From alt.obituaries Seems the guy was well known for his unusual choice of cycling garb. I wonder if
it's the local equivalent of b*b sh*rts ?
Aug. 4, 2003, 8:31AM Thong-clad bicyclist's death ruled a suicide Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO -- Authorities said a thong-wearing bicyclist committed suicide when he fell 100 feet to
his death at Big Bend National Park in June.
Joseph Gottschalk, 52, earned the nickname "Thong Man" by showing his buttocks during leisurely bike
rides around San Antonio -- first near his southeast San Antonio home, then into other
neighborhoods.
His death was ruled a suicide Saturday due to "a preponderance of evidence," Brewster County Justice
of the Peace Shirley Williams said in Sunday editions of the San Antonio Express-News.
Gottschalk's naked body was found by passing hikers June 21 below a cliff at Big Bend National Park.
Park rangers found boots and clothes about eight feet from the drop-off, along with about a
half-gallon of water -- enough for a day's hike.
The ponytailed nonconformist had described himself as an unemployed truck driver. He said he wanted
to challenge himself while startling others into examining their shame and their identities.
Three days before his body was found, a friend of Gottschalk's, Norm Billings, said Gottschalk told
him he planned to jump from the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains at the park.
"He said he was getting low on funds and he was going to have to figure out something," said
Billings, 71. "He didn't want to go back to driving a truck. He thought it was too dangerous."
"He said he knew of a place at Big Bend that he could step off and not have any more job worries,"
Billings said. "It certainly wasn't alarming at the time. He was the last person in the world that
you would think would kill himself, the very last. "
An autopsy found no alcohol or drugs in Gottschalk's body.
"He's a lot of person to lose," said his brother, Paul Gottschalk.