TIVERTON, R.I. (AP) — A 560-pound Indiana man biking across the United States to lose weight hit a snag in Rhode Island.
The Newport Daily News reports a bent rim on Eric Hites’ bicycle has kept him in Tiverton since late last week, 90 miles from where his ride began in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Newport Bicycle is outfitting Hites, who lives in Danville, Ind., with a new bike that can withstand his weight.
.@hites75 with his new bike that will get him to the Pacific ocean thanks to @NewportBicycle. pic.twitter.com/LXcTOkipAg
— Kyle DuBreuil (@TheNamesKyle) July 22, 2015
In two weeks on the road, the 40-year-old says he’s lost 60 pounds.
Hites, who currently wears size 70 pants and a 10X T-shirt, says he’s always been a big person. He weighed 300 pounds when he graduated from high school in Indiana, but could still run 5 miles with no issues then.
He hopes to lose hundreds of pounds and gather material for a second book.
He previously authored a humorous cookbook entitled “Everybody Loves Ramen,” which includes 50 recipes he developed in college.
You can follow his journey on his website, Fat Guy Across America.