No grand prize but a winner nonetheless

Francisco Patino has made his family very proud.
Though he was not named the winner of the $1 million grand prize in the finale of the ABC reality show “American Inventor” on May 18, Patino — the creator of the double traction bike — nonetheless has been given a product development internship from the TrackBike Corp. and got a personal message from seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
“I feel very happy and I think he did great,” said Patino’s step mom, Astrid Lopez, who cried when her son was eliminated in the final round. “He went far and is going far – it’s not over.”
Lopez was surrounded by nearly 100 family members and friends at Queens College, where her son is a student, to watch the live broadcast of the finale.
“It’s an inspiration to see a fellow Queens College student and a friend of mine come so far, especially as an immigrant,” said Mamoon Nawabi, 20, who was picked by Patino to be on air during the show. “He is a modern-day Horatio Alger.”
During the two-hour broadcast, each time Patino’s name was called, the crowd cheered, waved Colombian flags, and held up signs that read “Our Cisco kid.”
And when it was announced that the first finalist would be eliminated, the entire group gave an audible sigh.
After a nerve-racking commercial break, during which everyone prayed, Patino’s name was called, and everyone booed.
Lopez cried – partly, she said, out of disappointment, but mostly out of pride.
“He always liked to pull things apart and put them back together,” she said. “He’s an excellent student, outgoing, well-mannered, smart, focused. I always expected greatness.”
On the show, Patino explained his invention as “a new bike design that features a second seat on the handlebars of the bicycle, so that a second rider can sit up front and help power the bike with their own set of pedals.” He called it a “safer and more efficient way for kids to ride on the handlebars of their friends’ bikes.”