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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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I have actually found a new mission in life. My bikes a have transformed me, saved me, improved my quality of life, introduced me to great people, taught me to listen, taught me how to manitain said bike. given me time with daughters, helped me grow as a human being and given me a quiet passion that birightens my life. It is my sincere desire to pass that on to others or at a least show them the possibilities.
There is a lot of information here a bout gear. Admittedly I am a bit of a equipment whore, HOWEVER there is much to be said about having the right tool(s) for the task at hand.More about that later.
I want to focus on you and your bike. Focusing on you helps me create a personal connection that I feel all humans need, focusing on the bike you have ,is simply a good place to start.
I found a surperb site fo an intruduction to astronomy www.cloudynights.com . Every beginner asks "What is the best (insert name of object here) for me to start out with given my budget of $X. The best response to that question time and again from that forum is, "The one you will most often use." Truer words were never spoken. I don't have the stats to prove it, but virtually everyone I know has some "exercise equipment" that is collecting dust in a garage or laundry in a bedroom. One of the nicest features of a Bowflex is how much laundry you can pile on it in such a small space. So the bike is a tool for a task. The task is specific to your needs, but most importantly you need to start; now, today this minute, quit reading and bike around the block down the street, WHATEVER just go pedal around for a while. Don't go very far but GO. I'll wait. Go ahead I'll be right here when you get back. I promise.
How did that feel? You did go right? becase the next several paragraphs depend on it. So did you feel like Here is the deal if you have a bike chances are our best chance to get you riding is riding what you have. Doing so removes the "I need to get a bike" argument /discussion.was it too difficult was it heavy
Great, starting is the hardest part. What got me started was heart attack at age 42...... What's gonna get you started? Always start at the beginning after all we went to a lot of trouble to create a beginning. Know your bike.
Bike anatomy
tires vs wheels
chain rings up front cogs in the back
front der rear der
How to stop
Ease in maneuvering
if it has gears learn how to use them its more fun
department store bikes
Bikes there are as many different type of bikes as there are people to ride them. Working together we can get your bike to match you and your needs.
Yes the go fast cyclists ride teeny tiny almost vulgarly small bike seats. But Im not talking to them. There are multitudes of books written by people infinitely more knowlegeable than myself aimed at people with 6% body fat who are trying to cut 90 seconds off their race times.
I'm talking to you. You either have a bike ,or want a bike , or think you want a bike or for god only knows why, are interested in bikes/bicycling.
You don't have to wear spandex
You don't have to have a $1000 bike
You don't have to spend hundreds of gruelling hours on a bike
You don't have to ride hundreds of miles
You don't have to weight your food
It doesn't matter how old you are.
Every time you ride a bike your are better for it
You do have to start. Somewhere , anywhere it doesn't matter.
You do absolutely have to work ( nothing worth having comes easily )
You do have to have fun, otherwise you won't keep doing it.
A genuine imperative here. Once you're having fun doing something that is good for you, the rest of your life will fall in line.
how people ride
clubs, critical mass, shopping, down hill, up hill, touring , credit card touring, solo touring, charity touring, doing laundry, MBX,Cyclocross, cycl paths,
What kind of bike..... should I get or do I need?
Things to consider
how far ride?
should i carry water, tools, snacks,spare tubes, cell phones
If you have a bike start here. Ride what you have. What to you like or don't like.
Foreign posture vs. Fit vs comfort.
If riding a bike is new again to you, you will be a bit sore
Saddles the most personal equipment selection
If you are buying a bike, start here
Want to improve your bike
Riding by yourself
Carry tubes/patches tools and inflation. Pump is better than cylinders.
     what puts the comfort in comfort bikes
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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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