Fight Cancer, Lose Weight, Win Cool Stuff
THURSDAY UPDATE FROM FATTY: Since I posted this late yesterday, I know a lot of people are just now seeing it. So: it’s totally cool to post your starting weight today (Thursday) as well as tomorrow (Friday), or Saturday. Thanks!
ANOTHER THURSDAY UPDATE FROM FATTY: I need some help with the phpBB forum from someone who is expert at it. Specifically, from someone who knows how to block the spam that’s already raining down on it. Email me if you can help.
A month or so ago, I posted that I need to lose weight. And I hinted that I had a good reason why. And I mentioned something about maybe doing a contest.
Then, at the beginning of this week, I announced that I’m going to get to be on the TV show, Leverage. (By the way, I’ve had several more exciting ideas about my appearance on that show and will post them tomorrow.)
Are you starting to connect the dots?
So here is my nightmare scenario: Everyone I know — family, friends, co-workers, and about 50,000 blog readers all check in as I liveblog the episode of Leverage I’m going to be on. I appear on screen — DVD recording, of course — and . . . I’m at my current weight.
Which appears to be even more than my actual current weight.
Which, just to be clear, is 173 pounds. Yeah, I’ve kinda let myself fatten up over the winter. A little (by which I mean, “a lot”).
Anyway, back to the scenario: Everyone looks at me on TV. Then they look at me in real life. Then they look at me on the screen again. Then someone speaks up.
“Dude. You really are the Fat Cyclist.”
Personal Motivation
So I need to lose weight. Before the middle of April. Like, ideally, 16 pounds (getting me back to my racing / modeling / TV-appearance weight of 158 pounds.
Plus, I’m running the Boston Marathon in the middle of April. I think it’d be nice if The Hammer didn’t have to wait for more than two hours at the finish line for me.
And in addition to all that, I would really like to start the bike racing season nice and light. Because I have set myself up for the most serious suite of races in my life. It’d be a shame if I sucked at all of them.
It’s time for me to get serious about losing some weight.
And maybe you’d like to lose some at the same time.
Maybe a cool contest would help.
Lose Weight, Fight Cancer, and Win Cool Stuff
So I’m proud to announce a four-week weight loss contest — starting tomorrow, and ending Friday, April 13. A nice, short, intense competition where you’ll do some good in the fight against cancer, you’ll motivate me to get to race weight by the time I’m on Leverage (and, the following weekend, racing the Boston Marathon), and — possibly — winning some cool stuff.
There will be prizes awarded every week, as well as a pretty awesome prize at the end.
And if you do better than I do, percentage-wise, I’m going to give you something pretty cool.
Of course, if I beat you, you’re going to have to give me a prize (don’t worry, I don’t think you’ll begrudge me it).
What Are The Prizes?
Well, the grand prize — the prize going to the person who loses the greatest percentage of their body weight by the end of the contest — is pretty awesome: an autographed copy of my book, Comedian Mastermind.
But not just autographed by me. Noooooo. It’s autographed by every single person on Team RadioShack Nissan Trek. Check it out:
I am pretty sure that there are not many objects in the world that are like this. And if you want, I’ll sign it too (also, if you want, I won’t sign it — your call).
Oh, and speaking of rare, signed objects, I’ve also got an alternate grand prize lined up. It’s something owned, worn, and signed by Lance Armstrong. No, not a yellow jersey. Those things are almost too common:
The Hall of LiveStrong, leading to the office in my house
So no. Not a yellow jersey. A pair of running shoes. Specifically, a pair of running shoes Lance wore ’til they were worn out. Then he signed them. Or will sign them. Since I just asked him to do this last night, I doubt he’s signed them yet.
Regardless, I’m pretty sure there are not many of those floating around on eBay.
[Side Note: Believe me, it was not an easy thing for me to approach Lance Armstrong and say, "Hey, Lance? Can I have a pair of your worn out running shoes, autographed?"
To which he replied (and I quote), "Uh…ok. You bet. When?"
Which is a pretty remarkable thing, really, when you consider that the vast number of replies he could have made. ]
But that’s not all.
There will also be other prizes given away to winners and other notable performers each week. For example, each week, I’m going to give away a box of Honey Stinger Waffles or Honey Stinger Energy Chews to the person who did the best that week.
You’ve heard of these, right? You know, only the best-tasting energy food that’s ever been made? So good, in fact, that I am at this very moment resisting the urge to climb two flights of stairs (my office is in the basement, my Honey Stinger stash is in my second-floor bedroom) and dig into them for some recreational snacking?
Yeah. Those Honey Stingers.
But that’s not all. Either.
Each week, to some random participant who has lost at least some weight that week, I will give a $36 gift certificate to Twin Six, which is plenty of money to get you a t-shirt, not to mention shipping. Or it’s enough to make a jersey a ridiculously good price. Or it’s enough to get you three pair of the same kind of socks, so when you lose one sock, you don’t have to throw the other one away; just keep it ’til you lose the next one, and you’re back to a good place again.
And there will be other prizes. But I’m not going to tell you what those prizes are.
Not yet, anyway. Because frankly I haven’t contacted everyone I need to to get the other prizes in place. Because I’m lazier than the average blogger, that’s why.
But I will tell you that anything I give away is worth having. Really worth having.
But prizes don’t go only to the absolute winners in this contest. Nosirree. They also go to anyone who manages to beat me.
Namely, if you beat me (meaning if you lose a greater percentage of your weight than I do by April 13) — I’ll comp your entry into the 2012 100 Miles of Nowhere.
That’s a $95.00 value, folks.
But if I beat you, you have to donate another $25 to my LiveStrong page.
Sounds like an intriguing competition, doesn’t it? Darn right it does.
Here’s how it works.
Step 1. Pay Your Dues
The first thing you’ve got to do with this contest is show you’re serious about it. You’ve got to pay an “entry fee,” of sorts.
In this case, the entry fee is you need to make a $25.00 donation at my LiveStrong Boston Marathon Challenge page. That’s your way of saying, “I’m not just idly entering this. I’m giving something up to do this. And also, I’m helping LiveStrong help people fight cancer.”
Step 2. Weigh Yourself
Weigh yourself tomorrow morning. And when you do it, do it honest. Don’t load up on water or anything to set yourself up with a padded start weight. I’m not. Let’s all play this honestly.
Step 3. Create a Topic For Yourself in the Forum
I just launched a bare-bones forum at forum.fatcyclist.com. You need to register for it, then create a topic for you and your weight loss progress. Here’s how:
- Go to the Forum Registration Page and agree to the terms. (I have never read the terms, and suggest you don’t read them either). Fill in the registration stuff and get yourself all properly registered and everything.
- Go to the Weight Loss Pages in the Forum and click the New Topic button.
- For the subject, enter your user handle or name. Whichever you’re going to use. But if you use a user handle instead of a name, send me an email with your name AND user handle, so I’ll be able to verify that you paid your registration dues.
- In the message, enter your starting weight. And anything else you’d like to.
- Go back to the Weight Loss Pages in the forum and check out what other people have set for their starting weights. Maybe reply to some of them. Encourage folks. Be nice. Let’s be cool and helpful and friendly and stuff, OK?
And that’s all you’ve got to do for now. If you’d like to enter interim weights, during the upcoming week, you can reply in your own topic with new weights. Or you can be all mysterious and not say anything ’til next week.
And it’ll go on like that for a month.
Easy, huh?
Step 5. Start Losing Weight
OK, now for the fun hard part: losing weight. I’m planning to be incredibly dedicated, and will post my weight every day. I’ll also be checking others’ threads and posting encouragement. Because I would love to see as many people as possible do great at this.
Step 6. Keep Losing Weight
I’ll be posting directions on how to do the math for your percentages lost, and when to post updates. Specifically, Wednesday next week I’ll go into what you need to do to enter your first weekly weigh-in, and by Thursday next week you need to have posted the results of your weigh-in.
This contest is going to be fun. And there’s going to be great stuff for you to win. And it should give you (and me!) a great reason to get started on getting rid of those Winter pounds.
So: ante up now. And then sign up. And good luck!
PS: Is there anyone out there who would like to be my helper / tracker on this game? Because I think I’m going to need some help. Email me if you’re willing to put some time in doing math and entering numbers. Thanks!
PS: I’ve got a math helper volunteer now. Thanks, David!
Comment by Trailer Park Cyclist | 03.14.2012 | 3:22 pm
Where is everyone? Hello? Heeellooo? This is scary. hey Stanley, I just wanted to suggest that instead of riding a BICYCLE in your television debut, you should be on a CLYDESDALE. Get it? HAr har har a clydesdale oh boy I kill me…clydesdale riding messengers…by the way, are there any trailer parks in that show? As far as plots go, isn’t this pretty much a do-over of the A Team? So you could get me a part as a kind of funny/witty Murdoch who lives in a trailer and (you as Mr.T) have to ride over on your tandem to pick me up and say things like “Silly fool” and jangle your gold and then we’ll save everybody in funny/ironic ways and later there will be a spin off with Drew Barrymore as our boss and after that…ok, I’ll get back to you. Oh man I wish Drew Barrymore was my boss. Oh man…
Comment by ScottR | 03.14.2012 | 3:22 pm
While I love the ‘photochop, I find it extra hilarious how effective your added image is at drawing attention away from those lovely ladies.
(Yes, I know the guys on the show are great eye candy as well… wonder if your female readers experience the same issue…)
Comment by davidh-marin, ca | 03.14.2012 | 3:28 pm
Fatty – Re-shoot that hallway scene with the twins at the end. You’d have your own ‘Shining’ moment to share.
Comment by Trailer Park Cyclist | 03.14.2012 | 3:40 pm
Then sometime around Christmas we’ll have a semi serioso/comic episode where my character is revealed to have a deeper, more soulful side and when the Leverage guys kidnap Drew (our boss) it turns out that because of ratings jealousy the Leverage guys have become evil and are doing dreadful things to all the Clydesdales in Portland and scaring our boss Drew and the new, more better soulful character of the TPC saves the whole day while you are busy hanging out with Levi Leipheimer and that Other Guy and swapping gold jewelry and tweeting about it the poor old soulful TPC saves Drew and she decides to take a good hard look at your contract and, well, sorry buddy. that’s Show Biz.
Comment by Dan in Sac | 03.14.2012 | 3:43 pm
Awesome. Let’s do this.
Q: Who doesn’t belong in that photo?
A: The vested waiter who caught a bad whiff of something.
Comment by Jeremy | 03.14.2012 | 3:44 pm
Let me get this straight: the prize for losing the most weight is FOOD? Man, that’s just cruel. Funny, but cruel.
Comment by NYCCarlos | 03.14.2012 | 3:55 pm
Good Luck to all of the competitors!
Comment by Rumpled/Jim | 03.14.2012 | 4:06 pm
What are those low looking doors/windows in the hallway?
I’ll be in (apparently in the rules I never got or read along with that bike was an eternal commitment to all causes Fatty), but I might as well send in $50 now – cuz I don’t see me beating your eggavo diet.
That’s an entry and window into a playhouse (under the stairs) we put in when the basement was finished. – FC
Comment by davidh-marin, ca | 03.14.2012 | 4:44 pm
@NYC CARLOS You’re category challenge can be to GAIN Weight!
Comment by Candyce | 03.14.2012 | 5:11 pm
Hoo boy… Guess I better join. The scale said some mean things to me this morning.
Comment by Justin L | 03.14.2012 | 5:29 pm
I am in, i was doing good until we decided to redo the kitchen and i have been eating out for the last 5 weeks. I am back heavier then before. All in!!!!!!! Sucks its raining right now,
Comment by Justin L | 03.14.2012 | 5:36 pm
4 weeks seems fast with my busy schedule wishing it was 8 weeks, but i could not beat you fatty with that nasty avocado and egg diet. Okay eggs, but my kids beg me, no eggs dad!!!!!!!!!
Comment by davidh-marin, ca | 03.14.2012 | 6:11 pm
What’s with kids and ‘no eggs, Dad!’
Mine, too, throw a major meltdown over eggs. I’ve offered to make them ‘green’ and served with Ham, but they just say….
not with a goat, or on a boat, not in the rain, on on a train…..
It’s raining here too (finally) but that just makes for some fun MTB riding.
Comment by Liz | 03.14.2012 | 6:31 pm
I’m in. I actually started about the time you first mentioned this, so I’ve already lost a few pounds, but this will give me motivation for the last five. Which will be the hardest, without a doubt. So I have no hope of winning, but pride is as good a motivator as any and the cause is good.
But Fatty, 16 pounds in a month?! That seems a little extreme. Best wishes.
Extreme times call for extreme measures. – FC
Comment by Christopher Stephens | 03.14.2012 | 7:05 pm
Still a little queasy about being asked to donate to Livestrong now that they’re funneling those donations to Planned Parenthood. Seems like the end result of folks making this wager is… more money for abortions. Not cool.
That donation was to make it possible for women without money to get screened for cancer, and that’s how it’s going to be used. Inflammatory, inaccurate remarks like this = not cool. – FC
Comment by Heber Chad - ldsphi | 03.14.2012 | 7:33 pm
Game on senior Fatty.
Comment by Nurse Betsy | 03.14.2012 | 8:01 pm
I will think about it. Kind of shy about admitting my weight to the whole world!
Comment by N1LUL | 03.14.2012 | 8:22 pm
So is day 1 Wednesday or Thursday? I am signed up and ready to go!!
Ray
Comment by Michael | 03.14.2012 | 8:26 pm
Crap. I’m at the lowest I’ve been in years right now. I’m out.
Good luck with the weight loss, Fatty.
Comment by Mike from Melbourne | 03.14.2012 | 8:28 pm
I’m in. I’m racing Ironman Melbourne next week so I hope that helps to shed a few pounds.
Comment by Jenni | 03.14.2012 | 8:31 pm
oooooh, I’m too tired to reread all those details but I think I’m in.
Comment by Bryce | 03.14.2012 | 9:30 pm
I am in. Can I start with what I weighed before I ate last (Monday at noon)? I’ve had the flu since and haven’t eaten anything solid in 57 hours and counting. Not the kind of weightloss I’ve been imagining, but it is a start to LOTOJA ‘12 climbing goals and a finish under 11 hours!
I am in!
Comment by AKChick55 | 03.14.2012 | 10:22 pm
I’m in!!! Yay! Can you please, please, please, please add some worn out clothing autographed by you, your kids, and the Hammer? Or a pair of The Hammer’s old running shoes autographed?? PLEASE?! Or your sister’s artwork? I love Lance, I do, but I’d LOVE to have something autographed by you and/or The Hammer. Please?
Hopefully, by doing this, I’ll be able to lose some of the weight I gained since Austin. So disappointing! I have a summer full of bike charity events and it would be nice to not have to haul so much weight up the hills and into the headwinds!
Comment by AKChick55 | 03.14.2012 | 10:30 pm
@christopher stephens LIVESTRONG isn’t “funneling” donations to Planned Parenthood (whose mission isn’t abortions, but to help low-income women get low-cost annual exams that can help prevent and catch cervical and uterine cancers and other issues). From what I’ve found, the funds were donated to a specific fund that goes toward providing cancer screenings, not abortions. Holy cow people. Do your homework before making assumptions. >stepping off soapbox now<
Comment by Rumpled/Jim | 03.15.2012 | 1:39 am
So I donated, couldn’t find the link to the actual Fatty page for Boston.
PS Cool on the playroom – most of us just fill those spaces with crap.
Comment by Michael | 03.15.2012 | 5:41 am
Great one! Good luck to you all on the weight lost, thought i am not so fat.
I dunno, Sir Spamalot. From here it looks like you could lose a few pounds. And also, if you want to advertise on my site, pay for it (hence, your URL removed from your comment). – FC
Comment by Andrew (From Sydney) | 03.15.2012 | 6:24 am
I’m in, started the year (Mid Jan) at 263.45lbs now at 232.8lbs, obviously can loose a few more. This 4 weeks is not bad timing for me.
BTW Fatty I am riding the tour de hills http://www.tourdehills.com.au/rider/421/ helping https://www.tourdehills.com.au/hear-the-children/ .
Why am I telling you this? I bought a fat cyclist Jersey a couple of years ago, by the first of April I am going to be small enough to wear it comfortably on the bike, so there is a fat cyclist unveiling coming up soon. Wonder how many comments I’ll get.
Comment by Laguna Bum | 03.15.2012 | 6:57 am
I’m going to buy avocado and egg white futures. I betting on a supply issue.
That is probably a very astute financial move. – FC
Comment by KM | 03.15.2012 | 7:44 am
Hmmmm, I’m 85% sure I’m in. I’ve been losing weight for the past couple of weeks but I’ve hit a plateau this past week. A contest with the potential for goodness might be just what I need. But I’m going to complain, you’re a bit under my desired race weight. I tip the scales normally @ 190ish and race @ 180-175lbs. That’s just not fair I tell ya!!!
Comment by Jenn | 03.15.2012 | 9:11 am
Unrelated to anything in this post or subsequent thread, I wore my sunglasses outside of my helmet straps today, but I STILL don’t know why. Someone?? Anyone?? Bueller? Bueller??
Comment by leroy | 03.15.2012 | 10:19 am
I may have to enter.
I just have to make sure to weigh myself when my dog isn’t around.
He swears he didn’t put his paw on the scale, but I don’t trust him. The number just seems too high.
Maybe I’ll enter him too.
Comment by theRunt | 03.15.2012 | 11:12 am
While trying not to be disrespectful in your living room I have to say that I agree with Christopher. It’s unfortunate that a great organization such as Livestrong has decided to put their foot into the abortion debate. For myself there are certain lines that you just don’t cross and giving money to the nation’s largest abortion provider is one of them. If the Aryan Nation had “a specific fund that goes toward providing cancer screenings” I still would be upset if Livestrong gave them money. I’m not saying you shouldn’t raise money for them (Livestrong, not the Aryan Nation), I just hope that they think better of this policy in the future and I’ll let them know my thoughts as well.
(Submitted with fear and trembling that I may be added to Fatty’s s**t list)
You may as well know that when it came to light that Komen withdrew funding of cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, I emailed Doug Ulman at LiveStrong, asking what he would think of me starting a fundraiser to cover that gap; I hated the thought of women w/o means not having access to cancer screenings. Doug let me know they already had a plan in place that I would find out about the following morning. So: in this case, LiveStrong is absolutely aligned with my own thinking. Indeed, the more I know about LiveStrong and the better I get to know the people there, the more I support them and the more I want to work to help them help others fight cancer.
- FC
Comment by None Given | 03.15.2012 | 11:58 am
Livestrong is your albatross. Move on. I think there are a lot of readers, maybe just some, that will not do anything more with you with them.
The conventional wisdom of outside straps is so they eject more gracefully in the event of a crash. Instead of being held on, to then break in the bridge and poke you in the eye. Or worse. That and they are easier to get on and off to wipe sweat when not crashing.
This is just the first of several fundraisers I will be doing for LiveStrong during the upcoming months. They do good work and I support them. If you do not support them, then go do something good somewhere else. – FC
Comment by leroy | 03.15.2012 | 12:05 pm
Runt –
Analogizing Planned Parenthood to the Aryan Nation is why it is so difficult to have a rational discussion of competing political beliefs in the U.S. There is too much poisonous posturing, even among those with sincerely held opinions.
But more to the point, it’s why complaints about Livestrong’s support for a program that no rational person would regard as controversial are out of place in a cycling blog.
There are plenty of places to air your differences with Livestrong’s decisions, but FC’s living room isn’t one of them.
Don’t get me wrong, even though I obviously disagree with you, I hope you continue to hang out in FC’s living room. I usually learn more talking with folks with whom I disagree than with folks with whom I agree. But it’s FC’s livingroom, not mine and it would be bad manners to monopolize the conversation with this.
Comment by theRunt | 03.15.2012 | 1:00 pm
leroy,
I sincerely apologize for “monopolizing the conversation” with my “poisonous posturing”. Since I’m not a “rational person” I mistakenly thought that I was respectfully voicing my concern about an issue raised by others including Fatty.
I’ll go back to my corner now.
Comment by None Given | 03.15.2012 | 1:37 pm
Seriously, you wanted to stopgap fund Planned Parenthood? From your reader base, here?
That’s a good way to walk the third rail, I suppose. I guess you really have a good handle on the demo of your readers. And I don’t. But had you done that, I do think a significant % of your readers would have scratched their collective heads.
I do think we have grown apart. Miss the cycling. I guess all blogs slowly become political forums, I guess it just takes longer for some than others.
I had a long reply here, but I’ve deleted it because all it served to do was keep the argument going. And I don’t really want to keep this argument going. – FC
Comment by theRunt | 03.15.2012 | 2:07 pm
While we obviously disagree I hope you didn’t read my comments as telling you that you’re a bad person. I’ve been reading your blog for years and have a lot of respect for you. Corny as it may be you’ve made me laugh and you’ve made me cry with your wonderful writing. Thanks for that as well as all the good you’ve done with your fundraising.
Thanks, theRunt. I appreciate that. Let’s use that as a good end to this discussion. – FC
Comment by Haven-KT | 03.15.2012 | 2:12 pm
First off, I’d have to go buy a scale. And I don’t think I want to know THAT much how much I weigh right now! Although, I am losing some weight through my daily power walks with Mom just before lunch– nothing gets you ready for a long afternoon of taxes and payroll like 2.5-3 miles at a brisk pace in rain and wind! :)
I guess my only excuse is that I don’t have a scale. And I can’t donate anything until I get my taxes done. But I’ll be playing along virtually, cheering for all of you who participate!
And lastly: political discussions belong elsewhere. If you don’t like what a particular charity is about, don’t give to them. This is why I’m not so great at fundraising– I see charitable giving as a personal act.
But if you’re going to grandstand and soap box, at least have your facts correct– or at least, know all the facts, both the ones that bolster your opinions and the ones that contradict them.
Anyway. I’m with Fatty on this one, so count me in the demographics. And hey– food? Bikes? Fighting cancer? All good things.
Comment by Get with the Program everyone not the politics | 03.15.2012 | 2:12 pm
WOW!!!
This rubbish about not donating because of Livestrongs commitment to helping disadvantaged women get cancer screening by giving to Planned Parenting because of the abortion thing is really interesting.
It would be like me writing of the American Nation. Despite all of your countries your good intentions you seem to stir up a bit of a mess in the world, everything from economic failure to selective interventions.
Lets keep to the program people, this is about loosing weight ourselves, helping fatty out, and helping others.
Fatty, keep up the good work, sorry to see a great idea and motivator for many to loose weight become a platform for so many others.
Now to go do my weigh-in, interestingly and naively I just went and exercised for an hour before my weigh-in, Im a bit slow like that.
Comment by MickyKes | 03.15.2012 | 2:55 pm
My doctorb (the ‘b’ stands for bargain!) says I need to gain weight. Bummer! This sounds like fun and I wouldn’t mind some prizes. Have fun and lose some lbs all! (and yeah that was simpsons reference.)
Comment by Wife#1 | 03.15.2012 | 3:41 pm
HUGE Livestrong supporter here. ‘Nuff said!
And I will donate $25 to your Boston event Fatty, and I will lose weight alongside you all in April (down 23# since early January with plenty of shrinking left to do) but I am not posting my weight anywhere public, so I’ll stay out of the formal competition and leave the fine prizes for everyone else. :-)
This reminds me though that I need to figure out how to try to get my Andy Shleck 2011 TDF yellow jersey from last year signed. Have to tackle him at one of the US races this year perhaps. Then we’d have that in reserve for one of your contests once year. You could probably rip it from my cold dead hands if the cause was good enough, for something, say like… Livestrong. Or Planned Parenthood. ;-)
Comment by AKChick55 | 03.15.2012 | 4:23 pm
Fatty, I love you. :) You have such class and grace when the people that comment on your blog are rude and dispresctful, hypocritical and don’t do their research. And funny too… “hey Sir Spam-a-lot.”
I just have to say to the readers of Fatty’s blog, if you don’t like LIVESTRONG, that’s your choice and right. If you follow Fatty, you know that he does support LIVESTRONG as do many of us. This is not the forum to disparage his cause, it’s just not. If you don’t want to participate, don’t. If you don’t like LIVESTRONG, that’s okay. As Fatty said find a cause you believe in and do some good in the world. I’d hazard a guess that Fatty has done more good for more people thanks to his blog and amazing fundraising and writing skills, than most negative commenters. >stepping off soapbox, again<
PS Wife#1 You're awesome!!! Good job on the weight lost. I'm going to post my weight on the off chance I can pester Fatty enough to donate something of his signed, or The Hammer's old running shoes signed by her…or maybe Chris Horner's lovely wife will read this and donate something of Chris (other than socks). :) If that happened and I won it, I'd share with you.
Comment by Fletch | 03.15.2012 | 4:52 pm
I’m in, despite ripping the tendons in my shoulder skiing last weekend. I have just turned 39 and I weigh more than ever before in my life! I was doing ok before I broke my back last year – bring it on fatty!
Comment by ricky | 03.15.2012 | 5:55 pm
fatty, it is nice to see that i am not the only one who gets morbidly obese over the winter months. i’d wager, by the time the second saturday in august rolls around, more than one person will have inquired whether or not we have been battling an extended illness. early august last year, my wife told me, “you look like crap.” it was the nicest thing she ever said to me. ;)
Comment by Doug (Way Upstate NY) | 03.15.2012 | 6:04 pm
I’m in. What the heck. Racing season is coming up and I have goals. Loosing a few pounds can only help….
Comment by Dave T | 03.15.2012 | 7:58 pm
Way to go Fatty. Raise money for a good cause and lose some weight, I’m in. I’m hopping to drop 20 by June in time for the LiveStrong ride in Davis. This should provide a nice start.
Comment by Wife#1 | 03.15.2012 | 10:23 pm
An OPEN LETTER TO CHRIS HORNER’S WIFE
On behalf of the tens of thousands of women (okay 2 that I know of for sure, we are seriously formidable) who follow Fatty’s blog and also adore your husband in a strictly-platonic-just because-he’s-a-kickass-American-cyclist-who-is-peaking-rather-than-waning-as-he-approaches-40 kind of way, we would like to humbly request that you consider making a donation of some fun and fairly random item of Chris’ for this contest to benefit Livestrong.
I can guarantee that it will significantly increase the donations Fatty gets!!!
Okay guarantee is probably an oversell, if not outright hyperbole, but AKChick and I will definitely kick in more and I suspect that indeed there are many many many many more followers of Fatty who would be wildly enthusiastic for the chance to win a fun Chris Horner item donated by his ultra cool wife.
Thank you for your time.
Wife#1 and AKChick
Comment by Christopher Stephens | 03.16.2012 | 7:27 am
For the record, when LiveStrong made its donation to Planned Parenthood, I contacted Fatty directly asking for his opinion about what I saw as very poor judgement from LS. I never heard back from him, so this is the first time we’ve had the chance to hear his thoughts. I think LS misjudged the reaction from many of what are now their former supporters (no more yellow band on my wrist, after, what, six years?), and it looks like Fatty doesn’t seem to understand why so many people are upset about this. That, or he just thinks we’re all so naive that the whole “it’s a separate fund” argument is legitimate.
I have shifted my fundraising efforts to a local cancer hospital, the one that treated my mother when she had cancer. I’m pretty confident that none of my money will go to support abortion providers (also, for the record, I’m pro-choice, I just loathe PP). LiveStrong has made too many mistakes for me to support them any longer.
Good luck. I’m sure the hospital will benefit greatly from your help. – FC
Comment by iRide | 03.16.2012 | 8:03 am
I can’t stop looking at the photochop. It’s so awful. And funny. The blinding fat guy makes Aldis look like a pinhead.
Comment by MattC | 03.16.2012 | 9:23 am
Ahhhh…..to imagine myself in the middle of that pic….
Comment by owen | 03.16.2012 | 10:02 am
Hey Fatty – after reading some of these comments I bet it feels like the “final 5 miles” you blogged about a few days ago. Fight on Fatty and push on right thru the finish line and keep going you are doing great work with great people!
Comment by Shep | 03.16.2012 | 10:06 am
I’m in. As both a survivor of and a person who has lost more than his share of family and friends to cancer, I would be in regardless. But the fact that I need to shed about 40 pounds is quite the motivation as well. Good luck to everyone who’s competing, I look forward to it. Have a great weekend and remember, cookies are meant to be eaten…often.
Comment by Laura S | 03.16.2012 | 10:33 am
Wow! I am fortunate to have lost my weight at this point so I’m out of the contest but after reading all the comments I just wanted to say – go Fatty! Great to see someone sticking by their principles with such grace. And not to start the debate up again, but I since my impression is that it’s human nature to respond more frequently when you disagree than when you agree, I just wanted to say that I agree with you re: Livestrong’s support of Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening program.
Comment by AKChick55 | 03.16.2012 | 2:01 pm
@Christopher Stephens Good on you for supporting your local hospital! I think that is awesome. This is a free country and we can support whoever we want. I would ask that you respect Fatty and keep your opinions about LIVESTRONG to yourself in this particular forum. We respect your opinion, but please, you know where a lot of us stand and you know where Fatty stands when it comes to supporting LIVESTRONG. I can’t stand Komen, but if LIVESTRONG decided to donate to a particular program of theirs, I might disagree with it, but I KNOW LIVESTRONG and would still support them. I vet my causes pretty thoroughly and LIVESTRONG is a top-notch organization.
Wife#1: SQUEEE! What a wonderfully worded request!Hopefully, the beautiful Megan will see your plea (our plea!) and see if she can find something. I’m not sure where Chris is and how feasible this is for him at the moment, but hopefully, they can come through. If not, I’m sure there will be another contest where they could throw something in the ring. So sad he JUST missed winning the Tirreno-Adriatico. Sad day! Also love it that he is getting STRONGER not losing fitness as he gets a little older. LOVE IT! Also, he’s just about the sweetest and nicest guy out there on the racing circuit as well as funny too. All that is strictly platonic cause I’m married to one of the most wonderful and gorgeous men on the planet. :)
Thanks for having my back, AKChick55, as well as the many others of you who have kind words for me and the work I do (along with those of you who are able to disagree civilly). – FC
Comment by Christopher Stephens | 03.16.2012 | 5:48 pm
@AKChick55 – I should keep my opinions to myself? Isn’t the whole point of a Comment section on a blog so that readers can express their opinions? LiveStrong did something really stupid, something that many donors would not approve of, and I feel there is nothing wrong with letting this audience know about it, in case they missed it. This should be a big deal, and it’s something that Fatty, who has used his followers to raise, literally, millions for LS should have addressed (the way he did the Outside magazine expose) and didn’t. Shame on him for trying to sweep this scandal under the rug, and shame on you for trying to suppress any dissent on this site. In the words of Fatty, “not cool”.
So, just to make sure, is there anyone at this point who does NOT have a thorough understanding of Christopher’s position? If so, please indicate as such in the comments, so he can explain some more. Otherwise, Christopher, I’m pretty sure you can consider your work here done. – FC
Comment by Susan | 03.17.2012 | 6:26 am
Since I am sitting in FC’s virtual living room while participating in a conversation, I’d like to simply say thank you for all you do. Someone’s living room isn’t an appropriate place to have a political disaggreement/discussion, and if I want to debate Livestrong or Komen’s choices of programs, I should definitely do it elsewhere. Great Job, FC, and thanks!
Comment by Michael | 03.17.2012 | 11:19 am
Sheesh. I guess I need to change my posting name since you have a spammer using it now … Hmm … what weird alias should I use next?
Comment by Steve Campbell | 03.17.2012 | 11:37 am
@Christopher Stephens Sorry, but you’ll never convince me that providing funds to help more women get cancer screening is stupid or wrong or a scandal.
Comment by esteefatty | 03.18.2012 | 10:29 am
Thanks for all you do Fatty. Thanks for what we all do as Fatty Nation. 190 lbs Friday and hopefully counting down.
Comment by Jesse | 03.18.2012 | 5:24 pm
I can’t participate in the weight loss contest. But as someone who had a pre-cancerous mass removed by Planned Parenthood when I had a temporary job and very limited health insurance, I definitely appreciate what they do and appreciate your support.
Thanks again, Fatty.
Comment by AKChick55 | 03.19.2012 | 11:21 am
Fatty, I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I will always have your back whether it be the 170+lb or the skinny little 150+ lb. ;-) You are a rockstar!
@Susan Woot! I couldn’t have said it better than you!
@Jesse Whew! So thankful you had the services of Planned Parenthood to assist in your time of need! That’s awesome!