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Dog Day Afternoons: Warm Walks With a Wise Woman Whilst Wheeless

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

A Dude Abikes is off his bike for almost a week now, due to an ailment, malady, infirmity, affliction, disorder, sickness, condition or attack.  It doesn’t seem to be life-threatening, but it can be a real pain in the tuchis.  (That’s Yiddish for backside, butt, nalgas, derrier, etc.)  It’s getting treated, but taking alot longer to heal than expected.  So I ain’t gettin’ on that bike, as much as I want to, because that would make it worse.  Then there’s another matter also more troublesome, and I’m looking into that as well.  Let’s hope I’ll be able to remount the trusty old steed soon.  Meanwhile, I’m walking a dog for a friend of a friend.  Since I’ve adopted a new habit of walking daily, and missed walking Buddy Willis twice daily back in the winter out in the holler, it’s fun to have a new buddy.  Her name is…

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Goooooollllll! Alcanze a Mi Objetivo: 2,000 Millas por Bici en 6 Meses. Ahora, Que?

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

NOTE:  Occasionally, I write in Spanish, although not perfectly.  To translate this blog, look for a program on the internet that will do it for you.  Apologies for already not having this installed.

NOTICIA:  De vez en cuando, escribo en espanol, pero no perfectament.  Para traducir este blog, busca en programa en el internet lo que puede hacerla para usted.  Desculpe que ya no tengo este disponible ahorita.

Despues de tantas millas, mucho eferto, sangre, sudor y lagrimas, lo hice!  Monte mi bicicleta por 2,000 millas, o 3218 kilometros en los primeros seis meses del ano 2018.  Fue dificil, pero vale la pena hacerlo.  Especialmente porque mi objetivo original era 1,500 millas.  En este momento, no me siento diferente que ayer, ni sentire muy diferente manana, imagino.  Pero es en hecho en mi viaje como biciclista, otro premio que me da a mi mismo.  Quisiera agradecer a la Academia, como se dicen en los Oscars.  Ahora es un buen tiempo revisar mi trabajo en las dos ruedas, y refleccionar a donde voy las seis meses que vienen.

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I Exercise and Write 24+ Hours Every Week: An A Dude Abikes Round-Up

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

Today in Austin, Texas, there was some rain, so it was a good day to relax and reflect.  This blog post is one of my occasional round-ups of thoughts and things about your sometimes somewhat humble blogger.  Although in 10 days we’ll be at the mid-point of 2018, and I’ll be taking a closer look at my data from the walking, writing (blog and book), yoga and of course, bicycling, I wanted to update faithful readers, family and friends of just what is up with A Dude Abikes. Continue reading →

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 →

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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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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Love to Ride Austin Biking Challenge

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

It’s Monday’s deadline, and I still have not come up with a topic for this post. It’s rather embarrassing. Sure, I could write about the biking I did over the weekend. But it was nothing spectacular and if I have grown weary of doing that (riding and writing), I suppose readers of this blog may have, too. There’s the book I finished reading and two more movies I saw, but some say only write about your specific blog niche. I could talk about blogging itself, my book in progress, bikes in the news, my struggling job search, health updates, (another) horrific school shooting, or politics. But finally it came to me, Love to Ride! Read on to learn more.

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