On the drive home to Columbus, I decided to stop in Mansfield for another hour of riding. I guess people don’t really understand these rides for 2-3 hours are like running a half marathon!
I made the classic mistake — I rode all the way “down” a hill and then had to ride back “up”. Ouch! Boy did that hurt after riding all that time in Cleveland. I didn’t realize I rode 3 miles until I mapped it on Google when I returned home. Mansfield was really nice otherwise. The churches were incredible — tall and made of ornate stone.
Everyone seemed REALLY surprised to see me. I got more than the usual honks and smiles! I even received applause at the end of my ride. I was nearing my car in a parking lot on a corner of an intersection. Someone yelled out, “Yoo-hoo”. I rode toward the car stopped at the intersection with several other cars. I did a few spins, rode backwards, and then took a bow, all while on my unicycle, and two of the cars broke out in applause. The first applause I have heard on my rides — excluding parades.
Another guy wanted to hire me for the opening of his ice cream shop this summer. I’m getting a lot of offers, but I truly just want to make a difference, which is what Gift Card Donor is doing. They are turning unwanted gift cards into funds for charities. They give as much as possible – 75% to 80% of the revenue from reselling the cards. Please help me in this cause and donate your gift cards to charities at GiftCardDonor.com!
Take care.
Love,
Mophe
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BAYCDA stands for Believe And You Can Do Anything!
It was another beautiful sunny day, this time in Cleveland. I met several veterans outside the VA hospital where I parked. They were very glad to see me and asked a lot of questions, like how long it took to learn to ride a unicycle. I had a woman from the hospital ask if I could do their employee picnic in July. I’m still thinking about that one.
Well, it wasn’t all good today. I got lost on the way to the Cleveland Museum of Art to register for the Parade the Circle on June 13th. To top it off, I shouldn’t have had my unicycle in the Museum either. Oh well, everything worked out and I took care of everything for the parade. It looks like it will really be fun!
I took a ride down Euclid Avenue and through Case Western Reserve University. Many of the students had a good laugh at the unicycling clown! They sure have long buses with accordion things in the middle that I’m guessing help the bus make it around corners, though they looks like the bus can grow longer or shorter. Well, I hope to see some of the same people watching the parade in June!
Here’s a similar accordion bus, so you can see what I mean!
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PROOF Mophe The Clown has unicycled over 1,000 miles around America and continues to ride in charity races and parades.
What an excellent day. The Weather Channel forecasted rain all weekend in central Ohio and we ended up with a sunny, warm day for the Arthritis Walk and 5K Run. I felt a little weird coming up to the registration area, but saw the Clippers mascot, “Krash” there. I tried to steer clear of him since I don’t like to step over someone else’s gig. I surprised the registration folks and several other people when I said I was actually going to “race” the 5K.
I finished the race acting like I wasn’t going to make it – swerving and brushing fake sweat off my brow (really helmet). After I crossed the finish line they were handing me bottles of water and apples — while I was still unicycling! Boy that was difficult. I went to the play area, jumped off my unicycle and acted like I was passing out on the ground! They all loved it.
I drank a bottle of water and then unicycled backward along to course to encourage the walkers still out there — that’s how I ended up with 5 miles today instead of just the 5 kilometers. The coolest thing is that I handed out baseball card size pictures of myself to many of the kids. They just loved it. One kid asked for my autograph but I didn’t have anything to write with. I’ll have to bring something next time.
So, we’re back at the finish and this woman grabs my arm and says, “You need to come over here!” I acted like she was dragging me away to prison and everyone enjoyed that. She brought me over to a chiropractic table and they took a scan of the back of my neck. They said I was a little off on the right. I’m surprised I wasn’t “off” a lot since I clown around so much.
Well, I’m glad so many people came out for such a great cause.
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I was hoping to find a picture of me finishing the race or passed out on ground. Please share if you happen to have one.
Love,
Mophe
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As I drove down I71 a couple of guys took a second look at the clown driving on the freeway. They had really big smiles as I went by.
The rain cleared so I decided to stop off over near the Martin Luther King Jr. Complex. Everyone was really nice in the neighborhood — smiling and waving. I broke silence completely on this ride and talked to several people. One guy just had to get my picture from across the street.
A girl and her two brothers tracked me down. The girl said it was her brother’s 12th birthday and I needed to come to their house. A lady down the street said, “There are enough clowns around here so you need to get going.” I think it was in jest, but I decided to move on anyway. I rode around a bit more, waved to people driving by and talked to several more people. Everyone really enjoyed seeing me around.
I spotted several kids outside a house with their mothers and a grandparent so I went over to say, “Hi”. Someone pulled into the driveway and asked if I could do a birthday party. I said I’m not really the right guy for that. She was looking for someone that could do balloons and all.
I was heading over towards St. Dominic’s church and a group of 10-12 kids came running out to see the clown. They didn’t know what to make of me. I heard one say, “You’re not a clown. I can see your arm by your glove!” They were so cute. They asked me to touch my nose and I went, “Honk!” and they all busted out laughing. They asked me to show them some tricks. I rode my unicycle around in circles, rode backwards, and then did a toe-touch. The girl closest to me want to know how she could join. She had the most amazing eyes that reminded me of the famous girl on the cover of the National Geographic.
Everyone was really great today and I was glad that I could bring smiles to their faces. A man walking out of a business told me, “You’re definitely in the wrong part of town!” I had to really think about that. I feel at home wherever I go and I love all people, so I have to say that I was in the *right* part of town. And I’m sure Dr. King would have agreed. Of course, I could have misinterpreted the meaning too — communication is a tricky thing. Anyway, I told the kids I’d come back, so I’ll visit them again sometime this summer.
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Almost 10% of all gift cards sold will "never" be used. Give your forgotten cards new purpose. Donate them to charity!
I entered Old Towne Dublin from the bridge across the Scioto River. They have some really nice shops there. I always wondered what they would say if I went into a salon for a haircut! I need to try that some day.
I crossed the street and went past some folks outside at a café. They always seem so serious in conversation until I go by! I didn’t go too far because I ran out of sidewalk so I turned around and headed back toward the bridge. School was letting out across the street and a lot of kids were waving from the buses as they drove past me.
I kept going past the bridge and ran into Wendy’s International Head Quarters. I never did see Wendy but she has a nice place! I road up to Sawmill road and headed North but ran out of sidewalk again, so I turned around and headed South. I didn’t get too far because it started to sprinkle and I decided to call it a day.
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It was 87 degrees and sunny today. The heat concerned me, but I held up fine. It could be because of all the wind. It seemed like 10-15 miles per hour. And boy was I getting a bad hair day. Luckily I wear a helmet. But it was rough pulling the hair out of my face all the time. This was a good test. I was really getting concerned about lasting in the heat of the summer. I was out for about 50 minutes and then stopped for a drink and snack before going another 45 minutes. Not as long as my normal 2-2.5 hours, but not bad. I actually stopped earlier because of the wind.
I started at the Dairy Queen on Main Street and rode down Cemetery Road toward I270. All the folks from Hilliard were really nice. Two guys told me to “stop clowning around” during the ride. I acted like I was going to fall when the first guy said it and he had a blast with it. I don’t quite get it though. Why would you tell a clown to stop clowning around? Isn’t that like expecting a rabbit to stop hopping, a Dalmatian to stop having spots, or a frog to stop ribbeting? Oh well, I guess it is kind of funny — to some people!
After riding down Cemetery Road and back and then down Main/Avery toward Roberts Road and back I was about ready to call it a day. Then I decided to go around the corner past Dairy Queen and it opened up to Old Towne Hilliard. Wow – that was incredible, plus they had wonderful new sidewalks that were easy to ride on. I rode by Sports on Tap. Two guys outside smiled and one yelled into the door, “Joy, check this out.” And then I heard Joy say, “Yea, I see it.” I’m starting to think I should measure smiles instead of miles. I think I’d be up to about 10,000 by now!
As I came back toward Dairy Queen, I rode over to meet a couple of women with a little girl. The little girl was a little shy but she waved at me anyway. I was about to leave again when a car pulled up and stopped. A man got out and asked if he could take a picture with his baby. His wife carried out “Ahmad” and we took several pictures, even though Ahmad kept looking at me instead of the camera.
Well, I broke silence twice today. Once to say “your welcome” and “how cute” about Ahmad. The other time was earlier when a man in a truck pulled up next to me and asked how to ride a unicycle since he’s trying to learn how. I couldn’t be rude to a fellow unicycle rider. I’m starting to think I might give up on the mime thing. It would make things sooooo much easier to tell people what I’m doing instead of having them read a card.
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It was another beautiful day for a ride — sunny and 72 degrees. The sun made it hard to tell if folks were waving or not, since it was glaring off their windshields. I started by I270 and rode south on Route 23 straight through Worthington. They have a very nice down town area. Everyone was enjoying the warm weather at Dairy Queen or sitting outside of a café.
Mr. Thorn mentioned I should turn right on Route 161. Wow, was that hard. There was a steep hill going down AND coming up! Plus there were a couple of areas where the brick sidewalks were a bit bumpy! I’m starting to wonder if he’s out to get me.
Anyway, I turned back on Route 23 (High Street) and continued all the way to Graceland — that’s the shopping center, not home of Elvis! I accidentally ran over a whole colony of ants. I felt bad. I don’t like to see harm come to any living creature.
A young man and lady walked toward me on the sidewalk. As they got closer the young lady covered her face. I think she was afraid of me. I’ve heard about a scary film about clowns. That is terrible. It gives a good guy like me a bad name. Oh well, we’ll just need to show them clowns are good guys too!
Three cross-country runners turned on the High street just ahead of me. I tried to catch up, but they were too fast. Luckily, they got stopped by the walk light, so I caught up to them. Great job guys!
The most incredible thing was that I passed the office of the American Heart Association and the United Methodist Children’s Home. Seeing great causes like these remind me how lucky we all are that people care enough to give help in this and many other ways. It reminds me that I’m not just out here to make people happy to see a clown, but to help all charities by showing everyone they can donate gift cards at GiftCardDonor.com.
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Well, I didn’t realize it has been two weeks since I have been out. There has been a lot of rain. Today was beautiful — sunny and 64 degrees. A great day for a ride!
You can always expect something new in life and you just need to go around those obstacles. In this case, I found parking meters on the sidewalks when I started out. I just had to slalom through them — so I guess in this case they weren’t obstacles.
The tour of Columbus was very nice. I rode by Faith Mission on Long Street and some really nice people smiled and waved at me. I headed down to Veterans Memorial next, across from COSI. I made my way back down Broad Street past the Red Cross. Sidewalks can really deceive you. They are really nice granite downtown, but sometimes they go up and down even though you cannot tell beforehand. Unfortunately, I took a couple spills. I’m thinking I’m going to need a new unicycle seat after 100 or 200 miles!
That was all I had planned for the day, but I felt like adding a couple more miles so I rode to Broad and High and then back again. This time around a young man outside of the Columbus Museum of Art video tapped me and asked what I was doing. I gave him a Mophe Card to explain that I’m riding 1000 miles to raise money for charities on GiftCardDonor.com. Another guy was wheeling his mother out of a physical therapy office. He stopped to video me on his phone for his daughter. He asked if I could “mime”. I didn’t think I did a very good job. I’m going to have to practice. Anyway, they laughed and had a good time. I just love to see people excited to see me. It brightens my day.
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Wow — what a beautiful day, 71 degrees and a few clouds. Great weather for a unicycle ride! I did a loop around State Street, Main Street, Cleveland Avenue, and Schrock Road. The sidewalks were pretty good — too bad that’s my measure of a town but it really makes a difference when it comes to riding a unicycle!
I ran into Renee from www.UptownMerchants.com in ”Uptown” Westervile. She took a couple of pictures and wrote in my travel journal. She said she just joined Twitter. I gave her my Mophe card and she said she would “get the word out” about my 1000 mile journey for charities.
I rode by Otterbein College and they must have been changing classes or everybody was just outside for the nice weather! I got the “you don’t see that every day” comment a couple of times. Everyone was great — they waved, gave the thumbs up, and there were lots of smiles!
I rode by some construction guys working on Main Street and they were pretty excited to see me. Keep up the good work guys! I kind of felt weird going by McDonald’s on Cleveland Avenue — thought I might run into Ronald. And to top it off I had to go by twice! The sidewalk ran out just past their store, so I had to double back to the cross walk to cross to the other side.
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This was the longest ride I’ve taken at one time to date — 8.5 miles. I did take a mini-break to eat a couple of sandwiches and drink water. You’ve got to take care of yourself during long exercise events so you don’t dehydrate or get low blood sugar. I am starting to get a little saddle sore though and got a blister on my little toe — ouchy!
I saw Mr. Thorn, the GiftCardDonor.com Director of Charity Services, driving down Church Street. I’m wondering if they are checking up on me to make sure I’m doing the miles. He was nice enough to ask if I wanted anything. I shook my head no.
I had my biggest crash yet, trying to unicycle through mud. My unicycle got stuck and I flew forward. I’m OK, though the way things are going my unicycle’s going to need a new seat after a while.
I stopped at the Salvation Army, walked in the office door, and asked the Administrative Assistant if she could help me. She was a really nice lady. I handed her a “Mophe” card. She really lit up with a broad smile and gave me the thumbs up when she learned I was riding 1000 miles for charities. I just love the circle in the middle of their walkway across the lawn. I just had to ride a couple of laps around the circle. There are some things a clown just can’t resist!
A boy in a car asked me how much my unicycle cost and said he really needed to know. I think he’s going to save up to buy one and learn how to ride. Good for him.
There were so many really great people in Newark. It is amazing how their faces lit up when they saw a clown coming. It doesn’t matter if you are big or small, young or old, have blue hair (oh, wait, that’s me!), dress in a suit or blue jeans, ride a bike or drive the nicest car — most people still love to laugh at a clown. Of course, there was one teenage girl going hysterical in a car. Luckily she wasn’t driving. I thought she was going to hurt herself. Be careful out there! Extreme laughter may have severe side effects, like snorting through your nose, a sore belly, or even wet pants. Nah – really, just enjoy yourself! It can’t get that bad – I think?
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Mophe TheClown
Alzheimer's March Madness 5K Fun Run
Loveland, OH
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Photo by Shad Ramsey,
Red Door Photography, Bellevue, KY