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Welcome To Fatmanonabike.com
We Remember
The Lone Star Chapter, chartered in 1955, serves more than 17,000 individuals who are affected by multiple sclerosis in 141 Texas counties. Services include information and referrals, equipment loans, education programs, caring and wellness programs, emergency financial assistance, self-help groups, research updates, and clinical and peer support programs. The chapter works closely with the medical community to enhance MS knowledge and treatment. All funds are privately raised and 83 cents of every dollar is used to benefit people affected by multiple sclerosis. The Lone Star Chapter's Web site is here
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The May Fete at Bike Barn was a real nice party. Great hot dogs with all the trimmings with ice cream and refreshments all courtesy of the fine folks at BIke Barn. I don't have a run down of all the door prizes, but there were several. They probably called my number while I was trying to locate cash for my new Topeak road morph pump. It was a really nice gathering of good people. Thanks Bike Barn!
In the 4th photo above is my Trek 7.3 FX with my newly purchased Arkel panniers www.arkel-od.com/. The 5th and 6th frames show the chunk of glass in my rear tire that I picked up on the way home. Here is a fine example of Bontrager Hardcase tires in action (they were stock on my Trek 7.3 FX) . I had to ride a hundred yards or so before I had an opportunity to check the the source of the periodic tick-ticking in the rear of my bike. I figured either the glass had punctured the tube and is holding air, or it is going to if I continue to ride on it. Either way the glass had to be removed. I rooted out the leatherman from the bag and carefully extricated a chunk of glass on the order of .25 inches in diameter. There was no loss of air! No unloading the bike to change a flat, none of that. I mounted up and rode on. 120 miles later the tire is fine. I've sung the praises of Specialized Armadillos for years, apparently the Bontrager Hardcase is no slouch either! |
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Mission Accomplished!!
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
Thanks to you all. Friends, family, volunteers, well wishers and cyber visitors. I did in fact complete the ride. All 180 miles of it over two days. There were two goals to meet; 1) complete the ride 2) don't push the bike. Not up hill, not down hill, just not. I can happily say both goals were achieved. I hope to do a proper write up of the ride soon but for now suffice it to say I met truly amazing people. I was passed by roller bladers, little old ladies, big old men, teenage girls and mothers with their children. Rider # 12492 had a prosthetic leg and he passed me twice. Fortunately I checked my ego at the starting line. I did manage to pass a unicyclist and later we had a nice chat at the 150 mile rest stop. I met many wonderful people accomplishing amazing feats. I had to brush back a tear twice. Once at the opening ceremonies during a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, and again half way through day 1, when a woman in a wheel chair waved at me and said, " Thank you. "
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Thank you for your support!
This all started 1965 miles ago. Add in a few buckets of sweat, dozens of flat tires, broken spokes, and assorted mechanical breakdowns and you end up here 5 days from the Houston to Austin BP MS 150. Ready or not, Austin or Bust!
A special thanks to those who have made contributions:
Charles and Pauline Gamblin
Kyle Shenkir
Al Mason
Debbie Manen
Richard Stevens
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Photo FAQs
Why the toe?
I've been asked a few times about the toe photo. It is the only really unique image I own, and in a gratuitous effort to generate site traffic, I posted it. If nothing else, maybe it will generate some of the ," Dude, you gotta see this. ", traffic. After all, you can get photos of beautiful, naked women everywhere else on the web.
Is it real?
You bet your ass it is. I am no makeup artist. I'm just a fat man on a bike.
Is that yours?
Yes it is mine. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to find a volunteer to let you drop a 30.5 pound battery from desktop height on their big toe to achieve this effect. Even if you convinced a really close friend to help you out, he probably wouldn't talk you anymore anyway.
What happened?
If you need more detail than the above provided explanation, it was a bizzare garage cleaning accident. I had stacked 2 of these batteries on top of each other on a workmate ( folding work bench ) with the intenion of relocating the one on top. I had no idea that the bottom battery had hitched a ride and, having absolutely no vertical support, gravity sucked it to earth exactly, (as bad luck would have it) to the same space that was occupied by the first toe of my right foot.
Did you take the photo?
Yes
Why take the photo?
I was wearing sandals when this occurred. I own steel toed work boots but it was just too hot to wear them. Just a reminder that safety pays. Picture worth a 1000 words, etc, etc. I was out of work for 3 weeks or so and the hospital bills were in excess of $10,000 (thank GOD I had insurance). To this day, my right big toe twitches when I see anything heavier than a bannana higher than my waist. |
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After my heart attack( see below) I knew I had to make the most of my second chance. Fortunately for me, I was only required to take medication, change my diet and lose weight. My destiny was in my own hands. I had played football as a child and into high school. I knew could reclaim my body but at 5'6" and just over 300 pounds, I also knew it would be tough.
This all started when I got my bike in mid February 2005. I banked my tax refund and went to Bike Barn to get my bike. A new Trek 7100. It's what they call a hybrid. Not as advanced as full fleged road bike or serious mountain, bike but clearly a step above the average Walmart or Academy bike.
My bike is stock with the exception of the rear wheel. I made a cheap ( $35 ) upgrade to the rear wheel because I was breaking spokes at an alarming rate. I am still breaking spokes, but not nearly as frequently. Bicycle wheels are fairly complex devices. While I do replace my spokes and true my wheels, I am no wheel mechanic. I did however, rebuild my rear wheel with the the help of this book. In cycling, as in any endeavor, the cost of accessories is without limit. Wheels prices range from $50 to few thousand dollars depending on quality of materials and workmanship.
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Master odometer since 2/17/05 2551miles Just 2449 miles to my new bike.
2006 Miles by month
Jan 82 mi.
Feb 39 mi.
Mar 220 mi.
Apr 435 mi
May 80 mi |
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Water Bottle/ Hydration While Houston is not Death Valley, it does get hot here. In 80 to 90+ degrees you lose a LOT of fluid. Be safe and learn something about hydration and your needs in particular before a heat stroke. I have a 100 oz. Hydrapack from Bike Nashbar. It was hard to find, they don't advertise it, but they do carry them. Long before I needed one I thought the that CamelBak was overpriced. I still think so. However is is only fair to say I have never used a Camel Bak either. My Hydrapak is easy to keep clean, has plenty of storage and is spacious at about half of what Camelbak costs for the equivalent. |
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My heart attack:
December 9 2004 6:20 AM I was late to work and suddenly felt weak and dizzy. I lay down for a few seconds thinking it would clear up. It didn't. My strength was rapidly depleting. I told my wife to take me to the hospital now. I gathered my remeaining strength and stumbled to the truck. As my wife drove, I lay in a heap in the passenger seat. Initially, they told me I was having a reaction to my medication, naproxen. It wasn't until hours later they told me it was probably a heart attack as they wheeled me into ICU. They wired me up like an astronaut and told me to relax. Heart attack? Relax? There's a couple of mutually exclusive terms. All I had to do was lay there with a dozen or so electrodes hanging off me pondering my future as a lab rat. They ran a battery of tests over the next day or so culminating in a heart catheterization. It's painless but kinda spooky procedure where a probe is inserted into your thigh and then into a major artery. The probe is then snaked up your leg and into your heart. At that point, a radioactive dye is released via the probe into the heart so your cardiologist can determine just how much and how severely your heart muscle is damaged. I remember lying there being scoped by millions of dollars of equipment, a cardiologist, and a half dozen or so technicians and nurses, thinking,"There's not a Quarter Pounder in the world worth this much trouble. The procedure takes about 30 min. or so. The cardiologist disappeared and told my wife I needed to eat some pills and lose weight. There was no damage to the heart muscle. I was lucky, I got a second chance.
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