fathlete

This Is My 100th Blog Post — The Year in Review So Far

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 16 Comments

Well, I’ve done it!  I’ve made it to the mythical 100th blog post.  It’s my 69th of 2018, and I’ve totalled over 102,000 words since I began blogging on January 1, 2016.  It’s been an interesting, fun, exhausting experiment telling my story as a bicyclist as well as exploring other topics like health, politics, culture and more.  In this post I’ll review my progress thus far this year and look at what I still need to work on.  I stayed in today and unpacked more, organized alot, and cooked, and so I’m itching to go on at least a metaphorical ride.  Got your helmet on?  Good, let’s go! Continue reading →

27-Mile Brushy Creek Trail Ride + Peddler Bike Shop Stop

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

Sunday Started Without Any Sun

On a balmy, grey, at first foggy, then later somewhat sunny Sunday, A Dude rousted himself from his slumber and busted out a decent distance of a bicycle ride.  It was the first longer ride in a while, and it was done because that’s what he does, for fitness, fun and so on.  But also it was in order to make his 50-mile goal for the week and to have something to blog about.  So in a way, if you’re reading this, you’re partially responsible for making it happen! How is that for participation? And you didn’t even have to get up off your couch and bike 27 miles.  Here’s the quick map / video from Relive. Continue reading →

An Aborted Ride in the Rain Due to a Flat Tire, but Buck’s Bikes Came to the Rescue!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

Finally I made it out to ride my bike, but then it rained and I got a flat.  I had a jacket and was warm enough, and could have replaced the flat myself, but I had a bike date, if you can believe that, so I couldn’t be late.  Also, since I had just replaced the tube recently, I knew something was going on that required more expertise.  Luckily I was literally stopped right outside a bike shop when I noticed the flat. Before I go any further, please click on this link to see a cool short map video of my ride: Continue reading →

Thoughts and Images from my Second Day in the Hill Country

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

Today began early with several alarms rousting me from too short a slumber.  I got myself going and drove through rush hour and a thick fog to my appointment.  Afterward, I collected some things including a rear-view helmet mirror and some extra inner tubes from Sun & Ski Sports.  I dutifully walked the dog, we napped, and then we went to a park by the lake and walked around there.  I did some other stuff but now am writing this.  What follows are some photos and words about another day in the life of A Dude Abikes. Continue reading →

Lessons from My First Ride on the Mag Ascent Home Trainer

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

Overview

I finally fixed my flat and put the old Fuji Silhouette on the heavy Mag Ascent home trainer. Below is a shot of my GPS data on Strava. I went for 15.2 miles per hour for half an hour, which isn’t great but it is a ilttle faster than usual. I had it set on the lowest of three resistance levels, and usee the gears to get a slightly harder workout. The trainer is heavy steel so is not going anywhere. All you need is to fit the rear wheel correctly into slots, which is very intuitive at least with my bike, then prop up the front wheel; I used books. Overall it was sturdy, easy to get started on, and it doesn’t take up alot of room. Continue reading →

My 40th Post in a Row, 50 Followers and Lots More Views, but I Miss All the Bicycling

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

Gettin’ Bloggy Wid It

I began this year with the notion of blogging daily for a month.  Checked that box.  Now it’s a week after Groundhog Day, and I’m still going strongly.  (I thought my post from 2/2 was fun and whimsical, but it was not read by many, so here’s another shot at that post).  Since 1/1, my followers have doubled to 50 – including 11 new ones just today!  Other stats of views, comments and visitors are way up.  What does it all mean?

It’s all very interesting to me, and awesome.  Thanks, everyone!  I can see how having good content is important, as is engaging with others.  I’m still learning, and yet, I am feeling like I am not doing my job, because I am not riding my bicycle very much.  My medical challenges are holding me back and have me feeling like a sports player on the bench – really wanting to go in and play, but unable to.  This is hard pour moi. Continue reading →

A Mundane Monday in the Life of A Dude Abikes: Nothing Ado About Much

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

And So It Begins

I started the day late after working on last night’s post about football and bicycling way too long.  I thought it was kinda brilliant, but I still needed to tweak the wording, add a link to an article or two (after reading them), a quote, photos, and the like.  I still question why I am blogging daily, because after a day, a whole five people have viewed that post, and of those, two liked it.  And that’s great, don’t get me wrong.  But I guess the answer is I’m doing this for me first, with hopes that some day a lot more people will find it useful, interesting, humorous, insightful, inspirational or something else good.  This is probably something many new bloggers go through. I never said I was a special — I’m just A Dude.  But hey, I’m out there stinking it up with the rest of the world, and lots of people ain’t. Continue reading →

January 2018: 31 Days of Blogging, Dieting, Walking and Yoga-ing

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

I just finished a whole month of daily activities, three of which I wasn’t doing before.  I feel slightly stronger in some ways, but in others, I’m exhausted.  Still sick from something, probably cedar allergies combined with anemia.  But I’m eating better.  I spent a lot of time at this laptop.  So let me break it down.  No, I’m not going to rap, don’t worry. Continue reading →

40 Miles in 26 Days. That’s What I’m Walking About!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

Walking a Mile in A Dude Abikes’ Shoes

“Walking is a man’s best medicine.”

— Hippocrates

“Also, a woman’s.”

— A Dude Abikes

When this month and year began, I somehow tricked myself into committing to walk for 30 minutes every day.  No big deal, lots of people do that and much more.  Many people run for way more miles and hours.  Millions, nay billions of people, may not even have access to bikes.  Others are wheelchair-bound or have just one or even no or prosthetic legs.  My bicycling 10,000 miles in two years may seem impossible to some, but it’s a piece of cake for others.   So hard or challenging varies based on many factors.

But for me, who used to enjoy running before weight gain, age, foot and joint pain set in, it is a big deal.  So far, through three days of juice fasting and a week of vegan food that resulted in anemia, sub-freezing temperatures, flare-ups of plantar fasciitis (which is not related to having a proto-fascist in the US White House), and now being wiped out from cedar fever, I have somehow managed to keep at it.  Has it helped?  Let me walk you through it.  A Dude has puns, ya’ll. Continue reading →

13 Years (Not) a Slave to Cars

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

Sick As a Dog, Happy As a Clam to Be Car-Free

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 →