recovery

A Dude Abikes Likes: 5 Legal, Natural and Safe Products to Help You on Long-Distance Bicycle Rides

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment

There are few topics in cycling, at least professional, that are more perennial than doping, the use of performance-enhancing drugs.  Especially in Austin.  Need I say more?  I think not.  (If you’re confused, read this.)  The good news is that there are plenty of legal and safe substances that non-professional riders have tried to make the rigors of long-distance bicycling more tolerable and less damaging to our bodies.  Forthwith and posthaste, here are five of A Dude Abikes’ favorite over the counter sports aids.  DISCLAIMER:  While someone who used to know me called me Dr. Feelgood, I am not a physician, so please check with an actual medical doctor or nutritionist before taking anything new. Continue reading →

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

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 21 Comments
David Walker 5.jpg
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 →

When It’s Too Cold and Windy to Bike, Have a Massage, Walk and Bath

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Alternate Your Training to Recover and Avoid Burnout

After 2016’s average 100 miles per week of cycling (see 5,306 Miles in 2016: A Dude Abikes’ Year of Bicycling Vigorously), I received some very good advice from bad-ass bicyclist buddy Bryce who rode over 6,000 miles last year, helped A Dude out on part of an 80-mile ride New Year’s Eve of 2016 — while he was sick! — as well has contributed to a number of my charity rides, is activity with Please Be Kind to Cyclists, and organizes their annual Ride of Silence honoring cyclists killed by cars. I don’t remember the exact words, but they were something like:

“Take some time off the bike. If you don’t really miss it, maybe do some other things. If you do, then get back on.”

Sage words indeed. I did that last year, but not this one. Thanks to my depleted iron stores, I’ve been forced to slow down now. Exercise-induced anemia is a real thing, as this scientific extract from the British Journal of General Practice shows. Apparently my “Epic Velocimania” (4,714 miles in 2017) wore me out more than I knew. The week of severe restriction to fruit, nuts and seeds did not help A Dude’s energy. Continue reading →