Touring - 59 Year Old Dies after TransAm Tour

Heart patient dies after 2,400-mile ride
Man took up bicycling after bypass surgery 18 years ago
Monday, May 2, 2005 Posted: 11:53 AM EDT (1553 GMT)






ANDERSON, Indiana (AP) -- A man who took up bicycling after bypass surgery gave him a second chance at life died of a heart attack the day after completing a 2,400-mile, cross-country trip.

Broc Bebout, a 57-year-old retired engineer, died Thursday on the van drive back to his home in Anderson, about 25 miles northeast of Indianapolis, one day after completing the bicycle ride from Carlsbad, California, to Brunswick, Georgia.

His wife, Patricia Brinkman, said bicycling became Bebout's ticket to nearly 20 years of good health after quadruple-bypass surgery at age 39. He also learned to eat right and take care of himself, she said.

Bebout and another man closed their eyes for naps during the drive home after discussing heart rate monitors and other equipment, said Janech Davenport, director of Wandering Wheels, the cycling group that organized the trip.

The van driver later looked in the rearview mirror, and saw Bebout's eyes were open.

"He was struggling, not breathing," Davenport said. "His spirit was gone. Whatever made Broc was gone."

In an e-mail to his wife Wednesday before a celebratory steak dinner, Bebout described what the trip had meant to him: "An incredible experience with incredible people."

"It was a trip of a lifetime," Brinkman said. "We all have a list of things we like to say we did. That was right up there at the top."

Pat Miller, a retired Anderson University health professor who also was among about 30 people on the cross-country ride, said Bebout was taking medication for his heart and for arthritis and had been coughing for a couple of weeks.

"He had days he was very good and seemed strong, and he had days he felt like a lot of us did, slower, took longer to get in," Miller said.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/02/last.ride.ap/index.html



In an e-mail to his wife Wednesday before a celebratory steak dinner, Bebout described what the trip had meant to him: "An incredible experience with incredible people."

CNN Story (http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/02/last.ride.ap/index.html)

Sad =(

hmm, i hate to hear that. At least he went out after doing something that he enjoyed.

Just read this story on CNN........RIP Broc........I did not know him but it is an inspirational story with an unfortunate ending.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/02/last.ride.ap/index.html

WOW, How sad but at the same time how amazing, he just finished a huge ride.

Some people don't know when to quit.


"Pat Miller, a retired Anderson University health professor who also was among about 30 people on the cross-country ride, said Bebout was taking medication for his heart and for arthritis and had been coughing for a couple of weeks"

if I had to go, that's the way I'd rather go

if I had to go, that's the way I'd rather go

Napping in the back of a van?

Yeah, though it's commendable that he completed that long ride, it was foolish of him to do so. If your heart is damaged, and you needed a quad bypass to fix it, then it would be smart to take it easy. A few centuries would have been fine, but 24 of them in a row is too much.

I wonder if he asked his doctor about this ride?

Napping in the back of a van?

Hey, at least he wasn't driving.

added link.....sorry

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-05-02-cyclist-dies_x.htm

Apparently this guy took up cycling after surviving bypass surgery 20 years ago. He just finished a 2400 mile trip from Carlsbad, CA, to Georgia and died of a heart attack the next day on the way home.

Tragic

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/02/last.ride.ap/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/02/last.ride.ap/index.html
"Heart patient dies after 2400 mile bike ride"

This guy took up cycling after double bypass surgery, started eating right, and lived healthily for 18 years. He died the day after completing a cross country bike trip :(

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/02/last.ride.ap/index.html

Wow, totally crazy and sadly unfortunate. I try to keep in mind that had he not gotten on a bicycle 20 years ago, he may not have made it very far past the bypass. God bless....

He probably lived longer and better than he would have if he hadn't taken up cycling. I get sick of people citing cases such as this as an indictment of exercise.

It's an old adage, Dog bites man - not news. Man bites dog, news.

Unfortunately, there are many heart patients that would seem to be as healthy as one could be, but they still have heart attacks.

It looks like he had 20 good years after quadruple-bypass surgery at age 39. He died after doing something he loved. We can't all make it to 74 or beyond. We are, after all, mortal.

What the?

How does my post to the General Bicycle Sub Forum wind up in the Touring forum?

And with a title change?

I'd think the mods were on crack but this isn't Slashdot..................

It seems like a good way to go, and it should be noted that he died while resting, not during maximum exertion, so the bike riding was probably not a factor in the timing of his death, and indeed probably extended his life. I do not recall the stats, but most guys who undergo bypasses at young ages seem to live shortened lives. My wife is an M.D., so I will run this past her this evening to get her input.

perhaps it was the celebratory steak dinner plus alcohol...
he lived for 18 years without a problem.. and rode for 23 days with no problems right?

it is a sad story indeed. it couldnt have been a lying politician or evil lawyer (no offense to those just and truthful ones out there)

sigh
~Steve
red meat is really no good for anyone.. cholesterol through the roof.

Article on CNN from today.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/02/last.ride.ap/index.html

damn :(

at least he completed it

I'm originally from Anderson and my mom used to work with this guy. She was shocked because obviously he seemed to be in great shape. It just goes to show that you never know when you're going to go and it could happen to any of us no matter how healthy we look or feel.

We all need to live our dreams because, as proven here, life is short. Do you have a certain goal (cycling or not) to accomplish that you've been putting off? Do it before it's too late.

Here's a link to the Herald Bulletin's article:

http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/story.asp?id=12496

This is the thread where all the posts about this unfortunate incident will be moved.

I'm originally from Anderson and my mom used to work with this guy. She was shocked because obviously he seemed to be in great shape. It just goes to show that you never know when you're going to go and it could happen to any of us no matter how healthy we look or feel.

We all need to live our dreams because, as proven here, life is short. Do you have a certain goal (cycling or not) to accomplish that you've been putting off? Do it before it's too late.

Here's a link to the Herald Bulletin's article:

http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/story.asp?id=12496

Yeah, a fellow Hoosier...hey the guy had quality of life though.
Maybe a lesson to ease up once in awhile and live to fight another day, huh?

(~that's why it was in the training section~)

A friend of mine once told me about one of her friend who drown while doing what he liked best: fishing. She said she could not think of a better way to die for him, although it was a somewhat premature death. It is a bit like all those climbers who die trying to climb mount Everest or on the way back... it is extremely sad but I think there is some relief to find in the fact that these people died when doing what they liked the best and not going to a boring job in a car during a long and painful rush hour. I hope the family and relatives of this man not only grieve such a terrible loss but also feel proud and happy to see that he was able to fulfill one of his dearest dream.

The guy had just completed an incredible experience in his life. He died a happy cyclist.

I hope I do the same.

perhaps it was the celebratory steak dinner plus alcohol...
he lived for 18 years without a problem.. and rode for 23 days with no problems right?

it is a sad story indeed. it couldnt have been a lying politician or evil lawyer (no offense to those just and truthful ones out there)

sigh
~Steve
red meat is really no good for anyone.. cholesterol through the roof.

-Yeah, that's what I was thinking. High cholesterol, high short half life coagulation factors (ex fVII)-post meal. Without the "expected" excersize the following day.

Sad indeed. A change in lifestyle, along with medical technology, did give him allmost two decades "extra".

I have two thoughts.

1 That's the way I want to die - AFTER the big tour, not before.

2 Why did the title not say "Man dies while riding in a car for the first time in months" ?

OK, I spoke to my wife about this, and of course, being an M.D. and a forensic investigator, she started asking me what seemed like 20,000 questions in return, and of course I could only answer a few of those, based on the news reports. One factor involved is that bypass surgeries two decades ago were not nearly as sophisticated nor as successful as those performed today. My wife also agreed that cycling and good diet kept him alive far longer than he otherwise would have lived after the bypass. I must say that if a cross-continent tour was a major goal in my life, and I completed it, had a nice meal and then died while taking a nap, that would be a good death, as deaths go. Working as a big-city police patrol officer, I see quite a few not-so-good death scenes!

A friend from Indiana just sent me the link to the story and while it is sad that he died it's hard to ignore the fact that he was doing what made him happy. Life is only worthwhile if you dare to dream and live it. Biking cross country certainly is.

We all need to live our dreams because, as proven here, life is short. Do you have a certain goal (cycling or not) to accomplish that you've been putting off? Do it before it's too late.


I couldn't agree more.

As was posted on another forum, this is what happens when you take a day off riding! :eek:

Hard to know what his health was like. The bypass was 20 years ago. If he was not monitoring his cholesterol and blood pressure he could have been in poor health. The bypass will close quickly without a change in lifestyle and perhaps medication if the diet and execise don't do it.

Al