Too fat for a cheap electric bike.
A little over a year ago my husband and I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of the difficulties that came with such a big move I expected.
We don’t own a car, but I’m used to relying on the bus… except we moved to a really bad neighborhood. I didn’t expect the druggies, prostitutes, and thugs that like to hang out at our corner bus stop. I didn’t count on how uncomfortable I’d be going out by myself.
I’ve been trying to come up with a creative solution to being trapped in the house. My most recent plan was to see if I could buy an electric bike or scooter. I thought maybe I could squeeze a couple hundred dollars out of the budget. Sadly, my excitement was short lived.
After some research, I found out that at almost 350 pounds I’m too fat for a cheap electric bike or scooter. The following is what I found on Amazon:
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If I had an extra $1,000 I would just get myself a used motorcycle and that would solve all my problems (since I already have a motorcycle license). Given a year or two I could probably even save up $1,000, but that doesn’t help me NOW.
This isn’t one of those posts where I’m faulting someone. I’m just expressing my frustration at being fat and poor. My current plan is to buy a treadmill. At least that way I won’t be stuck ON MY ASS in the house.
Not having money means I get the privilege of being an artist and I don’t have to fight with my health in order to work and I’m grateful for that… but sometimes I kinda wish I could be a little more middle class. Sometimes I wish I was fat and financially comfortable.
I feel your pain. Nicholas Perkins had a great post on a similar topic. It’s frustrating when we just don’t fit in this world. I understand the logistics of engineering for larger people is difficult, but it seems like companies should start doing it since 2/3 of their customers are overweight.
I hope you find a decent (and affordable) solution to your problem.
Peace,
Shannon
Ugh! I know. I’ve been wanting to get an elliptical machine so we could do some easy cardio in the house when it starts getting cold and dark early. (Our neighborhood is not good enough for me to go on walks after work in the dark, even with my giant scary dog.) But all the inexpensive ones have low weight limits which means we’d destroy it pretty fast.
Same problem with non electric bikes.
shinobi42 -
I had a pedal exerciser that I broke after a year use and I’m pretty sure it’s becasue I was just too heavy but I just went ahead and replaced it. It only cost me $25 and it lasted a year and I actually used it on a regular basis, so I figure it was worth it.
And, yeah, I’ve totally gone through the experience of tearing up non electric bikes. I even wrote a piece for associated content about my experiences. (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1331085/ten_lessons_in_buying_bicycles_for.html?cat=27)
Check out freecycle (if there’s one in your area), sometimes people are getting rid of things like that, and you can always put an ad on there requesting whatever you’re looking for. Craigslist is another good source to check for inexpensive transportation that’s for sale. If your husband has the time, maybe one day when he’s not working, both of you could take the bus and check out some bike stores and see if they have anything affordable - they might have some used electric bikes that would work. I’d check out the yellow pages and make some phone calls before trekking all over town, though, especially if I had to use mass transit and had to navigate an area with unsavory characters to get to mass transit. You can also check online to see what bike shops there are in the area and what they have to offer, if they have websites.
Hope this helps.
I hear you; we’re so broke right now I barely have bus money nevermind pay the rent, bills or actually SAVE for anything. It can’t be done. I wish you the best of luck in finding a solution to your transportation woes.
JeninCanada -
Commiseration city here. I’m so tired of having to give up things that I used to think were essentials. I just keep hoping the economy will get better. Luckily the husband and I don’t fight about money. We’re very us against the world in that way. Otherwise I would be much more miserable.
Uh, you need an electric powered bike why? Why not use your own power? You wouldn’t need that expensive/space-eating treadmill, you’d get out of the house and you’d lose a lot of weight darn quick.
It irks me that people look for the complex, low-effort solution when the simpler, cheaper, healthier one is right there. Bikes are the least costly, easiest means of getting healthy you’ll ever find.
Chad -
It urks me when people jump to conclusions and pass judgment. So I guess we BOTH get a chance to look down on someone. Lucky us.
Chad, not everyone lives in a place where it’s safe or reasonable to use a bike for transportation. For instance, are things called “traffic” and “weather” that often create dangerous riding conditions. Look them up on Wikipedia or something.
Also, I’ve been using exercise bikes for years-the school I’m attending lets me use their workout room for free. And guess what? It hasn’t made me any thinner. Stronger, sure, and probably healthier, but no thinner.
Guess I need to lay off the baby-flavored donuts or something.
*eyeroll*
Chad,
If I thought for a second that you were interested in an answer, I’d ask Elizebeth to explain further. However, your question of why she needs an electric bike is rhetorical. Whatever we said wouldn’t matter because you’ve already made up in your mind what this means.
A better way to be confrontational is to simply say, “Excuse me, I’m just curious why you would prefer an electric bike to a peddle bike?” Sit back, wait for the answer, and if she says, “Because I’m a lazy fuck,” THEN go batshit crazy and try and shame her. At least then you wouldn’t look like a complete asshole.
I know Elizebeth well and you don’t. I can tell you with absolute certainty that you are an ignorant fuck and unless you switch from trigger-happy troll to legitimate, respectful opposition, you’re not gonna last long here.
We have an asshole rule on Fierce Fatties — I only delete comments if five people tag you an asshole. And I gotta tell ya, you’re skating damn near the asshole line.
We welcome questions, we do not welcome accusations. Get your shit together and return with the proper tone.
Peace,
Shannon
Chad - It’s really none of your business why she wants an electric bike/scooter instead of a regular bike. It’s my guess that, living in the San Francisco Bay area, there are a lot of hills to navigate, and some of those hills are quite steep. Tell you what, Chad, why don’t you go there and ride a bike up and down those hills, carrying books/groceries/whatever, then come back and let us know how easy it is and how you didn’t get winded at all and your legs didn’t burn and ache because you didn’t have that back-up electric motor to help you out. Because I can guarantee that unless you train to ride hills every day, that’s going to cause you problems (I know this because when I was a skinny kid, I had a paper route that had a couple of steep hills I had to ride up in order to deliver papers, and even though I rode those damned hills every day, I still got winded, my legs still ached and burned at the top of them, and sometimes I said to hell with it and walked my bike up those hills, and they were only a couple of blocks long).
I totally empathize with your problem, having purchased several exercise-type items in the past and coming up against the weight limit thing. It sucks! I’m “fortunate” enough (not sure about using that word, tho) to weigh close to the 250# limit (sometimes a little over/sometimes a little under) that I just go for it and hope for the best. I don’t have any answers, just the same question I always have; i.e., why in the Hell don’t they make this stuff for fat people? So I guess I’m just commiserating with your plight-I do hope you find a workable solution, as being scared all the time trying to maneuver the public transport system isn’t exactly good for body or mind. And for the record, Chad? Yep, you’re an asshole.
CollieMom01 -
You know what’s funny? I don’t mind being on the bus.
It’s the drunks that hang out in front of the liquor store. And the druggies that are camped out on the bus bench. And the the crazy homeless lady that hangs out in front of the church and always wants to talk to me about aliens. And the thugs ridding around on their bikes and giving me the hairy eye. I’ve had more random strangers yell at or around me since we moved here than in my entire life.
Once I’m on the bus I’m fine. I’ve always taken the bus. It’s just this neighborhood. We plan to move as soon as possible but making that happens takes time.
At the risk of being attacked, as a resident of the Sunset section of San Fran I wonder why you didn’t realize where you were re-locating? When we relocated from Washington we researched the neighborhoods. There are lots of safe areas that aren’t ridiculously expensive and it is unfortunate you don’t feel safe in your neighborhood and there are some that really aren’t safe.
Aside from that, even without the weight limit, the electric bike/scooter idea for the price range you were looking at isn’t going to work. The various pavement, tracks and hills in San Fran, require a stronger motor than the ones you listed, so don’t despair over the weight factor.
BART has always provided us with safe, efficient and cost effective transportation. Hope you can find a station nearby.
I understand the need to vent sometimes, but the responses to Chad seem very defensive. Why would it be okay for him to “shame” Elizabeth if she said she was “lazy”? It shouldn’t okay to shame or attack anyone. It is no more right for Chad to insinuate something (you all seem to read something into his question) than it is for you to call him an “ignorant fuck”. I imagine he knows no more about Elizabeth than you know about him.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Kelly -
I’m going to give you the benefit of an explanation, although your question “why you didn’t realize where you were re-locating” is pretty judgmental, becasue I’m not hearing the same dismissiveness that I took from Chad’s comment.
It was a laid off (because of the sluggish economy), had to move right away, took the first cheap place we could get into kinda situation. It sounds like you had time and choices when you relocated from Washington…we did the best we could with a bad situation. (I live in deep east oakland, not SF.)
Ideally we were supposed to find my husband a better job right off the bat such that we could move to a nicer place but once again I have to reference the economy. We’ve never had a problem finding work before, for either my husband or myself, but a year into living here and a smattering of interviews later there hasn’t been a single real bite.
Considering the rate of unemployment amongst my friends, it seems pretty lucky that we have one relatively steady income. Even though it isn’t quite full time. And we don’t have insurance. And we live in a scary neighborhood. So, it does kinda sounds like you and I are in very different financial circumstances (becasue BART is a luxury in my life.)
We had two regular bicycles when we moved here and they got stolen. Back when I lived in Sacramento, I used to use my bicycle all the time. Everything I wanted to do was in a mile of where I lived. But getting a bicycle NOW wouldn’t solve any of my problems becasue with my health problems I don’t have the stamina to bike multiple miles in order to get where I want to go.
With a 15-20 mile radius per charge, an electric bike offers the best of both worlds. I can pedal to get exercise and go further than a couple miles. It’s also good for the environment becasue it doesn’t use gas and cheaper than a car becasue doesn’t require registration fees paid to the DMV.
My mother has an electric bike and she uses it so they only have one car for their household. In the long run, I still want to get an electric bike for all these reasons and more.
But I didn’t reply to chad in order to explain all that becasue I agree with you that his shaming and judgmental behavior shouldn’t be rewarded. I’m PROUD, not ashamed, of deciding to get a treadmill so that I will get some exercise. I’m taking care of myself and if someone’s (ie chad) trying to give me shit becasue I’m not doing thing the way they think I should, I just think they’re not worth my time or energy.
Hi Elizabeth -
I’m sorry to hear of your circumstances - and our family has been there, too. My husband was laid off after working for the same bank for 14 years and was lucky enough to find another position so we didn’t have to move, but his severance was close to running out and we were getting nervous — while eating a lot of soup
Best wishes for you an your husband to find work that you enjoy and can pay the bills so you can find a home where you feel comfortable.
It sounds like you’ve had an awful run of bad luck. I wish you and your husband both the best with your job searches!
Kelly,
You won’t get attacked for asking questions respectfully. I’ll gladly answer the part addressed to me.
First, it wouldn’t be okay for Chad to shame her if she was lazy. I was saying that he should at least try and figure out why she picked the bike before assuming it was because she was lazy. If she then responded that it was because she was lazy, then at least he would have taken the steps to ensure that he was basing his judgments on something other than stereotypes and hatred. I wasn’t saying whether it would be right or wrong to comment on her theoretical laziness, I was merely inviting him to respectfully oppose, and not ignorantly oppose.
Second, “ignorant fuck” is something that can be discerned from Chad’s own words. Is he ignorant? If he believes that “diet” equals “health” then yes, I would say that his opinions are ignorant. Is he a “fuck”? Well, if you post a comment on somebody’s blog saying that Elizebeth’s choice “irks” him because he assumes it’s because Elizebeth doesn’t want to peddle… well, that’s a fucking fucked up thing to say. It irks you? Fine, don’t read and you won’t get irked. Only a fucking fuckwad would complain about being irked by his own assumptions.
We play rough and if someone comes on here looking to pick a fight, we’re going to go on the defensive, absolutely. That doesn’t mean we attack people who disagree with us. You raised some questions about Elizebeth’s situation and our policies, but you did it in a way markedly different from Chad. Read his other comment on the Diet Talk page.
If you’re here to challenge our beliefs respectfully, we welcome you. If you walk in with a swagger and a smirk and expect us to put up with your shit, then you’re going to be sorely disappointed.
We operate on a modified Golden Rule: comment unto others as you would have others comment unto you.
Peace,
Shannon
Ok, I had read this post walk away from it for an hour cause I was so mad about some of the responses to Elizabeth’s blog.
Elizabeth and others, I am gonna hijack your blog for a second, cause there is a moral to the story that corresponds to your blog, so hopefully you will forgive me.
Outside of putting it on CNN most people on here if they read anything I write, which is long and wordy, I am pretty honest about the problems I have had being eating disordered, having complications from a gastric bypass which was reversed one week ago and that’s why I am only responding to this now.
I am beginning to have absolutely no patience for those who make judgements based upon external factors of people. For example I got out of the hospital yesterday, not because I am doing that great, but because of how I cope with things is by moving around a lot and they couldn’t keep me in bed. Literally 2 days after my surgery with a feeding tube in my nose, when I blew my daily IV, I walked 7 blocks to the store to get more smokes(ya can skip the lecture, I have known the dangers of smoking for about 25 years now). By the time I left the hospital yesterday I was having such bad allergic reactions to meds, they couldn’t keep iv’s in me or get blood from me but because I literally was out of bed 90% of the time it was more of a liability for them because I am not so compliant to keep me in the hospital cause I couldnt stay in bed, then for them to discharge me.
So Friday I am zipping around the hospital like I have been and this person who had to be about 50 lbs smaller then me starts jogging up to me to say what a good job I was doing exercising(i had a feeding tube in my nose, iv pole ) I gave her the look of death and walked away because seriously I wanted to kick the shit out of her. I have always moved fast, at my heaviest, at my smallest, I played outside a lot as a kid even though I have made comments of how taunted I was, as a child being one of the fattest kids in kindergarten through high school, no matter how much I moved and I walked everywhere until I got my drivers license at 18.But I also binged and starved as a kid and most of my adult life
Just because I was walking fast on Friday didn’t mean I was exercising, and for her to comment on that, made me fucking want to kill her because you couldn’t miss the intonation of her disbelief that I could move faster then her so I must be exercising to try and lose some of my fat and congrats to me for doing that while being sick in the hospital…
This is where I am going with this, I like to exercise, and while I have health issues that impede how I used to that’s fine. But to assume I am exercising because I am moving fast or that I am exercising at all pissed the shit out of me. For ignorant mean spirited fucks, who are here and are fat phobes like Chad, you cannot tell someone’s lifestyle choices by what they look like or what they weigh. I have lived in dangerous neighborhoods before, if a 90lb meth head wants to take a crack at me, me being fat aint gonna protect me cause I can’t sit on someone if that’s what you are gonna assume cause I am heavier than them, if someone who is a psychopath and or has antisocial tendacies and that’s a risk when you live in a crappy neighborhood that you have little to no choice in the matter. You can’t assume if someone doesn’t exercise why they don’t do it. I know people who have dropped dead of heart attacks who were runners before they were 50. I know people who are 300lbs who walk and run 5k’s. I know people both thin and fat who have serious joint issues that effect their mobility. I have lucked out in the respect that while I have done everything in the past short of swallowing a tapeworm to lose weight that I am now because I have chronic pain issues but I am doing so without dieting. Not everyone who is fat though is eating disordered. If there are so many differing opinions on the causes of obesity in some realms other than the fact we must be eating too much and not moving at all, if doctors and scientists can’t figure out, who the fuck are you to say anything. It doesn’t cost $800 more of metal to make a bike to accommodate people who weigh more than 200 lbs. If Elizabeth and I other people want to be pissed off because we are sick of the assumptions and discrimination for being larger.
Its a shitty economy, I hope things get better for you Elizabeth so you can either move and/or get your bike. I like what you say and how you say it, it’s too bad their isn’t more of a financial reward in being an emotionally,intellectually and mentally wealthy person, you, Simone and Shannon would be zillionaires then…
OM, bikes are to be peddaled! Not have engines!
“OM”? Is that the mantra that you chant when you are meditating? How very relaxing that must be.
“OM. Bikes are to be pedaled not have engines. OOOOOOOOOMMM.”