FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Friends Wayne Geiger, left and Steve Scott visited Eddie Thompson, a cyclist with cerebral palsy who was injured recently in an accident, yesterday in Straub Clinic. He was a common sight in Honolulu, biking from town to Hawaii Kai on a regular basis, before the accident.

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Steepest hill
to climb

Eddie Thompson is leaving Hawaii
after inspiring others with his active
lifestyle despite having cerebral palsy

He inspired love and determination in many Honolulu residents -- and he infuriated or worried just as many others.

But one thing was true about cyclist Eddie "Eduardious" Thompson and his flamboyant three-wheeler: He was never easy to ignore.

Thompson, who was a familiar sight along Honolulu's roads -- especially Kalanianaole Highway between Hawaii Kai and Kahala -- is expected to leave Oahu tonight after riding its roads for 22 years.

The 58-year-old suffers from cerebral palsy, but it was a spill in his electric wheelchair last month in Kapahulu that ended his rides. He suffered a cervical spinal injury and was semiparalyzed. He is expected to check into a care home in his native Salt Lake City.

Eduardious was an inspiration to many residents over the years. Lifelong friend Steve Scott said letters from admirers bring tears to his eyes. One man who became confined to a wheelchair wrote that Thompson had a profound impact in his life.

"But it was Ed's image that he had in his mind that helped him recover," Scott said. "Just seeing somebody plow down the road year after year, decade after decade."

Those decades caught up to Thompson. Last fall, he started using an electric wheelchair, but he still rode the bus to Hawaii Kai and often rode the wheelchair back home.

COURTESY WAYNE GEIGER Thompson on his three-wheeler on the Atlantic City, N.J., boardwalk.

While some in his condition would have been bedridden, Thompson led an active life. Friends say he was a bit of a daredevil, doing everything from parasailing in Mexico to cycling around the country.

Because of his condition, Thompson had difficulty sticking to the side of the road and had numerous accidents. Scott said about 50 percent of the people who saw him on the road were admirers; the other 50 percent felt he was a hazard.

"He is very headstrong," said Jayne Kim, a friend and owner of Eki Cyclery in Kalihi. "He didn't care. He just did what he wanted to do. If he wanted to go left right now, he'd go left right now. I guess his philosophy was, 'If I'm going to go, I'm going to go. If it's not to be, it's not to be.' He just went for it."

She added, "He's had his share of accidents. Some good Samaritan would call the shop, and we'd go out and pick him and his bike up."

Friend and bicyclist Dale Hoffmann said he would get calls from people complaining that Thompson often drifted from the bike lane into traffic.

And yet his friends understood. "I told him, 'Ed, you're the best climber for all of us bicyclists because you have the steepest hill to climb,'" Hoffmann said.

"He said to me, absolutely clearly, 'I'm on my last mountain, and I'm getting close to the top.'" And he had a big smile on his face while he said it, Hoffmann said. "Ed's great dream in life was to have people stop and talk with him."

Wayne Geiger was one of those people who would just wave and say hi to Thompson. One day, he finally stopped and talked, and they have been friends for the last five years.

"One day, he put up his hand and asked me to stop and sit down," Geiger said.

"People look at his handicaps, but they don't know there's a person inside," he said.

Geiger said he has learned to appreciate Thompson's great patience and fortitude, which he needs to do simple things, like picking up a fork and getting the food to his mouth.

"He has so much patience being tied into that body ... everyday things we take for granted," Geiger said.