I pretty much ride as a hobby. Maybe the guy's hobby is teaching kids how to spell "losing" Maybe he's a great teacher!...I don't expect everyone to enjoy the same hobbies that I enjoy. Maybe I'm not so judgemental of others cause I look like the typical overweight guy. I would bet 90% of the people I meet have no idea that I have ridden anywhere from 4,000 to 7,000 miles for 12 consecutive years. 100% would probably bet that I've never done a few 10,000- 12,000 ft centuries.

I've had plenty of slim fit looking people challenge me to foot races and bike rides. Let's just say I've had some help paying for my bikes, thanks to the judgemental people!

Yes, here too. A girl that left recently, was replaced by her complete opposite. The original girl would come out to the warehouse up to a dozen times a day, to fetch boxes weighing up to 50lbs, in 3" heels even! The new girl,... in 2 months, hasn't come out to pick up so much as a 12lb jug. Is it a coincidence, I ask myself, that she is gaining weight, and talking about trying to "eat healthier". ( No, she isn't scared of the warehouse, she brings papers back here all the time, and she is not much smaller than the other girl.)

Once gas hits a certain threshold, I bet you will start seeing crime rats escalating, both crimes related to gas, such as puncturing gas tanks to siphon, and secondary crimes (muggings, carjackings, home invasions) start to pick up as well. There is a feedback loop here. Crime rates can overrun the justice system, causing DAs to offer plea bargains for what would be felonies in the first place, only encouraging more of it, when criminals realize there is less chance of getting caught. Of course, US prisons are insanely overcrowded, so giving a felon the time they deserve isn't going to happen, so they are out on the streets doing the same thing again.

Of course, because government services go up in cost... guess who gets their taxes jacked up? Usually the worst taxes that governments dish out are in recessions, which only make the situation worse, but its not like it matters to the politicians if businesses are forced out. This happened in Austin in the 1980s, where a lot of local businesses located near UT on the drag (Guadalupe) were forced out en masse, replaced by chain stores like The Gap, all due to one year where taxes went up by over 2-3 times in that one area.

This is my theory, take it or leave it. In the U.S.A. I've already seen fuel prices start to impact the transportation(read: heavy truck) industry. The railroads have doubled business(cheaper by rail) in the last year, and at the same time I hear of trucking company's parking hundreds of trucks already. I

Keep in mind, from what I have read/heard the following is _already_ happening!

When diesel hits about $7 a gallon one will start to see in the Trucking industry; massive lay offs, many many independent truckers going out of business, and more than one "large" trucking company(Swift, Werner, etc) also go out of business. This links to the food we buy, and the food we give away to third world countries, and the food we sell, so my best guess is the prices will go up by at least 50%, if not 100%. That 4 dollar gallon of milk will be at least $7-$10(notice a link between fuel price and milk price?)

At $10 a gallon, this will start to impact the "normal" commuter, and the poor will not be able to afford to drive at all(never mind about buying food).

If something were to happen in Iran, I belive overnight fuel will double in price, and in the coming months, shoot up to $300 or more a barrel. Can anybody say $20 a gallon gas? Can any of you guess what this will do to the poor around the world? What its ALREADY doing?

Me personally, I can only do what I can personally do. I commute to work when its not raining. Don't know a whole lot more I can do than that about the price of fuel.

Wtf is with the hysteria? Gas isn't going to double overnight. At the worst, we'll eventually hit European prices -- in the next couple years. I'm not so sure that's a bad thing, either. America is spoiled with oil prices. Eventually, the dollar will get stronger and gas prices will go down to more manageable levels. Sorry to say, but $6/gal is manageable.

I've started riding my bike to work and enjoy the savings. I can easily afford the more expensive food prices, and then some. I haven't filled the car up in over 2 weeks.

Here's something for you dumba55es who are hoping for higher gas prices: Higher gas prices equate to higher prices for ALL goods. You're not just punishing those fat people you have such contempt for, higher gas prices punish us all.

You know, you have a point. On the other hand, who, on this thread, with the possible exception of gascostsalot, was hoping for higher gas prices? We are not, generally, contemptuous of fat people, some of us are, or have been, fat. We are, however, somewat exasperated with people who don't understand the old saying, "When have a problem, you have a problem. Sometimes, when you have several problems, they can solve each other"

Overweight+High Gas Prices+High Gym Membership Fees=**********

High gas prices etc etc,
I'll gladly make sacrifices and compromises, it's no biggie when one is poor.
We get used to it being without.

I see your point, No Motor, but consider it in the context of this guy’s Hierarchy of Concern. With high fuel prices complicating everything this guy needs to think about, the issue of his fitness would need to find a place in his changing priorities. We on this forum are fortunate at having fitness as an already established way of life, but this guy and millions like him see the prospect of getting fit an even more distant possibility as they deal with the End of Cheap Energy. Bottom line, there IS a direct relationship between high fuel prices and “skinnification”, but there are thousands of others competing for our attention.

By the way, at some level we can replace “stereotypical overweight guy” with Every Swinging Richard with regard to the coming pain of change.

Your "typical overwieght guy" at work copes with gas prices exactly the same as your "average guy" at work who drives daily. They make sacrifices in other places to feed their tank just like everyone else that isnt overweight and dosent ride a bike. I am not defending overweight people by any means, nor am i putting them down as i am 5'9" and 270 lbs myself. It just seems to me the only distinction that needs to be made is from from the purposes of this forum are the cyclists and the non-cyclists, there are overweight, average, and underweight people in both catagories.

The gas will level off as soon as the the mortage lenders and the hedge funds that our in trouble get pulled out of their super ridiculous hole they dug themselves in . Its just like the junk bonds, the dot. coms and everything else..The government has to get the money from somewhere to bail out big business.

Another thing i always thougt was funny, being fat and people making fun of fat people is the only socialy acceptable form of predjudice in this country. I mean to the point were no one feels embarassed in front of other people in public by teasing a overweight person. Discuss.

I've been fat. (Really, really fat -- 475 pounds.) I'm not any more (down to 170.) I know what it's like to be ostracized and ridiculed, believe me. I don't believe there is a "stereotypical fat guy." We're all human and we all have different concerns, problems, priorities, and challenges. When I was at my highest weight, getting a little exercise wouldn't even have been possible, let alone a solution to my personal energy crisis. I was using a cane just to get up the steps to my house. Mockery and ridicule never solved anybody's problem. Ever.

It will not matter how expensive fuel gets- it will not deter peoplefrom using their cars.

Try $13 a gallon that we have over here.

You should have taken a more pro-active approach. Tell her, "If you rode a bike to work, you wouldn't be such a humungo fat-@$$."

Close, but lets not forget that atheists have it worse when it comes to prejudice. No group scores lower in public popularity polls and in practical results: you can be openly gay and still get elected to high office, but I am not aware of any out of the closet atheists who are still electable. In many parts of the country Catholics are pretty openly scorned and hated. Making fun of *****exuals is nearly universal in the USA and quite in the open.

You make it all sound so rosy, I think I'll just kill myself.

I talked to the guy. He meant that he didn't need help didn't need help losing weight because he has already lost 80 pounds and is well on his way to reaching his weight loss goals. Try not to be so judgmental eh?

A commuter works 50 weeks out of the year, 5 days per week. That's 250 working days (commute days).

Not all days can be commuted due to weather conditions, family and personal appointments issues. Depending on what part of the country you live in. Not all workplaces are self contained; some workers need to use the car at work. So out of those 250 days there might be some days that simply won't work. Even at 10% loss, that's 225 days.

Lost 80 pounds? And well on the way to achieving his fitness goals? Not since I've known him, and that's been about 8 years. Judging by the lunch he ate, eating healthy isn't one of his goals either.

I wasn't trying to be judgmental about his health, merely pointing out that he could benefit more than someone who wasn't obese when it came to driving less, getting more exercise and doing something that's good for the future.

Again, I meant stereotypical in terms of being overweight and not liking it, but not to the point that he would actually eat better and exercise. The price of gas and his weight both bother him, but not to the point of making effective changes.

Good point...but lets not forget one thing...when people first meet you they dont know your atheists. You dont say hey look im nick the atheist do you? On any job interview, or any first impression. They know im big and all ready have preconceived stereotypes before i open my mouth. IOh yea...you dont hear whispers on a airplane saying look at that guy..hes a atheist they should charge him for 2 seats.

I find because of how I look and act, many many people assume My I.Q. hovers around 70. I get a kick out of the look on their face when they find out differently. I like the word assume though, you use it and you make an ASS out of U and ME.

And are you Atheist, or Agnostic? Not that it matters a whole lot, except Atheists seem to be more bound and determined to shove their beliefs down everybody's throat, rather they want it or not. Agnostics are usually less aggressive about their beliefs.

the guy upstairs from me is really overweight and out of shape...he's only 21 but well on his way to a coronary. He works at an electronic shop and got a huge screen tv with surround sound, and all kinds of videogames. I think he grew up in the distant burbs where there seems to be a lot of kids like him. He spends hours playing Grand theft auto and that rock star game and watching DVDs...truth be told he could benefit from spending a bit of time and money exercising. He does have a car, but i think of the sweet bike he could have gotten with that money! and it's gotta be better than spending all day playing Xbox or whatever...it's summer!

I used to be in the military and I lived about 1/3 mi from work. I tried biking a few times but lugging my bike from the 3rd floor wasn't worth it. There are about 30 others that work in the same area and lived in the same building. I was the only one that walked to work on a regular basis. It took me under 8 minutes to walk and about 3 minutes to drive. The 6 minutes of savings wasn't worth it to me and everyone else thought I was nuts. Wonder what those people are doing now since they were living paycheck to paycheck already when gas was under $3/gal

Anybody have that comic were it shows these overweight people sitting at a drive thru eating 90,000 calories of food, while commenting about how a family on bicycles are being irresponsible for not wearing a helmet?