Van Meerbeke is described at a young athlete from the New York City area who, Karl Kron (Ten Thousand Miles on a Bicycle, 1887) believed, was born about 1865. He must have been a dedicated cyclist for, although it was not given press coverage at the time, he is thought to have made a round trip ride between New York and Denver in 1885 (Kron, xcvii). Not wishing to cover much of this route again on a transcontinental ride in 1886, he took a southern route west. He began the ride from the New York City Hall at noon on March 1 on a Columbia ordinary with the hope of reaching San Francisco in 150 days.

Steve Vaught, the self-proclaimed "Fat Man Walking," arrived in New York on Tuesday after a nearly 3,000-mile walk across the country to lose weight and find happiness.

After several years working as a presenter and interviewer for BBC Radio 4, Vernon's first travelogue series was Fat Man On A Bicycle. As the title implied, Vernon was obese and the first episode followed the health tests he had to undergo before setting off on his journey, which took him from Muswell Hill to the Mediterranean coast of southern France. He would repeat this journey fifteen years later for the TV series, Fat Man in France.