come for the cycling humor...

...stay for the poignant medical drama and love story.

i began reading the fat cyclist blog quite some time ago. i don't remember how i found it, but i stumbled across it somehow. it was hilarious. the author, fatty (elden), does a great job of writing up his cycling adventures and poking fun at the dorkiness of bike riders of all kinds. even heath, with his minimal familiarity with cycling and its mini culture, has found a number of his posts entertaining.

a great proportion of his posts are humorous, but there is a subset that focuses on the events surrounding his wife's battle with cancer. it's touching and heartbreaking and so raw and real to read about the challenges and fears and joys and ways of coping as they go through this illness. the family's strength is amazing. fatty's experiences are real and vivid. he admits that he needs escape from the situation sometimes, which he gets through mountain biking, he admits the guilt he feels, he admits his fears and celebrates small victories. his wife, susan, was in remission when i started reading the blog. she has since had a relapse, and things are not looking good. they have recently had a pretty significant scare, which is what prompted me to post this. last night's post was so touching, it brought tears to my eyes. definitely worth checking out if you have a few minutes.