It began October 19, 2019 for no particular reason. The thousandth day was yesterday, July 6, 2022. Why I did it is still a mystery. How isn’t that hard to explain. I just kept at it every day for a few months shy of three years. What does it all mean? I really have no clue. I just ride, man.
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At the end of last’s month’s post, Blog Post #666: The Blog In Which I Announce My Retirement from Blogging*, was a little-noticed * aka asterisk. Only one astute reader followed that to the denouement and figured out the meaning in these words, hidden in plain view: “Respectfully submitted on 01.04.22*, ADAB.” That’s European formatting, day first, month second. That reader was the ever-sharp Half Fast Cycling Club (say it out loud — it’s a fun pun) up in Wisconsin. Not only has he (I’m deducing that’s his pronoun) ridden his bicycle across most of the US (and he’ll correct me in the comments if I’m wrong about that), he’s fixin’ to do it again — at almost 70 years of age. Oh yeah, to do the trip, he’s resigning his hospital job as a literal lifesaver of COVID patients (mostly the ignorant “I did my own research on Facebook” variety). So kudos to Half Fast, and to the rest of you (except if you are in other countries where this peculiar American prank day is not celebrated), I say this: APRIL FOOLS, suckahs! Strap in, it’s going to be a long post.
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Something kinda big just recently happened, and I forgot to blog about it. What with that fellow blogger guy coming to town and my big birthday ride (which I’ll get to another time, I reckon), I sort of overlooked a major milestone: two years of riding every single day! That’s somewhere upwards of 12,000 miles. By now, the mileage goals I’ve set and met are almost like literal mileposts on a highway. I pass them by, and they’re in the rearview mirror. Not forgotten, but I’ve seen them and moved on. I suppose that’s what we do here at A Dude Abikes. We keep on bikin’. (And walkin’ and doin’ yoga, and, well that’s mostly it for exercise.) Writing about my journey makes it more real somehow. And 731 days of riding is very real, rest assured. Hmm, some rest would be in order by now, you’d think. And if you did, you’d’ve thunk correctly. But there’s no rest for the weary. So on we go. How I got from I to we, I/we don’t know. Let’s go to the next paragraph, shall we?
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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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If you’re new here, I’m a dude who has been working on some habits, with some pretty good results. If you’re old, well, me, too, and thanks for sticking around. If you read my previous post you’ll see I covered 3,002 miles in seven and a half months. I accomplished this by riding my bicycle every day this year. But I didn’t just start and get to that point this year; I’ve been doing it a while before that, and I built up to it. A major reason I was able to do this was that I was introduced by my brother to James Clear who writes about habits. His book Atomic Habits has sold 4 million copies. So he knows a few things.
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The philosophy of yoga as handed down over thousands of years continues to be valuable and available to those who wish to study it. It may be lost on some if not most modern-day, lycra-clad, booty-tightening students and teachers alike. Yours truly does not often crack open the ancient texts for some light reading. But I did spend a summer at a yoga center, and after over five years of daily (well, nightly) practice, I still consider myself essentially a beginner. Lately, I find myself struggling with one of the branches of the practice in particular. Surely I’m not alone, so here’s a little post about brahmacharya.
Continue readingThis time of year is ripe for new goals, especially the dreaded New Years Resolution. For many people they start with good intentions and by February 1st they’re ass-deep back in the ice cream (or whiskey, tobacco, or whatever your vice may be). So while rushing around today I kept thinking about what has helped me met and exceed my own objectives. A big point of this blog is actually about my struggle and efforts. It’s not so much to toot my horn (though sure, that’s part of it), but it’s to log what I’m doing on the web. (Thus, a web log aka blog.) The hope is that I might inspire others, maybe even you. Plenty of people tell me I do that. They also ask A Dude, “Hey, A Dude! How do you do that voodoo that you do so well?” Well, since you asked so politely, I’ll tell you.
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.
All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray
I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day
I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A.
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day— “California Dreamin'” by The Mamas & The Papas
A Dude Abikes does not think of himself as a quitter but he has let go of many things over time, some by choice, others not (car, job, a really nice pair of Ray Bans). Some wisely, like trying to be a vegan. Others, maybe not so skillful, like eating frozen pizza (haven’t had one of nature’s most perfect foods this year so far). Today I kept my walking every day for a month practice going. If I Don’t Break The Chain and make it all year, I’ll have walked over 400 miles — on purpose! Someday maybe I’ll be at a weight where I’ll feel it’s safe to run again without damaging my feet and joints. For now, I’m just getting out there and putting one foot in front of the other for half an hour, even if it’s 28 degrees F like today. That quality of doing it no matter what that I’ve tapped into with the yoga, biking and no-car-having is not really something you can teach. But I think everyone has the capacity for being resolute, stubborn, determined or committed. I also put on 19 articles of clothing, so I was prepared like a good Boy Scout. Yes, A Dude really was an Eagle Scout.
A Dude Abikes 