Fat Tire Bike Challenge for Mental Health

The 100 Mile Fat Tire Bike Challenge. A challenge I created for myself that I have been dreaming to take on for the last couple of years. Some of y'all that have been following my journey, TheRideWithJR, have seen me take on some challenging gravel rides in Texas and Colorado. Recently my story was featured in a documentary alongside two other athletes, called The Meaning of The Ride , which is featured on Outside Magazine's website.

June is Men's Mental Health month. For me, every month is Mental Health Month and how can I bring more Mental Health awareness for everyone. I take one's Mental Health serious. Next month it will be 8 years since I have lost my brother to suicide. "I can't lose another son." - my mom's words to me when I arrived to my parents house to find out my brother was gone. As my story goes a couple of years after losing my brother, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. My mother's words rang through my head, "I can't lose another son." At that moment, I did something about it. I weighed over 430 lbs at that time. Took up rucking (walking with a backpack with weights in it) then got into cycling by accident. If you want you can learn more in the documentary . My goal is to not only push myself, but to encourage others along the way. If I can help at least one person to make it to the next day, then every thing I'm doing is worth it.

I need a challenge. My own world got shook up towards the end of 2023. Haven't been able to ride and train like I have been for the last couple of years. Set back after set back. "Life got in the way" if you know what I mean. Got rear-ended in an auto accident which didn't help my situation at all. I can shovel a lot of excuses one on top of the other, but at the end of the day it's up to you to make the change. You have got to want the change. You have to put the effort in to make that change happen. So here we go.

Let's ride a Fat Tire Bike for 100 miles. Now, I have done several 100-mile rides on my gravel and road bikes, but nothing on a bike that has 4.5" wide tires. I had never been on a Fat Tire Bike in my life up until a couple of weeks ago when I bought the bike, in order to do this charity ride. On the gravel and road bikes, I can at times average 15 mph+ for 100 miles. Recently testing out the Fat Tire Bike, I was able to get an average of almost 11 mph, but my heart rate was more than twice than normal bike riding. That was also for only 20 miles. I'm also more than 6 months behind in my training, which just adds to this challenge. For a better perspective riding a gravel and/or road bike, I can get a 100 miles ride in 8 hours, which includes breaks and a coffee stop. I'm estimating that to get 100 miles in on the Fat Tire Bike, it is going to take me at least 14 hours averaging 9 mph with breaks. Two possible coffee shop stops for cortados. The real difference for me between the gravel/Road Bikes and the Fat Tire Bike is the amount of power & energy that it takes to pedal the bigger wider tires. It's no joke.

So I can't think of a better way to jump back in the fight and do some good while at it. So, with your help, I want to raise money for Mental Health America of Greater Houston . Mental Health America of Greater Houston's mission statement :

"Empower the community through mental health education, advocacy, and connection to care." MHA of Greater Houston also works with our Veterans . Did you know that Houston is home to over 280,000 Veterans? I did not. Please take a moment and go to https://mhahouston.org/ to learn more.

Keep Pedaling

I'm asking for $10 a mile to get to a goal of at least $1,000. Every dollar raised will go to MHA of Greater Houston. Reaching a fundraising goal of $1,000 isn't all I'm looking to achieve with your support, I'm hoping you will get encouraged to get moving. Get off the couch. If you already go on walks, add two more blocks to your routine. Riding? Keep pedaling a little bit further. Let's push ourselves. Lets get others moving as well. Call that friend and check on them. Ask them to join you for coffee and plan an outdoor activity to do together.

I will be updating more along with when and where I'll be riding. I am also looking for a way that everyone can track me while I take on this challenge.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all this and your continue support. Set goals for yourself. Never give up. Keep pedaling. Pedal it out when it gets tough. Be the light in dark times. You are not alone.

Jonathan "J.R." Cohen