New Yorker bikes to UN HQ for Zayed
dubai — Inspired by the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a New Yorker has recently accomplished a four-day, 402km bike ride across New York City as a tribute to the UAE’s founding father and in commemoration of the Year of Zayed.
It was no mean feat for the 52-year-old Don Victor Mooney, who did not just pedal his way through the five boroughs of NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island) as he also towed a bike trailer filled with trees, a 5X7ft artificial grass rolled up, two soccer goals and a soccer ball weighing nearly 135kg in total.
Speaking to Khaleej Times over the phone from New York on Monday, Mooney said multiple flat tires, damaged spokes, sleep deprivation and summer heat did not prevent him from completing his mission. “Good samaritans helped me along the way and NY law enforcement unit provided a safety
I talked to people who passed by and I told them about what Sheikh Zayed had done to promote environmental protection.” Don Victor Mooney
escort when needed,” he said.
Mooney began his journey, called The Zayed Mile, from his home in Queens at 1am on June 30 (NY time). A devout Catholic, he stopped first at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan for prayer and then traversed the streets of New York before concluding his fourday bike journey on July 3 at the UN headquarters, where he set up his pop-up football pitch and invited tourists, UN employees, diplomats and residents to sign his banner showcasing the UAE founding father’s environmental legacy.
“I wanted people to score goals for humanity and the environment,” Mooney said. “I talked to people who passed by and I told them about what Sheikh Zayed had done to promote environmental protection.
“I want to pay tribute to Sheikh Zayed, who I call as ‘Champion of Earth’, for his wildlife conservation, agriculture, forestation, and preserving biodiversity efforts both inside the UAE and beyond,” Mooney underlined.
Mooney received citations from the presidents of the Borough of Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn. He said the awards, bicycle and
trailer will be presented to the Year of Zayed organisers.
Now, Mooney has his eyes set to complete the final leg of his tribute to Sheikh Zayed: A bike ride from Dubai to Abu Dhabi with tree planting programme at the Capital.
“This will be like a homecoming of sorts for me. I know a lot of things have changed since I came there. And I want to see, the enduring legacy left by the late Sheikh Zayed,” he said.
angel@khaleejtimes.com