I was talking with a young woman today who told me she was going to Austin’s Yellow Bike Project to work on her bike. She would be taking it to Mexico in May as part of Bikes Across Borders. A couple of dozen anarchists ride for a couple of weeks to a town where they have relationships with people there, donate the bike, and take the bus home. Sounds fun, scary, dangerous, hard, and maybe a bit crazy. Oh yeah, inefficient. Why not just send the bikes by truck? Well, that would be boring and harder to raise money for. Continue reading →
Sometimes there’s no one theme that presents itself for a post. Instead, a mixture of many motifs manifests. (Alliteration apparently attracts A Dude. ) I’ve noticed myself thinking about three main topics: 1) creativity, especially the art of writing, and the necessity of commerce; 2) all the bicycling I do (and to a lesser extent, walking and yoga), and 3) issues about nutrition and health. Of course I also consider weightier things like the temporary end of the federal government shutdown, the sad passing of a former neighbor, and the goings on in the lives of friends, family and my town. So I’m gonna touch on the three themes, and perhaps we’ll stumble upon some insight or wisdom useful to you. But sometimes, a blog is just a web log of what’s going on, and its not going to change your life. To quote the farmer in the movie Babe, “That’ll do, pig. That’ll do. Continue reading →
In what’s become an annual post, now for the fourth year in a row, I am obligated contractually (by Mother Earth) to inform you that I am still carless. Losing my car on January 25, 2005 was not my choice. Continuing to do without one has been. What does it all mean? Well, I mostly bike (4,554 miles in 2018, to be exact). I also walk to get around, though that’s more for exercise, 30′ a day. I have also used the bus, ridden in friends’ cars, and twice last year I borrowed cars for extended periods. So while I’m not 100% internal combustion engine-free, I still do not own a car. I don’t want a medal, but I do think it’s an important accomplishment worth blogging about. Thanks for reading.
That’s right, A Dude Abikes was featured in the local newspaper. I blogged about it on January 15, 2018, and since it’s exactly a year later today, it seems appropriate to remind older readers, new followers and visitors, too. The blog is titled “Read All About It! A Dude Abikes Featured in the Austin American-Statesman.” While it did not catapult me to stardom or anything, I thought it was a pretty decent write-up. It was by the now former reporter and author of the Fit City blog, Pam LeBlanc. (She continues to write about her travel and fitness adventures at this link.) In the year since that post came out, I have continued on my own journey. Please click on through to read more!
Dr. Adonia E. Lugo, (maybe I’ll call her Doctor Wheelgood), who is Affiliate Faculty in Urban Sustainability at Antioch University Los Angeles, was here in Austin for the Imagine Austin Speaker Series. Her talk was called, “Mobility Justice: People Power & the Future of Urban Transportation.”Those in attendance said it was quite good. I wouldn’t know.
That’s because unfortunately, I didn’t hear about it until after the fact, which really bummed me out. A guy who knew about it said he was sure I was the one who told him — until he noticed I wasn’t there. Well, duh! I actually blogged about her recently in The Invisible Or Utility Bicyclist An Ignored Population. In it I reference her book (which I need to get and read and review here). It’s called Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance, a memoir about racial justice and sustainable transportation. The good news is that her talk was recorded on video and will be forthcoming at this City of Austin link. Continue reading →
As long as I’m reviewing my year, may as well hit the other highlights. In case you missed it, Part Une was about the bikin’ and the hikin’ (ok, walks). Here’s the link to check out that post about my 5,143 Miles in 2018, As for the rest, well, let’s skip the pleasantries and get right to the review.
Of course that’s not proof, for that, see below. But I can assure you it’s accurate. Except that maybe it’s not, because the annual strava video shows I rode an extra 100+ miles. The point is that I biked my butt off (well, it’s still there) and added the daily walking. So even though I biked 250 miles less, I walked 500+ miles more than last year, when I barely did any. In addition to my daily yoga practice of 5+ years now, and writing this blog or in my book-in-progress, I had a very busy year.
The effort took me 427 hours, which is about 18 full days of biking. The elevation was 122,700 feet, which is less than last year, but not by much. And I definitely didn’t seek out hills this year. I didn’t go on many group rides, either. But still, somehow I was able to GIT ‘ER DONE!
Maybe biking 102 miles in 5 days in cold, grey and at times very windy conditions with my, Sophie’s and backpack weights combined, not lubricating the chain since the rain until Wednesday at Yellow Bike Project, a rear disc brake caliper that was rubbing on the rotor and slowing me down til Brandon figured it out at Sun & Ski Sports last night, plus being low on sleep and other stuff has something to do with being very tired. Nah, those are excuses. I think the reason is alien abductions. All their probing, er, I mean, questions are exhausting! Point being, I’m biking alot to make my upwardly revised goal, and I’m tired. But not too tired to complain — I mean write about it in my blog — and share some more photos and statistics. Continue reading →
Lacking some inspiration I looked back at the last week in photos. They tell a tale of my ongoing journey cycling through Austin.
Yellow Bike Project chalkboard.
Tonight I went to Yellow Bike Project again to work on Sophie. For the first time, I left with something that wasn’t better than went I arrived. Disc brakes can be tricky and for some reason my rear one on the Fairdale isn’t working right. I’ll need to return Monday when a coordinator more familiar with the brakes is there, but more likely I’ll head by a bike shop. It’s it’s important to be able to stop!
I don’t mention my diet much these days, but below is one brunch I prepared. Also, I worked nine days of early voting and the final election day. Compared to the recent mid-terms with many questions on the ballot, only five races had runoffs, so turnout was very low. It gave me time to do some reading. A David Baldacci thriller The Fix, and parts of Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich. I also got more into Tim Ferris’s The Four-Hour Work Week and the Austin Chronicle. I do not fare well at crosswords.
It’s nice the word for “go vote” is spelled the same in Spanish and English.
A brunch of eggs, turkey sausage, avocado, red and sweet potato, cheese, onion, salsa, and blue Powerade Zero. Blue’s a flavor, but unnatural.
On a walk before biking, I found this cool blue bike rack made to look like a bike.
I’m still doing my daily walking. One way I make sure to get in my 30 minutes is to walk on my way somewhere and then bike the rest. Or if I’m in a hurry and it’s close by, I bike there and then walk home. It’s a handy trick and I often see something cool, like the above bike rack. I don’t always put all the pictures here, though. For that, you will need to follow me on Strava, the fitness app. That link will take you to my profile.
Chanukah at the house of two friends involved a number of brightly lit menorahs, a variety of foods, and hanging out and talking. I missed the candle lighting and if there were any prayers, but it was not an orthodox religious event. It’s nice to connect with that part of my heritage (which I wrote about in the post Bicyclists & Jews: Both Are Targets (But They Should Not Be) and hang out with others who may not be traditionally observant but who identify ethnically. As one comedian put it, “(he’s) not a Jew, he’s Jew-ish.” Joking aside, I think one can be both. But speaking of that uniquely Jewish sensibility of humor, one person punned, “Some people light a ninth candle on Chanukah, but they’re in the menorah-ty.” (For the goyem out there, there are only eight days of Chanukah.)
I snapped these two covers of books at Book People, the largest independent bookstore in Texas that’s in downtown Austin. One speaks to the hope of what bicycles could do, the other reflects my ambivalence about why I am riding my bicycle an average of over 80 miles per week so far this year. (See 4,000 Miles Biked This Year! + 3,000 Miles Total on Sophie the Fairdale.)
Nearby the book store is the international headquarters of a natural grocery chain. They don’t need any press from me but friends and I have long called it the “food hole” or “whole paycheck.” But they do have some cool stuff like an ice skating rink on the roof in the winter and this sign abbreviating Austin, Texas, which changes colors. I had never snapped any pictures, so for your edification, here is a nice series.
The awesome, fun and inspirational monthly gathering of authors of all kinds who read called One Page Salon, hosted by Owen Egerton, had a huge turnout this month. This was thanks to the Texas Writers League. Shown with Owen is director Michael Nowlin, a nice guy, author and nice guy who encouraged me not to give up on the possibility of getting published. It was cool to see a packed house although I only really talked to a few people I already knew. The TWL is an organization I need to get involved with as I get closer to finishing the first draft of my memoir of two years of cycling quite a few miles. (4,714 Miles Bicycled in 2017 = 10,000 in 2 Years! A Recap of My “Epic Velocimania” (Day 1)
A jalopy bike I saw in East Austin after One Page Salon. Notice the seat has no post and the wheel sizes are different. reminds me of the book title It’s Not About the Bike.
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It’s another awesome milestone for A Dude Abikes, five years of consecutive bendy-ness! Simultaneously remarkable and by now, just another day on the mat, it’s too momentous on occasion to not write about, even though this is predominantly a blog about bicycling. It’s also about my health journey, and yoga is an important part of that. A new blogger and follower who is curiously named uptightprettygirl said she found me by searching for blogs about yoga. That and my yogaversary made me realize that one reason I keep writing about my practice is to keep inspiring myself. Another is to inspire people who also do not fit the mold of a skinny, muscled, super-bendy young man or woman (aka fathlete) but whose bodies can definitely benefit from yoga. Inside this post you will find a few pearls of wisdom about yoga and how it can help you Or maybe those are crumbs. Yes, definitely crumbs of some useful information. Continue reading →
