food

A Dude Is In the Mood for Some Gratitude

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

What better time to count our blessings but the national orgy of food, booze, and sloth? One that’s based on a false history involving dining peacefully while in reality White settlers were oppressing the indigenous Native Americans known as Thanksgiving. Don’t forget watching overpaid millionaires beat the hell out of each other on television, also while insulting Natives. (You finally ditched your racist mascot, Washington Football Team, but I’m looking at you, Kansas City Chiefs). Turkey Day proceeds our other orgy of consumption: buying stuff on Black Friday. But for many, it’s Buy Nothing Day. Also in protest, you can commemorate the National Day of Mourning. (Watch the Livestream at 1 pm Eastern.)

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My Salad Days: Streakus Interruptus

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

Two weeks shy of 180 days, almost six months after I began a daily habit aka streak, something completely shocking happened: I forgot to eat a salad. At first I was incredulous, like “How the hell did I let that happen?” But it realitiy, it is not that big a deal. I mean, the country of Afghanistan just lost its government and is now being taken over by an army of pissed off religious zealots with some beliefs that are culturally very different to mine, like girls shouldn’t go to school. I’m among the majority of people in the US who are for getting out of that fruitless $85 billion, 20-year old war i.e. quagmire. It’s not our country to run. So yeah, there are more important things than some dude’s salad streak. But this is a lifestyle blog of a fathlete, so I’m going to get back to my lane and stay in it. And if you don’t like it [insert a salad-centric insult popularized by comedian Chris Rock here].

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Foods Fueling a Fathlete’s Fitness Frenzy

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

Fat — the word — makes a lot of people uncomfortable. If it’s in your food, it’s delicious. But too much of it on a human body is not cool. It’s stigmatized by many, from celebrities to cyclists, and even in the nutrition field, even though it’s one of the three macronutrients along with protein and carbohydrates, and our bodies need it to survive. (Don’t EVEN get me started on carbs. I’m a carbon and water-based life form; how about you?) But back to fat. (Made you think of back fat there, didn’t I?) So we use euphemisms like overweight, heavy, chunky, plus-sized, big, cuddly, and my favorite because it’s Yiddish: zaftig. I like fathlete (fat + athlete), even though I didn’t coin it. And as Strava told us in my post before last in their MEDIA ALERT: Announcing Strava S.O.F.T., “If you sweat, you’re an athlete.” If I may paraphrase Kermit the Frog, my point is this: It ain’t easy bein’ lean.

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How Counting Calories With MyFitnessPal Can Help You Lose Weight

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 4 Comments

Hey, America: You’re fat! Two-thirds of us are overweight, obese, or as I prefer to call it, I’m undertall. (The condition applies to people of girth in many other countries of Earth, too.) Weight loss is a mult-billion dollar business, and one of those companies offering some help is MyFitnessPal. According to a 2019 study, those who track what they eat really do lose more weight. I used it diligently once a while ago in concert with a diet and dropped a lot of pounds. But after a while I got tired of measuring everything and never going out, so I stopped. With stress and easy access to processed foods, over time, I gained it back. Even after biking 6,666.66 miles and walking 611 miles last year and continuing to choose only grains that are whole (basically no flours since January 1, 2018), I’ve had no significant weight loss. But it’s a new year, so now I’m trying it again.

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You’ve Got a Friend in Cheeses!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

The former improv comic at Esther’s Follies said this to me without missing a beat. It was right after I had gone on and on about how much I loved cheese. Here in the Southern, predominantly Christian area of the US, that joke is extry hee-larry-us. Because, Jesus. Chees-us. Get it? Got it? Good. The same jokester once handed me a small piece of wood and said, “Feeling a little bored?” Which is also a great pun, but only relates to this post because cheese is often served on one. Anywho, I’ve had a lifelong love of the creamy stuff. And now cheese gets its own blog. Hey bicycles! If you don’t like it, you can suck it!

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A Dog, A Dude, A Day

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 22 Comments

In a week’s time I’ll be back in my room in the busy, noisy, stinking city. The car will be returned to its owners and the process of “re-dogging” will take place. Over four long days I’ll be volunteering for the very large South by Southwest convention (SXSW). That will allow me to see most of the shows except sold-out headliners for free and hopefully do some networking, learning and basically being a tourist in my own town. A luxury of which being employed full-time has deprived me for almost two decades. I’m due for a little fun, especially in the “Live Music Capital of the World.” My search for relevant, rewarding and non-boring work will continue. As will this blog, I hope, but in reduced form while I also hope to re-start working on my book of biking 10,000 miles in 2 years. With these changes on the horizon, it seemed like a good day to reflect.

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