Rider With a Cause: Islander Takes Journey for Truth

by Lin McNulty

Rena Patty visits a FDNY station at the end of her journey.

Three months and two days biking across the country may or may not sound like a great adventure to many of us. Yet, it was just such a journey that Orcas Islander Rena Patty recently undertook to raise awareness for the nonprofit, Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth. She delivered the documentary film, 9/11: Explosive Evidence – Experts Speak Out, to firefighters, law enforcement officers, and religious leaders in cities and towns along her northern route from Orcas to New York, passing through 11 states.

She departed the island on July 25 and arrived in NYC on October 27, just in time to have Sandy delay her departure via train to come back home.

The feature-length documentary film explores evidence from more than 50 top experts in the field, discusses how the scientific method should have been applied, and acknowledges evidence of high temperature incendiaries in all dust samples of the World Trade Center buildings. These high-rise architects and structural engineers lay out the evidence in the features of the destruction of these three high-rises that they believe points to an explosive controlled demolition.

Pedaling 4,000 backroad miles overall (an average of 50 miles per day), she made an outreach in from one to five towns and cities per day. Along the way, her basic needs were met with a combination of camping, motels, and staying with AE911Truth petition signers. She mostly camped out for the first part of the trip. By the time she got to New York State, she relied more on petition signers and motels.

She began the trip with a friend, Pamela Senzee, from Phoenix, AZ, for the first 2000 miles to Fargo, ND. Pam then rode to Washington DC, as Rena continued her solo journey to New York City.

“I never felt like I was alone,” she says. “I always felt like I was part of a large team, the team that made the documentary, all of the AE911Truth volunteers, the growing number of people who were contributing financially along the way, and all of the people who were offering prayers for my well-being and success.”

What prompts someone to leave this small, safe island and venture out on such a quest? For Rena, she was noticing that many people were afraid to speak openly about 9/11. “I believe that it is essential for the well-being of our country for people to feel free to speak openly about important issues,” Rena stresses. “I was also concerned that this issue was not getting the attention that I believe it deserves by Congress or the media, so rather than sit home in despair, I wanted to go out and do something.”

Rena has a history of political activism. This is the first time, however, she has coupled that activism with bicycling. She trained for two months before beginning the ride. It was her significant experience as a citizen activist that gave her the confidence to initiate and follow through on this journey.

Rena Patty in Hudson, New York as she makes her cross-country bicycle trip for AE9/11 Truth.

Folks all the way across the country were consistently respectful and thoughtful, and willing to take a DVD to learn more. Although she had hundreds of conversations, only 24 people declined to take more information. Aside from “Wow, you rode your bicycle how far?” and “Be safe out there!” the most common comment was, “It never looked right to me the way those buildings came down.”

She was surprised by people spontaneously offering donations to cover her costs on the road. She did more than a dozen radio and newspaper interviews along the way. About half way through the trip, two AE911Truth volunteers, a former PBS employee, and a former police officer who was at the World Trade Center site on 9/11 stepped up to help her make advance connections with newspapers and radio stations along the way.

Her purpose was, and still is, “open, honest public discussion about the scientific forensic evidence, and to call for a proper investigation based on that forensic evidence.”

Her favorite part of the trip was the freedom of being on the road and talking with people—especially when fire fighters, police officers, or pastors, would invite her to sit down to answer questions.

Riding each day until she was nearly exhausted, she admits the most unpleasant experience was weariness toward the end of each week, especially nearing the end of her trip.

It was hard to decide to do initially, and she had to work through many fears in order to do it. Even considering the risks, “If I had to decide again…” she is quick to note, “Yes, I would make the same decision.”

The film is available for viewing online at https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/911-explosive-evidence-experts-speak-out/ and Rena’s blog during her journey is available at https://www.911journeyfortruth.org/.