injury

Please Be Kind to Cyclists:  Saving Lives One Bumper Sticker at a Time

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 11 Comments

On a Saturday in 2002, Al Bastidas was on his way to join an Austin Tri-Cyclists group bicycle ride.  A car hit him, knocking him off his bike into the air.  The wreck put him in the hospital where he was in a coma.  It changed his life forever.  Al, who is from the great cycling nation of Colombia but has lived in Austin, Texas for many years, had to go through surgeries and a very difficult rehabilitation.  You can learn more about Al’s story here.  But out of his tragedy, he created an Austin-based non-profit organization, Please Be Kind to Cyclists. Today I had a conversation with PBKTC board chair Garret.  Click to read more! Continue reading →

When Things Go Awry, Still We Must Try

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

Crisis?  What Crisis?

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Source: Supertramp’s album cover “Crisis? What Crisis?” on Allmusic.com

Today was to be a book-writing day so only photos for the blog, and maybe a bike ride map and stats from Strava and short map video from Relive.  As you might deduce, that didn’t happen.  I got my walk and yoga in, but not the writing.  Then my doctor’s appointment took three hours instead of one, most of it waiting.  I was not a very patient patient. Continue reading →

ADAB Interview #1: David Walker: Engineering a Comeback from a Life-Altering Event (Part 1)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 21 Comments
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David Crittenden Walker.  © 2018 photo courtesy of Alan Pogue, Texas Center for Documentary Photography.  All rights reserved.

EDITORIAL NOTE:  These are the facts *as I heard them*, but any opinions or errors are mine.  A better way of putting it is that this is a story, not word-for-word reporting.  As with all writing of stories, there is no such thing as absolute fact and objectivity, as much as we may strive for it or fool ourselves into thinking there is.  Not only was there no way to check many of the facts, and I took the subject at his word, there is the passage of time, choice of words, fading of memory and downright embellishment.  The story as told by the interviewee is filtered through the lens, bias and experience of the interviewer.  So is it true?  Who knows?  Everyone knows David’s a big fat liar.  But we hope you’re entertained and inspired anyway. Continue reading →

Distracted Biking: When Life Gets in the Way, Finding Ways to Just. Keep. Pedaling.

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

Full Catastrophe Biking

Wrecks, injury and fatigue are just some of the distractions that have kept A Dude Abikes from biking and blogging as much as he would like since his personal best doing the MS 150 back in April.  There have been devastating hurricanes and other natural disasters, the unnatural disaster of a president stoking things like possible nuclear war, elimination of health care benefits for millions of people, arrest and deportation of many immigrants who came here as children, and plenty more scandals.  The shooting in Las Vegas.  Bombings all over the place.  The never-ending parade of humanity in all its sick splendor and glory gory.  Of course good things happen all the time too.  Riding my bike with a few hundred others, in my case 65 miles, to raise almost $1,000 for breast cancer charities is a positive contribution.  You can and should make such a contribution yourself here:  http://Fundraisers.MammaJammaRide.Org/ADudeAbikes.

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My Texas Mamma Jamma jersey.  I’m not a Top Fundraiser yet!  Help me get there by donating!

Continue reading →