Good old boys offered him beer, strangers offered him dinner, hotels offered him rooms, a bear stole his noodles and every six miles or so he had to rest because his backside hurt. But Phil Dalton made it:

        He rode from Los Angeles to Cincinnati on a unicycle — 2,400 miles of back roads and small towns, pedaling as few as eight miles — mountains, you know — or as many as 48 in a day. But resting every six miles because, well, a unicycle seat is murder on a human seat.

        Mr. Dalton, a 24-year-old magician from Forest Park, was profiled in The Enquirer May 13 when he announced he'd make the ride as a fund-raiser for 10-year-old Courtney Hennessey, suffering from an inoperable brain tumor and getting $7,200-a-month treatments insurance doesn't cover. It's the same sort of tumor that killed his brother in March 2000.

        Mr. Dalton's home now, jump-starting his career, sporting strange tan lines — the strap from his helmet left a line down his jaw; his first shave in 84 days left his face two-toned — and admitting, “It's not something I'd want to do again, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I met wonderful, generous people and saw the country too.”

        And got a lot of press. “Before I got to a town, I'd call the media and tell them what I was doing. There was usually a long silence, then they'd say, stay there, we're on our way.”

        Mr. Dalton traveled at 10-12 mph with his life in a 55-pound backpack — lightweight tent, sleeping bag, water, first-aid kit, a few tools and food.

        “Hormel, I came to hate it. But Chef Boy-ar-dee, that's good. And it is possible to develop a real taste for gas station hot dogs.

        “I camped out most nights, so I got pretty dirty. But people were so nice. Everybody talks to you and eventually asks, “where do you sleep?' and then invite me into their homes, and you don't turn that down.”

        Then there was that bear. Camping in California's San Gabriel Mountains, he awoke in the middle of the night to “low-pitched grunts and snorts. I knew it was a bear looking for food. I was going to go out and bang something to scare him off, but the noise in my tent did that.

        “But there were three containers of ramen noodles stacked on a picnic table. He ate them all.”

        Money is still coming in, but so far he estimates it's made about $1,800.

        Donations to the Courtney Hennessey Trust Fund can be made at any Fifth-Third Bank. Mr. Dalton is accepting bookings for his magic act at 860-0355.
       

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