On man's tour of America, Charleston makes its mark

Nearly 8,150 miles, 39 flat tires, four pairs of gloves, three new chains and two accidents after he embarked on a cycling journey across the United States to raise awareness of lupus, Geoff Thomas has collided with Charleston — literally.

Thomas, 37, hails from Sydney, Australia, and said that although the roads in the United States offer a much smoother ride than the trails down under, Savannah Highway near Hollywood was one of the trickiest stretches of his trek.

While crossing a two-lane bridge on Labor Day, Thomas was "clipped by a bit of vegetation" and slammed into the pavement, he recalled. It was only his second accident in more than 8,000 miles.

The right side of Thomas' body suffered a score of scrapes and abrasions but nothing a few day's rest and some bandages couldn't heal. He welcomed the excuse to slow down.

Thomas, who was diagnosed with a mild form of lupus in 2003, has peddled an average of 80 miles per day for the past four months on a charity ride he's dubbed Bike USA 2007. He's cruised from New York to Seattle to California to Florida with nothing but his bike and a trailer packed to capacity with necessities like clothing, food, spare tires, tools and a laptop computer.

Thomas' Web site, www.bikeusa2007.com, which he updates regularly from cheap hotels with Internet capability, is the means by which he hopes to raise awareness of lupus, an autoimmune disease that can affect various parts of the body, including the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, brain and blood. Thomas was diagnosed with discoid lupus, which affects only the skin.

On the Web site, he keeps a journal, posts photographs and displays links to reputable charities and organizations, regardless of whether they are lupus related.

"I've always wanted to cycle over here," Thomas said. "I thought if I'm going to do so many miles, I might as well do it for lupus but also for any cause that needs more awareness."

At first, Thomas' ride received little to no attention from lupus organizations.

But after word got out about the Aussie's mission, The Lupus Foundation of America and The Alliance for Lupus Research hopped on the handlebars.

The organizations don't fund any aspect of Bike USA 2007 — "I worked a year solid doing everything from freelance photography to mowing grass to save money for this ride," Thomas said — but they acknowledge his efforts and offer support.

Thomas is now on his way to North Carolina, but he said he'll never forget Charleston. Those scars from Savannah Highway guarantee it.

Reach Abi Nicholas at 937-5581 or anicholas@post andcourier.com.