Fat Cyclist

I am not what you’d call a classically-trained cyclist. You could fairly call me an “informally-trained” cyclist. Or, if you were in the mood to be accurate, you could possibly call me an “ad-hoc, hard-knocks trained” cyclist. The truth is, I haven’t every read a book on improving my riding position or technique, and the few times I’ve [...]

As anyone who follows the sport knows, it’s been an extremely tumultuous and surprising week in the world of cycling. There have been revelations. Outrage. Some people emerging victorious and vindicated, others finding themselves unexpectedly shamed. I am talking, of course, about the Bicycling Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards, in the March 2012 issue of the magazine. You see, I’ve [...]

Last July, Johan Bruyneel and I kicked off a ridiculously ambitious fundraiser: The Grand Slam for Zambia . The idea was as simple as it was big: raise enough money for World Bicycle Relief to buy kids in Zambia 1000 bikes. We offered a huge number of great prizes as well as a pretty noble carrot: by donating [...]

I got the strangest letter in the mail a few days ago. At first, I was confused. Then I was perplexed. Then I was dismayed. Then I assumed that someone had sent me a prank letter and set it aside. Then, a few days later, I read this article in Bloomberg news : Suddenly, it all made sense. When Pat [...]

I got a letter a couple days ago. The subject line kind of caught my eye: Fat Cyclist at the South Pole Yeah, I decided to read it. Here’s what the author, Nate Cannon , had to say: Fatty, I’ve been reading your site a while now and wasted many a working hours reading your race write ups, technical reviews, and [...]

When I am mountain biking, I am — unfortunately — easily distracted from the task at hand. When I should be paying attention to the fifteen to fifty feet ahead of me (depending on visibility of what’s ahead as well as how technical the trail is), I will sometimes make the crucial and possibly unforgivable error of [...]

Beehive Nursing Home, Salt Lake City (Fat Cyclist Fake News Service) – The cycling world was rocked today when a sweeping, all-encompassing lawsuit was lodged against every cycling body in the world. Further, every single individual cyclist — both road and mountain, with the exception of dedicated single speeders — was also named in the the suit, making [...]

Welcome to Part II of How to Patch a Tube ( Part I is here ). I am sure that you are as thrilled — and surprised — as I am to discover that this topic requires multiple entries. In part I of How to Patch a Tube , you learned everything leading up to how to patch tubes, but not how to patch [...]

As you are no doubt aware, bikes are cool. Through some weird magic some like to call “physics,” bikes can make you go faster than you otherwise could go, while expending less energy than you otherwise would expend. Meanwhile, you’re having fun while exercising , which is even more magical than the whole further-faster-easier mindbender. And bikes look great, [...]

Let it be known: there is such a thing as feeling too good . I have proof, which I shall present, in the form of an anecdote. This anecdote is true, by the way. It’s been such a strange December here in Utah — the driest on record, according to the weatherman. This means that at least the low trails [...]

This is my last post for the year. I’m going to leave it up for a week or so, because it’s got a nice piece of news and a very interesting question. Let’s start with the question. Imagine a World… I woke up last night with the strangest question running through my mind. I don’t remember whether the question [...]

We’re down to the last few days of this year, which is a perfect time to sit back, relax, and quietly reflect on what has happened during the past twelve months. After all, by thinking about what you’ve done — both good and bad — you gain insight into what you want to do differently (as [...]

A Comedian Mastermind-Related Note from Fatty: My new book — Comedian Mastermind: The Best of FatCyclist.com, 2005-2007 — is now available from Amazon.com, both in paperback and Kindle versions. This is actually pretty darned cool for both me and you, for a few reasons. Cheap, easy last-minute e-gifting : If you know someone who reads Kindle-format books (whether that be on [...]

A Note from Fatty : Today’s post seems like it’s about running. Trust me, though, it’s about biking. Eventually. Yesterday I talked a little bit about the run The Hammer and I went on last Saturday. I believe I may have mentioned what a miserable experience that was for me. Well, honestly, “miserable” isn’t the right word. “Horrible” might [...]

Autumn is, objectively measured, the finest season for biking. The leaves are changing, with the leaves on some trees turning so extraordinarily red in such a short time that they catch you off guard when you see them. The days are no longer hot; you finish some rides having finished only one bottle of water. And you [...]

Update: Dustin finished it! I think we’ll all be very interested to hear his story (and believe me, I will do my utmost to make him write up his story for this blog), but for now, check out his stats : Obviously, this was an incredibly hard effort for Dustin. I can’t even describe how proud I am of [...]

It was 3am. I was lying in bed. Not sleeping, just lying there. I had two reasons for not being able to sleep: The next morning, we were going to ride the Col du Galibier. First up the North side, then down the South side. Then up the Telegraphe, then back down, then back up the South [...]

A “Go Big” Note from Fatty : In yesterday’s post , I asked you to help me help my friend Dustin keep a promise, by donating to my fundraising page for the Young Survival Coalition Tour de Pink. Click here for more details on that . Or just click here to donate . Today, I’ve got an awesome additional way you can help me [...]

A Note About the Levi’s GranFondo Contest Going On Right Now: I started the week by poking a little good-natured fun at Levi Leipheimer . Then it got nasty, when he brought in his tough-talking lawyer . But now everything’s cool, with a chance for you to win a trip to Levi’s GranFondo . Please, please donate . Or Levi will punch me in [...]

Here is the story so far, as it developed yesterday: Giddy and jet-lagged, I said some things about Levi Leipheimer’s (well-documented) propensity to throw his weight around that some might call outrageous and libelous , if they were all cranky and were spoiling for a fight, I mean. Levi hired a lawyer that seems perfectly happy to use decidedly unsavory tactics [...]