I apologize for not getting to this sooner. After my Tull buying expedition, I came down with a cold that is still with me and I just haven’t felt like any extended posts.
Patrick did complete his trip by riding into New York over the George Washington Bridge. I accompanied him and will try to write up our experience later today and post it.
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
This is going to be briefer than the subject matter deserves, but here it goes.
On Friday, September 17, 2004 I had the honor and privilege of riding over the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, NJ (my birthplace) into New York City with Patrick Thomas. The crossing was done with little fanfare save for an occasional honk from a passing motorist. I suspect that Patrick was satisfied with this since it seems that he is more in awe of the hospitality he experienced during his cross country trek than the nature of his own accomplishment.
The day was overcast and for a variety of reasons we did not take as many pictures as we should have. The ones I took and that came out are here.
Patrick is what you’d expect from someone who would undertake such a trip. Curious, adventurous, bold, friendly, flexible (psychically and physically), and finely muscled.
We set off at about 9:00 and after crossing over the bridge rode the bike path through the streets of Manhattan down to 145th Street where we headed west to catch the path down Riverside Drive. On the route we passed Columbia Presbyterian Hospital where Patrick had been born.
At 134th Street Patrick’s right pedal came loose and he stopped to tighten it. At about 130th it happened again and what he though might be the case was, in fact, so. The crank arm groove was stripped. We rode down to 100th Street with Patrick stopping every few blocks to tighten the pedal. When there he finally, reluctantly, accepted my offer of several blocks back to take my unicycle and get down to his TV interview while I walked his down. He seemed to like the 29"er and particularly the KH seat.
And long story short after his interview he and his manager and nephew dropped me off at the base of the GWB and I rode back to Fort Lee and drove home.
Meeting Patrick was great fun and truly an honor. He had accumulated pages and pages of disorganized notes and I’m sure he’ll be updating his blog soon. He called me the other night from his cell phone but the message was complete static and we’ve not spoken since. I’ll be visiting my brother in San Francisco over the Christmas holiday and hope to be able to meet up with Patrick again.
The show he was interviewed by is Inside Edition which does not air in my area. He has a link to its website on his blog. It wasn’t clear when his interview would air.
One thing that he did say is that he wished he had been aware prior to embarking on his ride of the extensive network of unicyclists. He’d have been better prepared. He intends to hook into our community, however and we can all look forward to his firsthand account of his experience.
Cheers,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
. Anyone notice that Patrick’s site has been hacked?
. Is there a way that I can get in touch with Patrick via email or phone? I would like to hear more about his journey.