August 25, 2016
Some time ago the inspiring story of Ernest Gagnon (Blog, Facebook, Strava) captured my attention. Ernest (570 lbs/258 kg as of April 2010) is fighting to loose weight by riding his bike on a regular basis and even participating in Cyclocross races. I followed him from the distance on Strava ever since to support his fight idealistically by hitting the Kudos button for his efforts.
Today, Ernest added an activity on Strava titled My last strava posting. In the comments, Ernest explains why he seems decided to quit cycling for good and end his fight.
been a really hard few months, lost lots of friends to new jobs moving and all that, been really hard to find people to ride with, and i cant ride alone for medcial and mental reasons, No sponsorship anymore, so i have zero money to spend on races and on going to races now. and i really truly feel alone, im trying to reach out to new people to ride with in the boston area and nothing :(.. i cry a ton these days.. I feel like im alone back where i started before cycling, and yeah..
I feel like that i be doing a service to the cycling world getting out of it.. Feel like no one cares if im around or to help me with this road im on, ive heard few things from people and they dont like dealing with my aniexty or im just too slow.. There are tons fo people to ride with in the boston area, guess the idea of helping someone like me has worn off or they are tired of me so.. Yeah time for me to move on and make the people happy.. I dont have any rides planned from this point forward, so maybe its best.. Im trying to reach out, but dont think its going to change..
also i want to be me, and i feel like if i try to be me people hate me.. and yeah.. im eaching out for help to you all cuz i dont wanna stop.. but i need the help and so far ..............................
im struggling mentally, physically, and money wise. i work full time and struggling to keep things going.. so many health bills, and ive got some help but man i keep having issues wiht my bike, and then issues with my heath, and im behind on everything, and when i think i get close to getting ahead, something huge comes up.. I mean for real, i dont even have money to buy cross tires or tubes.. its mentally so draining this.. you all dont understand how much it helps to meet you all on bikes rocking the spandex and having just a few hours not having all the pressure in the world on me.. Im alone fighting alone and just having a few moments in time to be with someone.. no idea how much that means
u know what it is, been riding now for a long time, and to this day, i almost ever get anyone locally to ask me to ride.. not once has anyone been like "hey ernest you wanna ride with me or us?" im always asking.. and i dont wanna keep asking if people dont wnat me around..
I dont wanna breaks anyones heart, Just im not happy, im really struggling in so many ways, i mean i fear rides now because im not sure if the person im riding with will ride with me again.. and just the tip of so much other crap going on ya know.
It seems pretty clear what Ernest needs. Ernest lives in Boston/MA, USA. If you happen to live close to him, please invite him to a bike ride. You can reach him by email via erniegagnon@gmail.com. There is also a Paypal account attached to that email.