sleep

Early Bird v. Night Owl: Which is Better for a Bicyclist?

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

There’s a poem I can’t find with a line I like that goes something like this: “The day makes promises but the night keeps secrets.” Hell, maybe I wrote that. For the last almost three years since I was liberated from a job through no fault of my own — “restructuring,” they called it — my open secret is that I’ve gravitated towards staying up late. Truth is, I’ve always been drawn toward the still, small hours. Ever since I was made to go to bed at 8 or 9 as a kid whilst the adults stayed up to play music or cards or just talk, I’ve felt like most of the cool shit in life happens after dark. Movies and television support this notion. And I’ve become something of a regular rider of bicycles at night to avoid the heat in Texas. So here are some of my thoughts on this subject.

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Je Suis Fatigué: When You’re Stuck in the Spin Cycle

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

Possible titles for this post included (the humorless should skip the intro):

  • Biking Is Good for Getting In Shape to Escape the Zombie Hordes
  • Coronavirus; Things Will Get Worse Before They Get Worse (Lily Tomlin)
  • Can My Bicycle Get Coronavirus?
  • Rome Is Burning — Like Literally, People Have Fevers
  • COVID-19 – The Movie: Will Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Finally Portray the President?
  • We’re All Gonna Die, So May As Well Ride Your Bike
  • Anyone Know How “The Walking Dead” Ends?
  • Coronavirus, Some Coronavirus, and Also More Coronavirus

I’ve decided to go in another direction, though, and write about something related, still health-related and less apocalyptic.

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Como Usar el Arte de la Siesta para Mejorar Tu Ciclismo

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

El sueño es algo universal que comparten todos los animales, al menos los mamíferos. Muchos mamíferos toman siestas, incluidos los humanos, pero tenemos la capacidad de elegir dormir en cualquier momento que queramos. En este detalle, tenemos mucha suerte de tener esta habilidad. En estos días de una epidemia de falta de sueño, la siesta es la respuesta perfecta para restablecer su estado de salud. Claro, con mas descanso, puedes viajar por bici mas fuerte y rapido. ¿Y quien no quiere eso? Exactamente nadie.

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Brahmacharya: The Yogic Practice of Moderation

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

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.

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Give Yourself Permission to Just Do Nothing!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

Thomas Merton was a Catholic monk born in France who moved to Kentucky. He wrote over 60 books, encouraged inter-religious dialog with the likes of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and others and advocated for pacifism and social justice. He died in 1968 in his early 50’s when he accidentally was electrocuted stepping out of his shower where a running fan had fallen over. (Some say he was assassinated by the CIA.) While I’ve not read his work, I’ve seen this quote below before. And it seems more relevant than ever in 2019.

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Wandering, Wishing and Wondering on a Dreamy, Drowsy Day

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

He awoke early with the sun for a change. Groggily, from a late night when sleep did not come, as it often did not. He waited for slumber to arrive like a spouse waiting on the partner who had to work late: restlessly. To pass the time before her return, he watched a digital video recording of thin, super strong young men riding their bikes across Spain. A place he’d been many years ago and found himself pining for. He pined a fair bit these days, to anyone who would listen. About his underappreciated, unpaid blog and book writing. Or the aches and pains of an aging cyclist. And his unwillingness to settle for another low-paying job with a boss and all that jazz, while he struggled to start being an self-employed contractor. He couldn’t figure out how to do the job without a car but paradoxically he needed money from a job to get a car. After 13 years since his vehicle was smashed by a reckless driver, a car seemed like it would be nice. Yet it could also mean certain death to whatever modicum of fitness he had, he thought, because biking is sweaty, hard and uncomfortable, and driving a car is easy. And easy is boring. Which rhymes with snoring, which is what he should be doing, he mused.

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I Exercise and Write 24+ Hours Every Week: An A Dude Abikes Round-Up

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 6 Comments

Today in Austin, Texas, there was some rain, so it was a good day to relax and reflect.  This blog post is one of my occasional round-ups of thoughts and things about your sometimes somewhat humble blogger.  Although in 10 days we’ll be at the mid-point of 2018, and I’ll be taking a closer look at my data from the walking, writing (blog and book), yoga and of course, bicycling, I wanted to update faithful readers, family and friends of just what is up with A Dude Abikes. Continue reading →

Rainy Friday Blahg Post: The Value of Sleep and Rest Days for Cyclists

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 14 Comments

workintexas rain ride.pngI think the title sums it up pretty well.  It rained.  Alot.  I had to go to a job search class and didn’t have the time or patience for the bus.  It was only a mile and a half so I rode, but the rains picked up.  The skies were thundering and lightning, and I almost had to stop.  It is Star Wars Day — May the Fourth Be With You — but gale force winds gusting over 25 mph were against me.  It was a blah day, and I was tired as usual, but I pressed on, as I tend to do, for worse or for better. Continue reading →

Dreaming in Daylight, Riding on a Rainy Night

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

“I awoke last night to the sound of thunder

How far off I sat and wondered

Started humming a song from 1962

Ain’t it funny how the night moves

When you just don’t seem to have as much to lose

Strange how the night moves….”

— Night Moves by Bob Seger

He awoke this morning from a deep slumber, face down, lines engraved on his face from the pillow. The unemployed, aging cyclist trudged to the bathroom then back to bed for a much-needed snooze after another late night staring at screens. Before the alarm went off, something outside the drafty casita woke him for good this time, and gingerly, he rolled out of bed. Not ready to face the wind and likely rain on his bicycle, he texted a fellow attender of the weekly job club, pleading for a ride. The gangly and kindly grad student (who may or may not have been spying on him for his thesis) agreed.

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There Will Be Blog: 77.7 Miles Last Week + SXSW Day 4 with Oscar-Nominee Vera Farmiga + SLEEP Concert

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 7 Comments

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.”  Will Smith in the movie as Chris Gardner from his book The Pursuit of Happyness

The Book: Something Written This Way Will Come

I drafted some notes and put down a plan to write my book that’s been in my head for a while. I still have questions and will need to find both some information and some inspiration about it, but the main thing is to write. Walter Mosley the celebrated author told me to take a year and do it. Leonard Maltin the well-known film critic told me to just write and expand my presence on social media. Mario the marketing guy at the Fox Sports party said I have a story and I should tell it. 151 blog followers are telling me to do it, indirectly at least. Continue reading →