Garmin

Writing a Book Is Like, Hard, and Stuff; A Partner Helps

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

My bicycle memoir, a book that’s been in process for several years now, is going like my bike rides — ever so slowly, relatively speaking. I like to blame the Writers League of Texas revision class teacher’s fault for blowing up my structure. It was 24 chapters over two years; she said ditch that for hanging things on half a dozen or so major events. The League director pretty much said the same. So not only did I write it, go back and revise it, then try to have some beta readers look at it, now I have to go back and re-re-re-do it? Apparently, yes. But I may have found a shovel to start digging myself out of this hole. That shovel is actually a person. I’ll explain.

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Q3 2021: Third Quarterly Report of My Bicycling and Other Habits

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

Now that we’re 90 days from the end of 2021, it’s time for my third quarterly report. July, August and September are the hottest months in Texas, and that heat and stupidity tend to slow most dudes and dudettes down. (I meant humidity, which with the heat tends to make one stupid.) But, I never claimed to be smart, so I have gone on a bicycle ride every single day of the pandemic (and for a while before that). Regular readers know I’m like only 50% of that Cake lyric: “He’s going for distance, he’s (not) going for speed.” On top of that, I take a walk, do yoga, and got myself into some other daily activities, practices aka habits. Sure, it was stupid hot (though not as bad as last year), and I do not bike fast. However, although I don’t get a cent from it, you could say I’m in the bicycle riding business. And business is good.

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611.8 Miles in November 2020. Oh Yeah: 5,999.9 Miles in 11 Months of 2020!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 12 Comments

Penultimate. I used to think that meant a really great writing instrument. (Actually, I didn’t; I just made up that pun right now.) Anyway, November has ended, and December has begun. Eleven months down, one to go. I’ve already surpassed the number of miles from my second longest year, the first one I kept records. That was 5,306 miles in 2016, and now I’m on the cusp of 6,000 miles for 2020. Since I’ve already achieved my huge goal of the equivalent of once around the equator (24,901 miles), anything else is gravy. Yummmm…. gravy. Anyway, here’s a short review of my statistics from last month.

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Garmin Is Down – How to Upload Your Bike Rides to Strava

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

I’m not retracting my recent rave review about my Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music smart watch. On tonight’s 26-mile ride, it told me how far away I was from home, mere seconds after I was asking myself that very question. How cool is that? Maybe a little spooky, too. However, Garmin.com and Garmin Connect, the app that syncs with your phone and uploads your activities to Strava the bike and fitness tracker, are down. The word is Garmin were the target of a ransomware attack on Thursday. It’s now early Saturday. If you’re like A Dude, whose goals are tied to tracking data points (especially miles), it’s a big deal. Assuming Garmin fixes things, those activities will be uploaded then. But if you don’t want to wait for Garmin to get its act together, Strava has come to the rescue with an easy way to get your data transferred. Courtesy of A Dude Abikes. You’re most welcome.

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3,100 Miles Pedaled in 6 Months: A New Personal Best

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 21 Comments

When I began bicycling more than i ever thought possible, in 2015, I estimated I covered the distance from LA to Boston, about 3,000 miles. It was an educated guess based on Google maps, training rides for two charity rides, and general commuting. Now, it seems I’ve doubled my pleasure, and doubled my money (spent on bike stuff). That’s no big deal to pros, racers, and the generally faster. For me, it’s pretty good. But like my blog buddy back East, I’m working to Be Sorry… Less. By riding every day since last fall, I’ve given myself a better shot at attaining a higher mileage goal for the year. So now it’s time to look at the first half of the year’s stats.

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REVIEW: Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music Watch

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 12 Comments

As I wrote recently, my Garmin activity tracker watch stopped allowing me to record bike rides and walks. Those are my two main activit-ease, so I had to do something besides record everything as a run then edit it. My Strava friends were beginning to think I had taken up running. A Dude Don’t run. I can’t have people believing that! I have a reputation to ruin, sully, destroy, etc. So, after much Libra back-and-forthing it, I couldn’t pass up the steep discount offered for an upgrade. And voila! (or as we say in Tejas “voy-luh”) the new watch arrived. And it is GOOD!

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Bike Brakes, Gears, Tires and Watch Problems – Ka-ching!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 15 Comments

In the last week or so, I’ve had a bunch of things go wrong with Sophie the Fairdale. Several flats required professional intervention. Now I’m having to get more puncture-resistant tires and they’er not cheap. Ka-ching. My trusty Garmin watch has finally begun to give out because I basically broke the walk and bike functions by using it so much. I’m able to upgrade it even though the warranty is out. More ka-ching. The bike also needed adjustment to the gearing and brakes needed new pads. The Sun & Ski Sports bike shop mechanics say I ride a lot. Apparently I’m in the 90th percentile of people biking. I suppose I do, but I always thought they were being nice, since I know there are plenty of people doing more. One of my mantras is “Comparison is the death of joy,” said the Buddha, but sometimes that’s hard to follow. Anyway, if you ride your bike, repairs and replacement of parts are inevitable.

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Bicycle Bites, Motion Morsels and Transportation Tidbits

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

I must have been hungry when I wrote this post, going by the title. But this is not about food you eat while riding your bike. It’s one of those posts wherein I list various random bike stuff, thoughts and news. It’s usually a combination of stuff I did, saw or read about that isn’t enough for its own separate post. The blurbs can be educational, factual, just a slice of life, or even a rant. I bet you’ll find at least one of them interesting. I think I’ll go have a small snack while you keep reading. If you do, thanks!

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Cadence & Speed Sensors; Proposed Bike Lanes; and My Verified Iron Deficiency

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

Part I:   More Data from Garmin Gadgets

I finally made it to Sun & Ski Sports for the sensors.  Once I figured out how to sync then with my Garmin vivoactive hr watch, they were easily installed by Mike the Mechanic.  Speed is already measured by the watch, but now it can be measured on the home trainer.  That is, if we don’t blink and miss Austin’s short winter and I don’t need to pedal inside.  However, clearly, I do.  The X-Files has been back on for over a week and I hadn’t seen either episode.  Such Scully-y and Mulder-y goodness!  If you’re not a fan, you have no idea.  I’m sure the paranormal investigating FBI agents are cyclists when not busy hunting conspiracies or aliens and such.

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