A Cross-Country Move Helped This Cyclist Lose 177 Pounds
Age: 27
Occupation: Full-Time Graduate Student
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Start Weight: 340 pounds
End Weight: 163 pounds
Time Cycling: Five years
My start with cycling is just like everybody else’s story—as a kid, I’d ride around on my bike in the neighborhood. I was born and raised in Kuwait, and it was extremely hot for most of the year, so it wasn’t a great environment for riding.
When I moved to the United States in 2013, I was excited to get into riding again, but I found that the hot and humid conditions were also not the best for riding. Then, I moved to Minnesota, but it’s freezing there most of the year. I wanted to buy a bike and get into cycling, but my environment didn’t want me to do that.
In 2015, I moved to Portland to attend college at Portland State University—and I also weighed around 340 pounds. I purchased a cheap hybrid bike, and I’d bike up to school from my home, which was about a mile and a half, uphill. When I started, I’d actually walk my bike up the hill because I couldn’t complete the ride, and then bomb down the hill back to my house. I kept doing that for a couple months, until I finally managed to bike all the way to the university.
From there, I increased my riding incrementally month by month—I was just biking nonstop. A couple months after successfully completing the mile-and-a-half hill climb, I did my first 25-miler. I now realize that the ride is completely flat and one of the easiest rides in Portland, but it was a huge struggle for me at the time.
As I increased my mileage over the year, I realize that I just dumped all of this weight off. That was never the plan or the goal—I ride because I love it—but it was one of the side benefits of riding all the time.
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Eventually, I got to the point where I was open to exploring the outer reaches of Portland by bike. I had a few friends that I’d been regularly riding with and learning from, so I was ready to take the leap and go more than 25 miles. I cleared my schedule and packed a backpack with some PB&J sandwiches.
I also finally decided to—with some guidance—invest in bibs and Lycra. And it was around this time I noticed my clothes were getting bigger and baggier. I used to wear XXXL, and yeah, I think all those clothes have been donated. I have nothing left from my previous lifestyle.
By 2018, I managed to get all the way down to 200 pounds, all thanks to being immersed in the cycling community. The turning point of my weight loss—and my riding— was right around summer of 2018. I began maxing out my efforts and even went on a trip all the way to Bend from Portland, which is around 225 miles, in one day. Once I realized I was at that level, I was like “Okay, I’ve made it.” The fact that a ride like that didn’t seem impossible when I look at myself from three or four years ago and what a feat a 25-mile flat ride was.
Now, looking at Strava, I’m averaging around 220 miles a week and 15 hours of riding. Last year was my best year ever. I rode over 8,000 miles, traveled to a couple places, and did some bikepacking in Washington and eastern Oregon.
Now I’m really interested in long milage and long-distance rides, and I tend to do one longer-mileage ride a week. I ride at least 100 miles a week just because it feels good.
As for eating, I still eat—I think—as much as I used to back when I was at my heaviest, but the types of food I’m consuming are different. Now I ride to eat and eat to ride. This means I eat more fruits and veggies and less fast food. Now I cook and eat most of my food at home. Along with maxing out my efforts in 2018 and clicking with riding, I also think I really started to pay attention to food. Around then, I transitioned into a master’s degree, which gave me more freedom and allowed me to focus on my diet to become healthier.
I don’t eat as much meat as I used to and eat tons of fresh veggies. I fully immersed myself into the mentality of Portland, keeping it local and fresh.
Another thing that really changed my mentality about the cycling world was the cycling community in Portland. There’s a shop at PSU called the PSU Bike Hub, which is a DIY bike shop for students and faculty members to walk in and work on their bikes and get help and training from staff. I even worked there for a few months last year.
Now, I consider myself a long-distance and adventure rider. I went from not knowing how to change a flat to not having to worry about breaking my bike because I can take it to the shop and have access to all the tools I need. Through working there have learned a lot about fixing bikes.
As for future plans, my friend and I biked to Bend last year and shuttled back, but are thinking about doing a bikepacking trip and turning that into a 500 mile ride. Another big trip I’d like to do is ride on the Cowboy Trail in Washington.
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