Fat Guy Across America

[creadinger]

He should keep a wheel builder on retainer for the inevitable bent rims he’s going to have in the future.

Otherwise, it’s unfortunate that sometimes people have to hit rock bottom to decide to make a change in their lives, but it’s pretty awesome that he’s doing it. I’m looking forward to seeing the man that arrives on the Pacific coast in a few months, because he will likely be very different than the guy in Rhode Island now.

[vvill]

@creadinger 120878 wrote:

Otherwise, it’s unfortunate that sometimes people have to hit rock bottom to decide to make a change in their lives, but it’s pretty awesome that he’s doing it. I’m looking forward to seeing the man that arrives on the Pacific coast in a few months, because he will likely be very different than the guy in Rhode Island now.

Agreed. I also wish it was more commonplace for people in general to go [bike] touring. It’s probably not something that occurs to that many people, or if it does it’s viewed as more extreme. (That said, I’ve never done any touring – one day, though!)

[Steve O]

@vvill 120881 wrote:

(That said, I’ve never done any touring – one day, though!)

You & me, Will. Let’s go. I’ve only done a single, one-night, overnight trip in my whole life.

[dkel]

@Steve O 120901 wrote:

You & me, Will. Let’s go. I’ve only done a single, one-night, overnight trip in my whole life.

Rockford and I did three days and two nights last week, and I’m already looking at how we can take three months off to go coast to coast. It may not happen till we’re retired (or unceremoniously and simultaneously fired from our jobs), but I’m already planning.

On a more realistic note, it would be possible for several of us on the forum to find a weekend and do a trip together, like riding out a short distance Friday night, and then on through Saturday, returning Sunday. We could get along with each other that long, couldn’t we? We might even be able to stand each other for a long weekend and make it four days.

[GovernorSilver]

I’d like to do a weekend bike trip somewhere. I’m a bit envious of this couple that tours by bike full-time: http://pathlesspedaled.com/

I’d also like to try combining biking and camping, even though I have much less experience in the latter – don’t even have a tent yet.

However, my first ever bike tour doesn’t have to include the camping part.

[americancyclo]

as someone who doesn’t camp so much as ‘glamp’ now that i have two little kids, I’d be happy to let someone borrow one of my lightweight backpacking tents. Can’t stand the thought of selling them.

[vvill]

@Steve O 120901 wrote:

You & me, Will. Let’s go. I’ve only done a single, one-night, overnight trip in my whole life.

Yeah if only I had (a lot) more paid time off, I would seriously consider more bike-related trips (not just touring). But as it is, I prioritize family vacations (happily).

[ShawnoftheDread]

@dkel 120905 wrote:

. We could get along with each other that long, couldn’t we? We might even be able to stand each other for a long weekend and make it four days.

Have you not seen some of our threads?

[dkel]

@ShawnoftheDread 120924 wrote:

Have you not seen some of our threads?

Shut up, jerk!

…Huh. You’re right: I guess we don’t get along after all.

[PotomacCyclist]

It’s good that he is being active, but I have to wonder about the stress on his heart. It can be quite a shock to the system, going from no activity in decades, to a cross-country bike trip with no real training. I do hope he doesn’t suffer any ill effects. Completely being serious here.

[GovernorSilver]

@PotomacCyclist 120940 wrote:

It’s good that he is being active, but I have to wonder about the stress on his heart. It can be quite a shock to the system, going from no activity in decades, to a cross-country bike trip with no real training. I do hope he doesn’t suffer any ill effects. Completely being serious here.

In one of his journal entries (link from the article in the OP), he says he hopes to do 10 miles in one day.

It takes me about 1 hr 10 min. to ride 12 miles. This guy is taking all day to ride the same distance.

Sounds like he’s pacing himself appropriately for his condition.

[PotomacCyclist]

But that is still 8 or 10 hours of moderate stress. It’s not so much the actual speed as the relative stress on a person and how well they are prepared for that stress. While 10 miles might seem simple for many people here, that could be quite a hurdle for this guy, especially with the excess weight. (Not intended as an insult here.) The body recognizes duration and intensity, not mileage. Stress for 8 hours is stress for 8 hours, no matter the exact speed. For a Tour de France rider, an easy 8-hr ride wouldn’t wipe them out. But doing that day after day, month after month, could start to get a little challenging. And those are among the fittest endurance athletes on the planet.

Then to do that on a daily basis for someone who is so out of shape? Well, that’s what gets me worried. That’s simply a lot of exertion for someone who is severely overweight and with almost no real endurance or fitness base. Then to try that on a regular basis, for months on end. It just doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.

People can build up to great feats, but everyone has to start off gradually. Even the best cyclists in the world weren’t riding 100 miles at the age of 2. Everything about this sends off loud warning bells to me, based on everything I’ve read, thought or experienced about fitness and health over the past several years.

[GovernorSilver]

Try reading his blog.

I think somewhere in there he says he does short stretches of riding and takes lots of breaks.

[KLizotte]

If he is only doing ten miles a day at best then it is gonna take him a long, long time to get across the U.S. His funds are likely to run out first. While I commend him for doing this, his blog entries indicate that he really didn’t prepare well for this trip well at all, neither physically, planning, or logistics wise. He has already had a lot of mechanical issues with his bike and tent.

[dkel]

@GovernorSilver 121061 wrote:

Try reading his blog.

I perused the journal on his website, and as much as I give him credit for going on his journey (which is far more than a physical challenge for him; he has a lot of personal and relationship issues he’s trying to work out), he seems woefully unprepared. He has obvious fitness challenges to overcome, but he also doesn’t seem to have much of a plan: seeing as how he develops great familiarity with the police pretty much everywhere he goes, I would say he doesn’t have a fully formed idea of how this type of trip should be done. I applaud his desire to change himself for the better, but the way he is going about it does raise serious concerns (well beyond those raised by PotomacCyclist).

[Author]

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