Zig Ziglar, the motivational speaker popular in the US in the 1970’s until the 1990’s, used to give out these circular business card thingies that had the letters TUIT on it. I must have gone to a speech because I had one for a while. It was to remind people that goals should not be for some day in the future, you should seize the day. It was my intent to write this post a week and a half ago, but I’m just now getting a round to it. Get it? In other words, after my long ride of 60 miles, I was so tired… (How tired are you?) I was so tired it has taken me a couple of weeks to write about it. So, here at long last is my report off my big annual ride and another year of consecutive daily bicycling.
Continue readingbikes
9/9/2025: 33 Days to 2 Big Goals… If I’m Lucky
What goals might you ask? Well, one takes us back to the Before Times of October 2019. When the world was, while not pristine, it was still pre-pandemic. Fear and loathing were not yet endemic. And we had the same leader who is seemingly now more schizophrenic. This here dude from Texas would ride his bike often, and gaily. Until one day he decided to do it daily. To make that six years is one goal I seek, and that is about which this blog does speak. (Or it will when I return to it to tweak.)
Continue reading50,000 Miles Bicycled! A Dude Abikes Did It!
I begin this blog like I did my journey on December 19, 2015: One step / pedal / word at a time. It took nine years, six months, and eight days, but I did it! I rode bicycles for 50,000 miles. That means I have now traveled the distance of the equator TWICE. (You may recall my October 23, 2020 blog, AROUND THE WORLD IN 1,770 DAYS (24,901 MILES): 5-YEAR GOAL ACCOMPLISHED !!!) When I reached that goal, I titled my Strava ride “Planet Earth: Lap 2, Day 1?” Similarly, I titled my first ride after the goal, “The Start of Another 50,000 Miles? Just Be Here Now, A Dude. One Pedal Crank at a Time.” That’s all to say that there’s a lot to say about this. I’ll try to be brief.
Continue reading11/11/2024: A Month After My 59-Mile Ride and 5-Year Daily Bicycling Streak, I’m Still At It
If you missed the belated edits to my last post, 10/10/2024: What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been: 5 Years of Consecutive Daily Cycling Tomorrow, please go check it out first. I’ll wait. (Cue the Jeopardy theme music.) It was written the day before my big annual ride. The spoiler version is that I managed my 59.59-mile bike ride, and I’m still doing the deed daily. Although I’m biking slower for various reasons. Extra weight from high stress and low sleep and also after stopping a gig where I walked five to seven miles a day. Biking 100+ miles a week might have something to do with being tired. Whatever, each mile counts. And the only race I’m in is against myself. Or maybe Death. And we all lose that one, eventually. But not today, Death. Not today.
Continue readingTop 10 Tips for the Aging Cyclist
Hi. Your dude here. I recently griped again about that which ails me. I’m somehow but barely managing to keep biking each day, even when it’s slow to low mileage. It occurred to compile a list, a la Letterman (David), though not as amusing, but more useful. (No wives were cheated on my or interns schtupped in the making of this blog post, having neither, wife, intern, nor hit TV show.) Anyway, if you’re doing things right, you are currently still alive as you read this and so you’re aging, too. Very relatable. So, if you bike, walk, hike, run, swim, etc. you might resonate with the idea that the old bod is not able to do what it used to do (be do be do). Without further ado, and no doo doo, here’s…. Dudey!
Continue readingSophie’s Revenge: Meet My New Bicycle Soqi, the Cannondale Quick 4
Faithful readers already know that two years and ten days ago, my Fairdale Weekender Archer I dubbed Sophie (because she was sea foam green and to follow after Sonnie and Sookie) was stolen by a brazen bicycle thief. It was a shock and loss I never really got over. Sophie and I passed 20,000 miles together; through this blog she was known in other countries, and we did some pretty epic rides. She is gone but not forgotten. But keep reading, for the rest… of the story.
Continue readingSnow in Austin, Winter in America – Still
A year and two weeks ago, I wrote Snow in Austin, Winter in America, based on a powerful song by Gil Scott-Heron. I think that post is some of my best work, not necessarily prize-winning, but in trying to capture a mood. (You should go read it now. I’ll wait.) The street poet, progenitor of rap, musician, and author was a voice of conscience regarding the state of Black people in America, among other things. He could also lay down some serious grooves to go with his strong words; Winter in America is in a minor key and has a great blues flute solo. I wrote that post right before coronavirus began its whirlwind tour of the US — just before it went viral. (Ha!) It was a few months before the modern-day lynching of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. (Not ha.) Scott-Heron died on May 27, 2011, a decade ago later this year. What would he have to say about Floyd’s killer, Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin still being out on bail awaiting trial and maybe even getting some justice for George (yeah, we’ll see about that)? Time marches on. But as Sting once sang,“History will teach us nothing.” The prophetic music and lyrics of Scott-Heron and others like him (Marvin Gaye comes to mind) are relevant — still. Maybe in GSH’s poetry we can find a little solace in these cold and dark days. Or maybe we’ll get pissed and take action somehow. It is Black History Month, but is there more to it than history?
A Third Chat with Sophie the Fairdale Who Turned 15(,000 Miles) on Jan. 15th with a 15-Mile Ride
Back on April 14, 2020, I wrote a post I called “Another Chat with Sophie the Fairdale, Who Just Turned 10(,000 Miles).” Well, as you can see, we’ve just hit 15,000. So that’s worth a third chat, wouldn’t you agree? Good, I’m glad. Yes, I know you can’t really talk to bicycles. Well, you can, but they don’t answer. If they do, that would be news. Just play along, it’ll be fine, I promise. Jeez, so literal! By the way, Fairdale Bikes are an Austin company and I have to thank Fairdale Bikes, Bike Austin and Hill Abell with Bicycle Sport Shop for gifting me with Sophie in a raffle back in 2017. Be sure to check out my first post about Sophie: The Fairdale Weekender Archer: A Review of My New Bicycle I Won in a Raffle!
Continue reading¡Sábado Pequeño! Fotografía para Vos
As usual on book writing days, I’m posting photographs, for now at least. I hope you like them! Although I biked a total of 21 miles, I called this Small Saturday, taking off from the huge Mexican TV Show, Gigantic Saturday (Sabado Gigante). As always, you can access my bicycle riding stats, maps and other photos on the A Dude Abikes Strava feed. If you’re on Strava, you’re welcome to please follow me there as well as here. Thank you for visiting my blog! Y’all come back now, ya’ hea! (A common Texanism.) Continue reading
SXSW Day 8: Blood Fest, Doug Loves Movies and Rosemary & Garlic
I was going to title this post “A Comedy Podcast, Music Showcase and a Horror Film (Walk Into a Bar)” but then I decided the names were more interesting. And because many people wouldn’t get the bar joke. Also it’s really late — so late it’s no longer Friday — and I’m exhausted from attending six bands and a movie about a band on Thursday. On top of that, the internet seemed to have stopped working so I lost the first half draft of this post. So I’m not in the mood (for love or for redoing this.) Let’s just get right to it, shall we? Continue reading
A Dude Abikes 