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Mophe the cycling clown can see light at the end of the tunnel in his quest to ride 1,000 miles in the name of helping others.

Mophe brought his unicycle, blue wig, velour pants and big red nose to the Friendly City on Wednesday as he reached the 930-mile mark. His mission: ride around various cities and towns across the United States and convince people to donate their unused gift cards to charity this holiday season.

Stops along Mophe's nationwide tour have taken him from the precipice of the Grand Canyon to the streets of New York City and every state except Alaska and Hawaii. Locally, he's made stops in New Philadelphia, Ohio and Beaver Falls, Pa.

Mophe said he once read that about $90 billion worth of gift cards are sold each year, and of those about 10 percent of that total is never redeemed. That means $9 billion worth of groceries, bedding and more that can benefit those in need, he said.

Mophe, who doesn't like to give his real name because he wants to live "a normal life" after he's finished, is a Web designer from the Columbus area with a wife and children. He's been a unicycle rider since childhood, but the clown gig is just a hobby - a hobby, though, that he said makes for a great icebreaker.

"I've gone anywhere and talked to anybody," Mophe said, noting he's learned a lot from the people he's met, including that "payaso" is the Spanish word for "clown."

Along the way, Mophe's found that those in larger cities are more reserved - he'll get head nods there as opposed to warm smiles and big waves in small towns -but overall he said the reaction's been positive and he believes his message is getting across.

"Everybody's been incredible, across the whole U.S.," he said. "It's just been amazing."

Mophe said he tries to spend at least an hour at each city in which he stops, noting his high watermark was 35 miles during a stop in Chicago and the surrounding area. He's ramped up his efforts in recent months - he began in March, but he said he's probably ridden 800 of his 930 miles thus far since June.

Mophe plans to make a couple more stops in West Virginia, in Morgantown and Clarksburg, before moving on to Virginia and returning home to Ohio for the final leg of his journey. Afterward, he's thinking of writing a book about his experience to further spread the word about his cause.

"I have so many pictures and so many words in my journal," Mophe said. "It's just a matter of pulling it all together."

To learn more about Mophe and his cause, search for his pages online on Facebook and Twitter.