A California comedian has become the first known person to bike across the U.S. from coast to coast on a 20-inch BMX.
Sebastian Fowler, 31, pedaled 3,333 miles from San Diego to New York in just 80 days, with no support vehicle, no training and one pair of Vans slip-ons. His top goal: “Raise enough money to buy 100 BMX bicycles for underprivileged children and teens who can use BMX for good,” he said on a fundraising page.
“I believe I’m the first person to have done that in the U.S.,” he noted, news agency SWNS reported.
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“It took 80 days to get from San Diego to New York City on a BMX bike.”
Turns out there’s a deeply personal reason he chose his method of travel.
After losing his father, drummer John Fowler, as a young teenager, BMX became an escape for him, he said – a way to cope with grief and hardship.
“I’ve been riding BMXs since I was five or six,” he said. “It was my reprieve as a teenager who had lost a parent. My mom didn’t have money and she was taking care of four kids by herself.”
It’s why Fowler launched his fundraiser to provide BMX bikes to kids who can’t afford them, with a goal of raising $30,000 to purchase 100 bikes.
“I just wanted to help some kids, because I was that kid once,” he said.
Known as “Seabass” to friends and fans, Fowler set out in late February with 60 pounds of gear strapped to his frame, including a hammock, sleeping bag, hatchet, knife and a short baseball bat – the latter to help deal with the roughly 45 dogs that chased him along the way, according to SWNS.
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He slept wherever he could: behind dumpsters, in flash-flood tunnels, in the open desert. “I had no follow car, no buddy – just me out there with my thoughts and my little bike,” he said, as SWNS noted.
Fowler, who lives in Ocean Beach, California, said that in addition to raising money for children, he figured he’d turn his grueling ride into a stand-up tour.
Along the route, he performed in six cities, culminating in a performance on “Kill Tony,” the popular Netflix stand-up series hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe and Brian Redban.
“Then the next day I rode 70 miles and went on the biggest comedy show in the world,” he said of finally getting on stage in Austin, Texas — where he also met guest Joe Rogan.
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The night before, however, he’d been stalked by mountain lions on a dark Texas road, SWNS reported.
“It was the first time I’d ever called the police,” Fowler said.
A dispatcher told him to calm his heart rate or risk being seen as prey — and an officer eventually dropped him off at a 7-Eleven, where he spent the night behind a dumpster.
“I did very little preparation. I basically just rode my bike around town,” he said, per SWNS.
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“When it actually started, I was like, ‘Good Lord, what have I got myself into.'”
But over time, he found his rhythm, he said, averaging 45 miles a day in the beginning and eventually pushing 65.
“It’s tough and had its moments of struggle, but I’m really glad I persevered,” Fowler told SWNS.
“I mean, what was I going to do? Turn around and pedal home?”
Fowler ended his journey in May with a visit to his father’s grave in Connecticut before flying home to San Diego.
“It felt like my dad was flying above my shoulder and keeping me safe on my trip,” he said.
To date, he’s raised over $9,000 for children who need bikes.
He wrote on his fundraising page, “Even though I am back in San Diego, the fight is far from over! Now it’s time to get these bikes to these kids! We still have a long way to go to meet our goal — I know we can do it, though!”
He added, “That reminds me of a quote my dad used quite often: ‘A little goes a long way!’ Thank you so much!”
