walking

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

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

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 →

My First Week of 2018:  Exercising & Eating Better Is Hard Work, But Worth It

~ A Dude Abikes ~ Leave a comment

“Moderation in all things, especially moderation.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not Every Body Can Be Like [Your Favorite Celebrity Vegan Name Here]

It’s no coincidence the acronym for this cool clinic spells N.A.P.

As predicted, out of necessity, I ended up modifying my diet to include more than just fruit, vegetables and nuts. While I lost 13 pounds in 7 days, I believe it was too much radical change, detoxification and finally deficiency that led me to add back in a tin of sardines in olive oil and a fish oil tablet.

I knew something was off when I went to Neighborhood Acupuncture Clinic today. I couldn’t fall asleep as usual, and pedaled home as if in a sea of jelly. This is dangerous, and I dropped and cracked my shades. Which makes a dude sad since they are very nice and were donated by a nice guy. Sigh.

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Equanimity & 499 More Words in 30 Minutes (Day 3)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 1 Comment
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A statue epitomizing equanimity during a rare recent snow

Today’s blog is a writing exercise.  A Dude wants to see if he can write 500 words in 30 minutes.  He can tend to be long-winded, and while that may appeal to some readers, it may dissuade others.  Since I intend to write daily for some period, perhaps even the whole of January, it behooves me to be brief.

It’s refreshing to hear from people who read my blog recently.  One is a fellow cyclist who bikes in the winter — in Finland!  Thank you all!  This blog was intended to be an experiment, and I have a lot to learn about doing it well.  New Year resolutions being what they are – much sound and fury signifying nothing – I’m not making many hard and fast rules for myself right now. Continue reading →

What Jerry Seinfeld & The Juiceman Can Teach Us About Making Healthy Choices (Day 2)

~ A Dude Abikes ~ 9 Comments

If you can walk to work or take your bike on a daily basis, I think that’s just about the coolest thing that there is. 

                   -Jerry Seinfeld, on a 2015 Reddit Ask Me Anything thread

Such is the Winter of Our… Bad Habits

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Bicycles make even Jerry Seinfeld smile

About 11 years ago, comedian Jerry Seinfeld (if you didn’t know it already, A Dude loves the Sein!) was said to have revealed the secret of his success.  It was four words (five if you don’t count the contraction):  Don’t Break The Chain (DBTC).  By that he meant writing jokes for 10 minutes a day, no matter what.  Seeing the red x’s accumulate on the big all-year wall calendar would supposedly motivate him to keep going.  Eventually the jokes would get better.  Turns out that was bogus; he didn’t invent it or really do it.  But he sure did work hard and continuously to become one of the most successful comedians ever.  Plus, he walks and bikes to work, how cool is that?!  If you haven’t already, check out his documentary, Jerry Before Seinfeld, on Netflix.

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