suffer

50,000 Miles Bicycled! A Dude Abikes Did It!

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 13 Comments

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.

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December: The Last Month to Work on Your Goals for This Year

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

‘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?

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3.5 Years of Daily Cycling & 2023 1st Quarterly Report

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

Way back B.P. (Before Pandemic), I started riding my bicycle every day. Today marks three and a half years, or 42 months, or 182 weeks and five days, or 1,278 days in a row. Also, I’ve walked daily with very few misses and many extra miles in five plus years, and I’ve done yoga daily (moreso nightly) over nine years. I continue to reflect on that, and it’s time to review my Strava activity stats for January-March 2023. Let’s take a look.

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14 Months of Consecutive Daily Bicycling

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 2 Comments

For 426 days beginning October 11, 2019, I have swung a leg over the top tube, fired up the Garmin watch, and pedaled my bike around Austin, Texas. Starting and maintaining several other daily habits like walking and writing back on January 1, 2018 eventually led me to do the obvious one for a bike rider and blogger. Although I’ve traveled the equivalent of around the equator, and surpassed this year’s bike goal (and several other goals since), for some reason I keep at it. Why, you might ask? Well, stopping a streak would be very easy, but getting here was extremely hard. So I just keep on keeping on, so far, for now. Doing my small part to help Keep Austin Weird.

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Do Fitness Trackers Have a Dark Side? The Exercise Strikes Back

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 5 Comments

Unless you’ve been living under Iraq and haven’t read my stuff before, you know I got into using a fitness tracker at the same time I began this blog. A look at my list of post titles will show many with numbers of miles I’ve ridden the day before, that week, month or year. And while my Garmin vivoactive 3 music watch and the Strava application have certainly helped motivate me and keep me accountable, there are also some negatives. Aside from the data and privacy concerns, who’s the servant and who’s the master? Welcome to the Dark Side, Luke. And by Luke, I mean you.

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Sookie’s Last Ride (Ever!) & Sophie’s Last Ride of 2018 on New Year’s Eve in Austin

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 3 Comments

Today was my last chance to add to my mileage and extend my goal of bike-riding x number of miles for 2018.  So I took the opportunity of a decently mild Central Texas winter day and did just that.  First, I took Sookie to Performance Bikes, since they’re a Fuji dealer, to see if they could do anything about her cracked frame.  However, they couldn’t, because their parent company is going out of business.  But at least I got yet another confirmation (the fifth?) that she is no longer rideable.  While not unexpected, it reminded me of how much I’ll miss this bike.  After that… Continue reading →

Austin Bicyclists’ Funny & Insightful Texts About Biking the Tour Das Hugel (Or Not)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 10 Comments
From the FAQ at http://www.DasHugel.com:
Should I ride Das Hugel?  No.
 

Why shouldn’t I ride Das Hugel?  It’s extremely dangerous. Some of the descents are wickedly fast with winding turns. There’s grooved pavement, traffic, grumpy police, steep grades up that might leave you falling over in your clips, etc. Your doctor would advise against it unless your ticker is in top shape. Your spouse would force you to up your life insurance.

Really?  OK, it’s an unforgettable experience. Gorgeous scenery. And everyone is joined in the camaraderie of pain.

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