BANGOR – Even after riding the entire Atlantic coast by motorcycle, Joe Nolfo’s trip is just beginning.

Nolfo, 41, of Dunedin Fla., is riding a 2003 Aprilla Atlantic 500 motorcycle around the perimeter of the United States to raise money for charity.

The 15,500-mile trip will benefit the Legal Center for People With Disabilities, based in Denver, Colo. The journey will give the organization a new level of exposure, along with a multitude of monetary pledges, both private and corporate.

The traveler has only one leg, the result of being struck 22 years ago by two cars.

Nolfo was in Bangor on Friday after driving his motorcycle here from Florida.

He will leave Maine today and head west, eventually traveling down the West Coast before heading back east, arriving in Florida in late September.

The trip is about more than just raising money for charity, according to Nolfo, who doesn’t know how much he’s raised to date.

“The trip is about the unbreakable spirit of the American people, who will always continue to exercise their freedom through traveling and will always refuse to be intimidated by the threats of terrorism,” Nolfo said Friday, wearing a white T-shirt featuring a red lobster print.

Nolfo has never been to Maine before. “I like it, you can’t beat the countryside,” he said, before adding, “It’s too slow for me, though.”

It’s hard to imagine that anyone or any place could be fast enough for Nolfo. This is not the first time he has engaged in a feat of endurance to raise money for charity.

In 1996, he swam 30 miles continuously in a Florida pool for the Upper Pinellas Association of Retarded Citizens. In 1997, he pushed a racing-wheel chair from Florida to California for the Humane Society. In 1998, he joined a stand-up comedy tour called “Stand Up for Manatees” to benefit Save the Manatees.

He has given talks as a motivational speaker and was the co-head of NASA’s Disabled Astronauts Space Introduction Initiative (DASII) until the Columbia accident forced authorities to cancel the program.

The media has noticed his efforts. He already has received 33 newspaper interview requests, and he hopes to appear on the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, who is a motorcycle enthusiast.

He also wants to meet California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose autobiography Nolfo calls an inspiration.

Nolfo was in need of inspiration after the 1982 hit-and-run accident that severed his left leg. He owned a jewelry store at the time, which he says “was closing me in.”

“I was reading National Geographic and there was this article about a young girl traveling to Africa to save chimps. I decided I wanted to do something like that,” he recalled. “I dedicated my life to helping charities in need.”

Nolfo’s trip is sponsored by Superwipes, a Largo, Fla.-based company that produces environmentally friendly beauty products.

Company owner Mario Quenneville came to know Nolfo through a race car driver he sponsored who also was a friend of Nolfo’s.

“I fell in love with the idea. I told him ‘You go on the road, I’ll pay for your ride,'” Quenneville said Friday during a telephone interview. “The exposure is fantastic.”

“This guy is unbelievable,” Quenneville said of Nolfo. “He’s very well-respected in the area, everybody knows him.”

Nolfo said once he completes this trip he may be starting a new career.

“I’m a freelance writer,” Nolfo said. “I’ve been writing a novel for the past three years.” The novel, titled “Bone Key,” already has a publisher’s interest, according to the author. Nolfo also is writing a book about the few authentic American saloons still operating.

“I don’t know what’s next. Maybe I’ll just get wrapped up in the whole writing thing,” he said. “Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”