day?” it jeered.  And so on.  If you’re at all like me, the inner critic is never far from bursting through the front door of our conscious mind and raining on our parade, to mix metaphors.

Have you ever noticed that we don’t have a name for the inner compassionate person?  But we should.  Our inner Dalai Lama, perhaps, or whatever spiritual teacher may appeal to you.  But after my last post about yoga, I’ve been thinking about the other limbs of the yogic path, and self-compassion is a big one.  So here are some thoughts that might help you, whether it’s starting or maintaining a regular practice of writing, walking, yoga, cycling or whatever, just being better with your self.  Or maybe becoming the next President of the United States, a job which should be coming open pretty soon, from the looks of it.  A Dude can dream. Continue reading →

4.5 Years of Daily Yoga Practice: How It Helps My Bicycling and Can Help Yours

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 11 Comments

1,634 days is a long time to do something consecutively, but today, June 6, 2018, marks that anniversary for me.  Back on December 6, 2013, I began a regular yoga practice of 30 minutes per day.  (It was actually 12/4/13, but I missed two days early on so I move the anniversary date up two days. If you want to get technical my anniversary is 12/25.)  The point is that I have continued practicing yoga ever since, every day – without interruption – at all.  I resolved to follow some advice I didn’t have words for at the time:  Don’t Break The Chain, when I blogged about forming habits back on January 2.  It’s ironic to be proud of what at heart is an humbling and internal practice.  But important milestones bear acknowledgement, and since a major thrust of this blog is to try to inspire people, my yoga is a major component of that goal, as well as my life.  Continue reading →

Paul Simon: Poet, Musician, Legend

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

Paul Simon and his band played the large concert Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center in Austin, Texas tonight.  I hesitate to even attempt to review the show, but I can certainly try to put in words the emotions his music evoked and other thoughts that come to mind.  Even that is hard, because he is such an important part of American music for over 60 years.  He’s a winner of countless awards, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, 13-time Grammy winner, actor, had music featured in movies (notably The Graduate) and much more.  There are popular musicians who become famous, but some are at the next level, and he’s one of the greats for sure. Continue reading →

543 Miles in May 2018: My Next Best Month on the Bicycle Ever!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

To say that I rode my bike alot in May is an understatement. 543 miles is 125 miles per week and almost 18 miles per day. My activity app Strava, paired with my Garmin GPS watch, are fairly accurate. Believe me, I feel it in my bones. Also, this was the hottest documented month of May in Central Texas ever. So I’m feeling pretty happy about that accomplishment, seeing how my original goal for this year was 50 miles per week. It could all change in a moment, and there are some things on the horizon which may mean I’m spending less time on the bike. But that’s all fine. For now, I’m satisfied that I still have some legs. Oh, and I also walked 45 miles. Today is a well-deserved rest day, so let’s dig into the stats a bit, shall we?

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A Bicyclist Rides Into a Bar: Some Bike Jokes I Wrote Just For You

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 8 Comments

I was going to write about yoga poses good for cycling. I looked online, and found a few articles with pictures, the Sanskrit names, technical descriptions and videos. Here’s one from Men’s Journal by Shawn Radley (with whom I corresponded with about maybe joining in a tour group during my trip to Montana): The Best Yoga Moves for Bikers. Having nothing much to add, and finding the topic boring even to me, I decided on some bike jokes. But instead of copying some from the internet, I’ll use this as a writing humor exercise and think of some myself. Let’s see what I can come up with on the spot!

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Un-Fat Is Not All That:  Being Overweight May Have Some Health Benefits

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

Survey Says:  Fat Could Help You Live Longer

According to an article in the May 25, 2018 Austin American-Statesman a new study finds obese patients are more likely to survive certain conditions and illnesses when hospitalized.  It originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is by by Najja Parker.  It says that while of course being fat is bad for your heart, blood sugar and more, “the extra fat could have some benefits, according to a new report.”

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Conversation with an Author: Michael Barnes

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

If you live in Austin and have read the local newspaper in the last 30 years, you probably know of Michael Barnes.  He’s been covering arts, entertainment, culture, history, the city and its people and changes and more in some form or another in the Austin American-Statesman for most of that time.  He’s also written two books, performed and taught theater at the University of Texas and St. Edwards University among other things for many years.  He has a diverse presence on the internet with several blogs and social media sites, and probably alot of other things I’m sure I don’t know about.  He also has a doctorate in theater, and oh, by the way, last year he was 2017 Best Journalist in the Austin Chronicle Readers Poll.  So when I casually invited him to connect and he did, and then he invited me to meet him for coffee, what was A Dude going to say?  I said yes, of course! Continue reading →