Phat Boy treks across U.S.
By Kaleigh Maher, staff writer 
Posted on November 9, 2006

Bob Carter will be pedaling three months and 3,500 miles for a purpose that isn’t exercise.

The 1984 JMU grad will cross nine states while towing his chocolate lab, Brandy, in a trailer behind him to raise money and support for the High Sierra Foundation’s Katrina Relief Fund.

The High Sierra Foundation was created to aid organizations related to music, art, education and social justice. There is a special fund to help those affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, especially the New Orleans music community.

“I want to help keep the music alive in New Orleans,” Carter said. “I really believe that if the music is taken out of New Orleans, that city will die. It just will not be a city that people want to go to.”

Carter’s Pedal with Purpose campaign has gathered musicians behind him like long-time friend and three-time Grammy-winning artist, Futureman, of Bela Fleck  and the Flecktones, who is the official celebrity spokesperson for the project.

Futureman said he thinks Carter is crazy for riding a bike cross country, but he supports the cause and the attention Carter is bringing to it.

“By continuing to talk about [Katrina relief], it keeps the attention to where it needs to be. It’s not just a headline,” Futureman said. “When Bob does something like this, it gives the cause legs and gives it a way to live.”

Carter’s goal is to raise $250,000 for the High Sierra Foundation. He began the “Give Five, Keep the Music Alive” campaign encouraging everyone to give $5 or any donation with the number five in it.

While pedaling for a purpose, Carter also hopes to promote healthy lifestyles. Currently, Carter clocks in at around 300 pounds. In his 100 days of riding, he hopes to lose 100 pounds.

“I may be a ‘phat’ boy riding,” Carter said. “But I will be a skinny man arriving.”
Carter plans to ride 50 miles a day, which would take him across the country in 70 days.

“I have been amazed how once I made the decision to do this, all of a sudden all the donations, everything, started happening,” Carter said.

Greenspeed, manufacturers of recumbent bikes, donated a GTO recumbent trike called a “tadpole.” The bike, which reclines, has two wheels in the front and one in the back. The trike that Carter will be riding is valued at more than $5,000.

The Pedal with Purpose kickoff will take place Nov. 14 at the Silver Comet Fountain in Atlanta after the final shakedown ride from Tybee Island, Ga. In addition, Futureman will be performing.

Carter hopes to arrive in San Francisco approximately three months later.

Carter views his ride as analogous to that of Tom Hanks in the movie “Forrest Gump,” who started running by himself and was joined by hundreds of others.

“I’m just a normal guy,” Carter said. “I’m not a Grammy-winning artist, not a real famous person doing this, just a normal guy who lives in Atlanta, graduated from JMU and saw a need and thought about what I can do to make a difference.”

Donations can be made at www.phatboyriding.com and Carter’s trip journal will also be on the site.