Today was to have been one of celebration. It’s been a baker’s dozen years since my 1991 Little Red Civic got smashed on Bee Caves Road by a guy in a truck. We “t-boned” because he pulled in front of me; his fault. I survived mostly ok, but the car didn’t. The rest is as they say, history. The first decade of my biking lifestyle was not recorded. I biked for utility and in the process got some exercise, but never very much. Continue reading
The sun is shining, there’s little wind on a crisp but warming winter’s day. I mount up my bike and my feet start pushing the pedals like a thousand times before. The legs are pumping as if through jello. My lungs are lit on fire; every breath burns. I’m going as fast as I can, but it feels like I’m barely moving. Looking around, none of my fellow riders are with me. But this time is different. I’m not in a race, leading or last place. I just have cedar fever. And I’m only on my way to a community clinic to sign up for health care, since Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) health insurance is prohibitively costly. And as if today’s natural air pollution wasn’t hard enough, I encountered another of bicyclists’ worst enemies: people who throw their glass bottles on the ground. A Dude Abikes calls them “glassholes.” Continue reading
Today I was going to post about a Safe City Cycling Class, but due to cedar fever, my body was devoid of most energy. So I posted up in my bed to take an extended siesta. I’m still feeling as if I were run over by a truck, so bear with me. I hope to attend the next class on Saturday and report on that then. Looking around for a topic, I realized the Next Door War on Cyclists going on today would be a “fun” one. Not being sure about permissions and copyrights, I will just quote from there instead of put whole posts. When someone brings out the word “douche” and they’re not French or talking about a shower or feminine hygiene, let’s just say it gets pretty heated.
I don’t know who said that, but my dear brother has repeated it more than once. I was reminded of the phrase when I realized I was not going to be able to ride my bike today. Despite a high temperature of 64 F, it was windy and cedar pollen count was in the high category. This happens every winter in Central Texas as the juniper berries release a viscous, visible and very nasty allergenic yellow plume that coats everything and sends some of us into fits of paroxysm. Another reason to not move to Austin! Combined with other ailments, it is a “double plus ungood situation.” British author George Orwell wrote that in his disturbingly prescient book 1984. About 2018 government shutdowns, bi-partisan extension of US government spying on its own citizens, El Grande Pared de Mexico (great wall of Mexico), he would be saying “I told you so.”
After a number of posts heavy with images, information and links, I think I’ll just write about how I’m doing with everything. But first, a picture of a Buddha from Aveda Institute. I got my second ever face treatment for only $21 for an hour. Self-care is allowed whether you’re a cyclist like me or unable to do much if any physical exercise at all due to a chronic situation. The massage and various products did make it feel better. Whether it looks better is a matter of opinion. Continue reading
Today A Dude visited the downtown Austin, Texas office of Central Texas’s leading bicycling and pedestrian advocacy and education non-profit organization, Bike Austin. My goal? To get trained by amazing Community Development Planner Shavone Otero on how to engage Austin businesses to become members to keep the group alive. That’s her pointing at me in the photograph. Together with the Bike Austin Education Fund, their mission is to:
“…improve quality of life for all of Austin and Central Texas by growing bicycling as a form of transportation, exercise, and recreation.”
Pretty simple, but not so easy to implement. Austin traffic continues to worsen, with projected population growth. Amazon is considering us for another headquarters, which would add 50,000 employees and their families to the roadways. According to the INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, Austin ranked 42nd worst traffic in the world. Drivers spent almost two full days per year in their car. That’s up 24 slots from 66th worst in 2016. So bicycling is going to play a vital role in that whole… let’s just call it a mess. Continue reading
Awesome news! After two years and 10,000 miles of bicycle-riding documented on Strava (and before that, many thousands more), your friendly neighborhood A Dude Abikes has been featured in a story mentioned on the front page and then appearing on D1 of the Lifestyles section. It is titled “Can a Regular Guy Pedal 10,000 Miles in Two Years? This Dude Did.” Read the full story in the Austin American-Statesman.
The article is alot longer than I expected, with photos too. Cool!
A certain friend who shall remain nameless sometimes shows up for a ride with A Dude Abikes. This person is almost always not ready in one or many ways, from not having water in his bottles, having eaten, or done anything to his bike. This is very vexing to A Dude’s soul. So I always ask, “Are you ready to ride”? I thought it might be helpful to share the things that A Dude recommends. Over time you’ll find what works best for you, it will become second nature, and you’ll memorize the list. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt and might help to write or type out your and have it visible. Continue reading
“Moderation in all things, especially moderation.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
As predicted, out of necessity, I ended up modifying my diet to include more than just fruit, vegetables and nuts. While I lost 13 pounds in 7 days, I believe it was too much radical change, detoxification and finally deficiency that led me to add back in a tin of sardines in olive oil and a fish oil tablet.
I knew something was off when I went to Neighborhood Acupuncture Clinic today. I couldn’t fall asleep as usual, and pedaled home as if in a sea of jelly. This is dangerous, and I dropped and cracked my shades. Which makes a dude sad since they are very nice and were donated by a nice guy. Sigh.
Wednesday’s 16 miles on the bike began with a ride to a downtown coffee shop to talk with a very interesting person. I can’t reveal their identity or the purpose of the talk just yet, but it was a good experience for me, and I hope for them. So we’ll see how that goes. You’ll read about it here, assuming you keep coming back to read A Dude.
While I was there, I spotted someone else of note. That person was Jim Hightower, the populist former Agricultural Commissioner of Texas who has gone on to be a voice for progressive politics in Texas and beyond. My second favorite thing he ever said was at a Ralph Nader for President rally where he was a warm-up speaker. The crowd was rambunctious, so he said, with a Texas inflection, “This rally is hotter than high school love.” Hilarious! My favorite thing he said was, “I was born recently, just not yesterday.” I said hello, he was pleasant and polite but he didn’t remember me from Adam. Funny thing, years ago he considered me to be too radical for his radio show. Instead he got my friend on the air, largely because he was an Army veteran. True story. Continue reading
A Dude Abikes 