indyfabz

Brief story with an internal link to his blog:

Obese man biking across US to lose weight | NEWS10 ABC

Hope they give him a much stronger wheel. From looking at a few of his photos, it appears as if his load is heavy. An empty B.O.B. w/o the dry bag is 13 lbs. That trailer looks to be far heavier. His tent also looks quite heavy.

dr_lha

Quote:

Newport Bicycle is outfitting Hites with a new bike that can withstand his weight.

Good thing too, looks like from his page he was planning to do the ride on a full suspension Mongoose! Should have asked for advice on here first.

bassjones

He didn't do much research... Hope they put him on an LHT or something. I'd love to do this, but I'll probably do the credit card touring thing and just take one small pannier with a change of kit or two. I listened to a podcast of a lady who did it - 4000 miles in 39 days. A little over 100 miles a day with one rest day around day 20. It's the most recent episode on the cycling360 podcast if you want to give it a listen.

Tundra_Man 

Came across his story yesterday as well. Saw the Mongoose in the first picture posted and immediately thought, "That bike won't make it across the U.S." Turns out I was right.

Sounds like after he taco'd his wheels and the story ran that he'd gotten more than 60 offers for replacement bikes, and more than $3500 in donations. Good to see the cycling community step up and help him out.

I "liked" his Facebook page. Looking forward to seeing how his journey goes.

Also read one of his journal entries from July 5th:
I really hope this was a splurge day and that he's not eating like this for every meal, otherwise he's not going to lose any weight even if he cycles around the entire globe.

Tundra_Man 

Can't tell for sure but from the picture I saw it looks like a GT hybrid. Still way better than the X-Mart beast he'd been riding.

bassjones

True dat.

indyfabz

Thanks. I misunderstood this. I thought he was only getting a new wheel. Someone posted this on FB and I think their synopsis made me think only the wheel was being replaced.

Getting a better bike will help. I am curious as to how he managed to lose 60 lbs. having only done a total of 90 miles over two weeks.

Little Darwin

Just ran the numbers... 60 pounds in 2 weeks, is a deficit of about 15,000 calories per day. Figuring BMR of 4,000 that means 11,000 in activity, so nearly 2,000 calories per mile.

And that doesn't account for what he ate for 2 weeks. My guess is that there might be some dehydration going on.

dr_lha

Oh how quickly this evolved into another calorie estimation thread...

Little Darwin

Well, many things devolve into numbers for me. I am in computing, and also have completed most of the major classes I need for Bachelors in Math, and a minor in statistics.

I didn't run the numbers, but I was also tempted to figure out how long it wold take him to ride across the country at his current pace, along with estimates based on a continual improvement of 10% per week.

But, as I was thinking since I left the message, I forgot to mention that I am rooting for the guy. It is a gutsy step to take...

TrojanHorse

Have any of you heard of this guy? He's apparently quite large (560 lb) and estranged from his wife, so he decided to ride a bike across the country in a weird attempt to get healthy and win her back. Publicity stunt or real attempt? You decide.

560-Lb Man Biking Across US to Save His Marriage

Apparently he started in Falmouth, MA and made it all the way to Tivorton, RI in a mere 4 months. (that's maybe 55 miles, btw). He busted a wheel already on his $170 bike, not really sure what he's waiting for to get busy on the next 50 miles.

257 roberts

saw it on FB, Newport Bicycle Shop in Rhode Island built him a new bike

ColaJacket

Is this the same as Fat Guy Across US?

GH

TrojanHorse

Good catch, I completely missed that one.

Same fella.

TrojanHorse

He doesn't seem to be particularly well prepared, just kind of winging it and hoping people contribute to his gofundme campaign.

I hope he makes it!

Lunchbox1987

I attempted to reach out to him on his instagram since he posted some pictures today and suggested that he jumps on here. I also offered to ride along with him for a day if he cuts through nj on his ride to Philly

fmt_biker

I really want for him to have success, as all the articles paint him to be a really nice guy.

However I am a little confused to how he's going to do it. One article said his trailer weighed 300 lbs with gear. His FB comments say he was good for 10 miles per day on the old Xmart bike, and he's hoping to double that to 20 with the newer bike. Simple math would have him deep into winter before he finishes if those predictions hold true.

Maybe he'll figure it out as he goes and increase mileage/shed excess gear (weight) etc. Will be interesting to watch.

Hokiedad4

Not sure how else you get to Philly other than through NJ. Anyway, I'd love to join you if we figure out where he'll be. I have no idea how many miles he's doing each day but suspect NJ may take a few days.

Lunchbox1987

Well he could go from ny and cut through along the Delaware and bypass nj all together. I figured he would take the scenic route to avoid traffic and highways but maybe a few of us rolling with him would help him out and teach him a few things (assuming he is still new to biking). Reguardless this is an epic journey and I'm a bit envious.

TrojanHorse

Say what? That seems incredibly unlikely though... 300 lbs is extreme for a trailer.

Like how to travel lighter, I hope.

PhotoJoe 

MODERATOR NOTE: OK, considering we're seeing new members sign up so they can contribute to the following discussion, I suspect many more have found the forum through various search engines and will be reading what follows. I have gone back to edit my earliest post in this thread to let all of the new members/readers know that the Clyde/Athena sub-forum within BikeForums.net is an extremely supportive family, all working together toward the common goal of weight loss and better health. We've all found ourselves to be heavier than we should be, and have a desire to do something about it with cycling being a unifying factor. This forum is very supportive with a positive vibe, with an occasional bit of tough love. The head administrator (who recently passed away) started riding at well over 500 lbs. and on an oxygen tank. When he passed, I believe he was in the mid 200's! He encouraged many people to work hard and accomplish their weight loss and health goals. THAT is what the C/A (Clyde/Athena) forum is about.

As of this writing (Aug 2), most active forum members are skeptical of many aspects of the Fat Man Across the U.S.'s "journey". I think the vast majority, if not all members hope that the extremely slow start gives way to real progress, and a commitment to follow through and succeed at his stated goals. He would find no bigger group of cheerleaders than the C/A forum. I have no doubt that we would have members join him for a segment of his ride when he passes close to where any of us live. I hope the C/A contingent in SoCal get the chance.

Lunchbox1987

Trial and error, we've all been there

XPLSV

I hope he can stick with it...injury can be an issue when you weigh that much. But if he keep up a slow and steady pace day after day, the pounds will drop and the daily mileage will increase.

fmt_biker

His latest update is that now his wife will drive their truck as a support vehicle at least for the first few states ... That should eliminate the trailer. It becomes much less interesting to me however as I prefer the adventure of self-supported touring.

TrojanHorse

What happened to the "i'm estranged from my wife" story?

Is he riding more than 5 miles a day yet?

This whole enterprise strikes me as a little bit needy but maybe I'm being cynical.