education

Bicycle Sport Shop / Bike Austin Ride Leader Training (Part 1)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

Tonight I jetted over to a nice but sorta weird place for a bike meeting — a neighborhood emergency center — to learn how to lead group and bike shop rides.  It was organized by the active transportation (bike and walking) advocacy and membership non-profit organization for which I occasionally pitch in to volunteer, Bike Austin, led by new director Katie.  The training was given by Bicycle Sport Shop Road Captains Daniel, Laura Jane (LJ), and Stephanie and with some of the dozen of attendees contributing some amusing stories of what people do on their bikes.  So listen up kids, class is in session!  Professor A Dude Abikes is on the mic, talkin’ trikes, and safety things he likes… Continue reading →

Bike Austin City Cycling Class at REI

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

Roads:  They’re Not Just for Cars Anymore.

Who knew that the Texas Department of Transportation, the highway and toll road people sponsored classes for bicyclists?  They’re also for car drivers to learn how to respect the rules of the road and vulnerable road users, i.e., dudes and dudettes on bikes. So on Saturday I saddled up and sauntered slowly downtown despite my ongoing allergies or whatever they are to get a little knowledge dropped into my mountain cedar-induced feverish brain.  And I may have learned a thing or two.  It turns out that you can teach an old dude new tricks.  Not like, magic, or BMX, but you know, tricks. Continue reading →

Bike Austin Wants YOU to Help Save Lives by Becoming an Individual or Business Member TODAY!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

Volunteering to Make Austin’s Streets Safer for All

Bike Austrin logoToday 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 →