Eduard "Eduardious" Paul Thompson, 58, an admired figure to many in Honolulu, died Wednesday in Salt Lake City, according to a statement released by Thompson's attorney.

For two decades Thompson was a fixture along Kalaniana'ole Highway, between Waikiki and Hawai'i Kai, as he slowly pedaled his distinctive three-wheel bike adorned with bright flags to alert drivers of his presence.

Motorists and pedestrians were inspired by Thompson's indomitable will. In 1999 his sense of gritty determination carried him on an amazing 3,500-mile, cross-country ride that took him through 13 states.

The effort, aimed at raising awareness about people with disabilities, was a testament to Thompson's quest to overcome his own adversities and handicaps.

Thompson suffered from severe speech and motor control throughout his life because his brain stem was damaged at birth by physicians who used steel forceps to force the baby's 10-month-old body from his mother's womb, according to the statement released by attorney Robert Rodman.

While Thompson's intelligence was normal, the same birth injuries that affected his motor control left him with exceptional eyesight and hearing.

Thompson spent his childhood in the care of his mother and father. However, after his mother died in 1970 and his father eventually remarried, Thompson was moved into a care home for mental patients.

Dissatisfied with this, Thompson left the care home, hitchhiking to Mexico and back to Salt Lake City with the use of a stainless-steel walker of his own design.

Eventually, Thompson traveled to O'ahu. In 1980 he moved to Waikiki, where he became a daily patron at Chuck's Cellar and quickly endeared himself to many in the community.

It was around that time, with the help of friends, that he took to riding his specially designed bike.

However, last November, with his condition growing worse and finding himself no longer able to live alone, Thompson made his last ride from his home in Waikiki to the Kalihi bike shop that had assisted him over the years.

Recently, Thompson injured his spinal cord and neck when he fell on the street near Diamond Head. Rodman said friends had put Thompson in a hospital in Utah where he died.

"He has so many friends, so many people who came to the hospital to see him," Rodman said. "I want everyone to know he is gone. People have been very concerned."

Rodman and Thompson met at a coffeeshop when Rodman was recovering from his own neck injury. That was more than a decade ago, he said.

"Eduard was determined to live life," Rodman said. "No matter how bad life gets you, you can still have fun, whatever your condition is. You just have to go find it."

Services are Sept. 6 in Salt Lake City. Thompson will be buried there next to his mother and his father, who died in 2004.

In lieu of cards and flowers, Thompson had suggested that friends make a donation in his name to their favorite charity.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com and Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.