I begin this blog like I did my journey on December 19, 2015: One step / pedal / word at a time. It took nine years, six months, and eight days, but I did it! I rode bicycles for 50,000 miles. That means I have now traveled the distance of the equator TWICE. (You may recall my October 23, 2020 blog, AROUND THE WORLD IN 1,770 DAYS (24,901 MILES): 5-YEAR GOAL ACCOMPLISHED !!!) When I reached that goal, I titled my Strava ride “Planet Earth: Lap 2, Day 1?” Similarly, I titled my first ride after the goal, “The Start of Another 50,000 Miles? Just Be Here Now, A Dude. One Pedal Crank at a Time.” That’s all to say that there’s a lot to say about this. I’ll try to be brief.
After years of pedaling a person-powered bicycle, and complaining all that time about the physical difficulties of the same, I have relented. I got an electric bike. It’s April in Austin, and the weather is by turns, rainy, cool, hot, humid, or windy. But overall, it’s nice, and spring is in the air, perfect for hopping on a pedal-assisted machine and ambling about town on errands or just for a recreational ride. So has A Dude really gone to the dark side?
The voice from behind me at the Safe Street Austin holiday fundraiser bar spoke, unbidden, deeply timbred, but friendly. “I happen to know a dude. And I would like to thank him for introducing me to Yoga With Adriene’s Yoga for Cyclists.” Surprised, I turned, and there was a tall, not dark (if a little greyer), and handsome man. He was much taller than I remembered, since I was used to seeing him on a bicycle, usually only at the beginning or end of training rides. Because those long getaway stems and thin frame are far faster than this fat and slow dude. His eyes glimmered with mischief, or maybe it was not his first brewski, while I only had a sparky water. We chatted; it was nice to see him in person, not digitally only on Strava. As it turns out, although I’ve met Adriene, I’ve not seen this video, but I’ve been doing my own yoga for cyclists as of today for 11 years. And that’s not nuthin’.
If you missed the belated edits to my last post, 10/10/2024: What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been: 5 Years of Consecutive Daily Cycling Tomorrow, please go check it out first. I’ll wait. (Cue the Jeopardy theme music.) It was written the day before my big annual ride. The spoiler version is that I managed my 59.59-mile bike ride, and I’m still doing the deed daily. Although I’m biking slower for various reasons. Extra weight from high stress and low sleep and also after stopping a gig where I walked five to seven miles a day. Biking 100+ miles a week might have something to do with being tired. Whatever, each mile counts. And the only race I’m in is against myself. Or maybe Death. And we all lose that one, eventually. But not today, Death. Not today.
“Everybody’s “got something.” That’s the title that Good Morning America host Robin Roberts gave to her book about fighting then recovering from cancer–twice. I’ve mentioned–okay, complained–about the various things that my body’s got plenty of times. I guess this is another one of those times. Because despite the milestone of daily riding my bicycle, my mileage is miserable, my Strava stats simply suck, and this dude’s definitely dealing with downright dullness. But for some perspective, the moon and sun achieved totality in eclipse the other day here in Central Texas. It was pretty cloudy and anticlimatic especialy for all of those who plunked down thousands to come see it. This dude, and the Earth, spin on.
In my New Year’s post I covered my year in cycling and a bit about the walking. In this post, I take a closer look at walking and my other daily activities and practices.
Year Eight of my journey since I began this blog is in the books. This annual post looks at the statistics recorded by my Garmin vivoactive 3 watch and Strava fitness tracking app. They show the numbers of what I did bicycling, walking, and doing yoga (with a few swims). Beyond the data, it tells a story of being active as I age and despite my efforts, remain a fathlete. Let’s take a look at how I did whe compared to 2022 (which you can read about in this blog post). Spoiler alert, I beat every year except 2020 and 2021. Not too bad, comparing myself to me, which is the only way to really do it.
On December 25, 2013, I began what has now become a decade of doing downward-facing dog (or other poses) for 30 minutes every day. Before that there had been a three-week challenge my sister-in-law roped me into. Initially starting on December 4, those few weeks were interrupted by two days when I was too out of it from a medical thing. I began again (a key in establishing any habit), and I discovered a four-week Yoga Journal program called “Boost Your Willpower.” When that ended, I kept going. Another month, then a season, half a year, a year… and I have not stopped since. (Yesterday marked 3,652 days, if you’re counting.)
‘Tis the season, it’s that time of year. For some, the hap-hap-happiest. For others, a terrifying hellscape of war, poverty, and all the rest of humanity’s ills. For the fortunate, life goes on without as much suffering. For the able-bodied, it’s the last 31 days to strive toward whatever fitness goals you may have. That includes this dude, for whom it’s time to put the hammer down and finish what he started. (Seriously, why am I holding this hammer?) After the holidays, another new year is looming. When the tidings of comfort and joy, forced capitalist present-buying and the same old songs are over, there will pressure to make another batch of New Years resolutions. With all that is going on in this out of control world, maybe all that one has control over is moving your body, even if it’s in small ways. How have you been moving and grooving yours?
The day after my last post, I hit this milestone of 1,461 days of biking in a row*. That blog was a pretty good one if you missed it: 10/10/2023: What to Do Before a Big Bike Ride. It was prompted by my annual long ride, which I did the next day. The weather was cool and overcast with a little breeze and mist. Then it warmed and cleared up a bit; an almost perfect day for riding. I stuck to my favorite Southern Walnut Creek Trail again like last year’s ride, which was delayed a few weeks due to illness. Though the trail was not totally empty of the humans, it often felt that way. Because I had followed (most of) my own advice in the above post, it was a good ride, and I could have kept riding another 15-20 miles, but I stuck to my goal of 58. Naturally, I was kinda bushed, but I had managed it again for the eighth year. One small step for humans, one giant ride for moi.
Over the next few days I took it easy, and over a week later, I’m back to my usual around 15-20 miles a day. Four years every day is a pretty big deal, but it went by with no fanfare. By now, the daily riding is an habit. Unless illness, injury, or death happen, I figure I may as well keep the streak going. Especially since the media and sometimes people constantly remind me that I don’t match their ideal or preferred shape and body weight. Doing less over the summer plus stress added pounds. Slowing down, riding less, and doing other things more, especially making the filthy lucre needed to survive unafforable Austin, make sense. But as David Byrne and Talking Heads told us, “We’ve got to stop, stop making sense.” It sure seeems like there’s more senselessness out there in the real world, e.g. the US Congress and the MidEast.
So, news flash: Rome is burning (has it ever not been aflame?). Meanwhile, A Dude is biking, entering year five of this daily pedal, from one mile in the snow and ice or when sick, to 58. Every ride is the same, and it’s also different. A road less traveled, a new street taken for the first time, changing seasons, sights, sounds and smells. A pack of Volkswagen Beetles meeting up at the Top Notch Burgers passed me the other day; today I saw a dog with blue ski glasses on (the owner said it was to protect her eyes which just had drops put in them). The friend with the titanium freshly installed in his shoulder told me, “Every ride could be your last in Austin.” He’s got a newfound apprecation for life, thanks to the hit and run he survived with some scratches and a new collarbone. But he’s going to get back on the horse to bike to and from work soon as his doctor approves. Like the old Timex watch commercials, we “take a licking but keep on ticking.”
I finished the book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth recently. Even star athletes and others at the top of their game got their not by some mystical gift called talent. They found methods to do their best. We can do the same in our chosen (or even unchosen) arenas. They put in the work. They–and we–may also embody the notion: “Live every day like your hair is on fire.” It’s a quote that comes from several different Buddhist sources. Sounds painful. To simultaneously have urgency and equanimity seems difficult. (Especially if you don’t meditate regularly; I wish I could.) But if you have passion and perseverance, they will take you far. In some cases, literally. Like 4,000 miles this year for me.
Is that enough? I try to imagine not biking and cannot. Why would I quit? Trying to imagine it produces a different kind of emotion, something that would baffle me and at least feel like it hurt psychically, a subtle form of torture even. Not bike? It does not compute. Or is it too much? I’ve asked several doctors of late if they think I’m overexercising; none have said yes. Instead, they all encourage me to keep doing it. One may have said “If you get tired, ride less.” If I did’t exercise when I’m tired I would never do it. I do rest, just not enough, even though I try. Sometimes the body and brain simply require me to do lower mileage days, so I comply. “Ride less” seems logical to a point, but to this overweight an aging dude, mostly it sounds ridiculous. I recently read William Shatner’s book Leonard. Spock, as played by Leonard Nimoy, would not approve. It’s a conudrum to which he would say: “Fascinating!”
What are the positives of all this riding? Well, I’m so glad you asked! I’ll tell you. A daily ride takes the guesswork out of knowing if I’m exercising (on top of my daily walk and much longer streak of practicing yoga every day). My resting heart rate is lower than my age… and it’s been going down even more lately. That’s just one of the health benefits of exercise. There’s also: Vitamin D (when I am out in the sun–with hat and sunscreen), the feel good hormones, weight loss or at least maintenance, building muscles and lung capacity, being out in nature, seeing cool shit, meeting interesting people, being part of the community (what are called the social determinants of health), improved balance and coordination, increased brain stimulation, more self-confidence, having fun. The list certainly goes on.
Maybe my streak will end tomorrow. I would be pissed but probably also feel a little relieved. Besides, it has *not been verified by the Guiness Book of World Records (or anyone else, for that matter). But hey, check my Strava statistics. So I’ll do me, and you do you. Ride your damn bike, or not. Do whatever it is that you do to keep your mind and body somewhat healthy in this often very unhealthy world. As former folk singer and Unitarian Universalist minister Fred Small once sang, “We’re all just temporarily able-bodied.” Death comes as the end for us all. Let’s just hope it’s not today.
Take it from me: If the day ends in “y,” it’s a good day for a bike ride.
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