Bad weather was a frequent companion on Jim Campbell's journey
Jim Campbell can probably sing every song on the "Bob Seeger's Greatest Hits" CD backwards. It was the only CD he played on his 2008 Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle Ultra Classic during his 30-day, 30,000-mile ride for muscular dystrophy, which he completed around noon on Sunday. (Here are the particulars of the ride.)
There's no way you can ride that many miles in that amount of time without picking up a number of stories. I presented several of them yesterday; here are some more. For more photos of the trip, see the slideshow at the bottom of this page.
The magic spud/My longest day
No one tells Jim's stories better than he does, so here is this story in his own words.
I had been stopped the night before by a large supercell thunder storm, and stayed the night in Sidney, NE. When I went to leave at 5 a.m. the cell had only grown to the east, my direction of route. I decided to head south and run my route backwards.
So south to Colorado I went. Down I-76 to Denver the rain was constant, but not heavy . . . yet. By the time I hit Denver it was pouring, and I had to stop at Bass Pro for some extra clothing. After adding two more layers and some rain boots I was off. Still rain, but now with warm, dry clothes.
Warm, dry clothes, that was, until it started snowing in Castle Rock, and continued till Colorado Springs. When I reached Pueblo I pulled in to a friend's business, Craig Bowman's, aka Hog, where he told me I looked like crap, and to take my wet stuff off and throw it in a dryer he had there. For an hour we talked of my trip and he said to just rest a day and start tomorrow again.
Self-portrait day 9
It's hard for guys to express concern without being feminine; he did a good job that day. In the middle of the whole show he ask if I had eaten that day, and I said no, just some rain, and snow mistakenly. He offered me a baked potato he had for his lunch. I don't know if it was the gesture, the potato, or the sentiment behind it, but after eating it I sprang up, threw on my dry clothes, and drove through the toughest weather day of the entire ride, Hail at Raton Pass. Seventy mile per hour winds in Clayton, NM. A dust storm from Amarillo to Abilene. And a driving rain storm from Abilene through the hill country to Austin. (See all these pics and videos on FaceBook.)
I finally arrived in Austin at 3 a.m. the next morning (1,154 miles in weather), crediting it all to the "magic spud" Hog had given me 14 hours earlier.
What it was about
Everywhere he went, Jim was welcomed by people who were fascinated with what he was doing and wanting to know everything about the trip.
At a coffee shop he spoke with two women and told them he was raising money for muscular dystrophy research. That's great, they said, and one told him her granddaughter had just been diagnosed with the disease. That woman sat quietly while Jim and the other woman discussed his ride. As he prepared to head out the grandmother gave him a check, telling him to do some good with it.
Then she spoke wistfully, saying "Wouldn't it be something if the money you raised cured my granddaughter."
Jim replied that if it wasn't the money he raised it would be the small donations of others like her. It wouldn't be the big donations, but the money given by small donors every day. Then he rode on.
Who's saving who?
Again, these are Jim's words.
Coming across utah at 2 a.m., on what then was going to be my best daily mileage (1,254 miles) I was about 17 miles from Green River, a gas oasis in the middle of the night. I passed a vehicle on the side of the road, and it seemed they were pushing their van.
I just kept riding. I thought they were closer to Green River than they actually were. After I topped a ridge I realized they were at least 10 miles away, as I couldn't even see lights from Green River. So I turned around in the median and headed back.
Upon reaching the van I found a family in the middle of moving from California to Colorado in search of work. The van was packed with personal items, and barely room for the family members, who were at this time all out pushing towards the next gas stop.
The brother of the man driving said to me, "My brother didn't want to stop. He said we would make it to the next gas stop."
I commented, "I see how that worked out for you."
I had carried a 1.5-gallon gas can for emergencies for 18,000 miles and never used it. I figured it was time. We poured the gas in the tank and still it wouldn't start, so I told them I needed gas and would be back with another tank. So 17 miles later at Green River I filled up and headed back. Time was not a problem, and at 2 a.m. Utah is pretty much the autobahn to me, 100 mph plus as long as you can hold on.
So I return to the van, and they're still pushing. I put the other 1.5 gallons in but still no starting. UHG. So back again to Green River, fill up and away I go. Third time back at the van, pour gas in again now, 4.5 gallons, and the van starts. They tried to give me $15 but I refused. They said take it for MDA. I still refused. These people needed it more then any charity, in fact it looked as though they could use some help. It wasn't much but I gave them a Shell gas card I figured would get them to Denver, where they were headed.
I followed them to the gas stop, as I needed gas after all this. Each family member came out of the van and thanked me personally. Though down on their luck they were very gracious.
You wonder how one instance changes your whole life forward, and I would come to realize this 4 hours later.
Coming back through Colorado there are many mountain passes, and conditions vary from pass to pass. It was still dark and I had flown quickly over all the Colorado passes, and gone through Gunnison and headed toward Monarch Pass. Up the pass I was full throttle through the curves--You've gotta love those curves. Anyway I'm getting close to the top, and because I was held up an hour and a half the sun is peeking over the horizon, so I thought I'd stop at the top and take a picture instead of roaring over the top and down into the next set of curves.
As I slow for the top I see the road is wet, like it rained, but no storm clouds. ????? As I slowed to a stop I saw it was ice. The whole road had a sheet of ice on it from an upslope front that had backed up on just the east side of the mountain. If I had rolled over the pass an hour earlier at the speed I had carried up the pass I would have never made the first turn, and ended up over the edge hundreds of feet down . . . END OF STORY.
You see in my mind I wasn't in Utah to save those people, they were put there to save me.
**********************
Jim has a lot more stories but we'll end here. He's hoping to write a book about his ride and if that comes about I'll definitely be announcing it here. In the meantime, anyone wishing to add their contribution to the approximately $20,000 Jim has already raised for the Muscular Dystrophy Association can do so at his FaceBook page.
Related articles
Harley rider covers 30K in 30 days for MDA
Tales from the road: 30K in 30 days for MDA
Magic spud and more tales from the road of 30K for MDA Harley rider
30K for MDA Harley rider hospitalized following serious accident
30K in 30 days Harley rider touches in: 'I'll recover fully'
Comments
Why should motorcyclists support the MDA--inefficient, poor-administered, rated only two-star by Charity Navigator--when there are so many other charities rated higher for doing more with less? Better question is, why should bikers support ANY non-biker charity ... and thereby indirectly fund the anti-motorcycle healthcare and insurance lobbies ... while every year more than 108,000 biker households suffer loss of income, limb or life ... incurring catastrophic medical bills, burial costs and other expenses ... often due to failure-to-yield and other right-of-way violations resulting from the discretionary distractions of care-less cagers who go unpunished for their crimes? Who is more deserving of biker charity than our own? More here: tinyurl[dot]com/pgny4n
Loved the story. Thanks for sharing. MDA or any charity that helps raise money for a cure is a good cause. We all support biker charities, and there's no reason not to support other charities, too. Jim should not be ashamed of his choice of charities.
Loved the story. Thanks for sharing. MDA or any charity that helps raise money for a cure is a good cause. We all support biker charities, and there's no reason not to support other charities, too. Jim should not be ashamed of his choice of charities.
Bruce,
I know where your coming from man. I lost one of my best friends earlier this summer to one of those careless right of way violations, (He was part of the reason I did this ride this year, we never know when times up). And I could have ridden for any charity, Cancer, MS, Biker Charities like yours, there are so many.... My ONLY WISH was to inspire others to be "more then just themselves" and let them carry the torch for your good cause, and many other's, and let their actions inturn inspire other's. You seem very passionate about life, and I admire that in other's. Ride safe my friend, and if you have a cause I will be glad to come ride your event.
I was gratified that Jim recognized that people, events, actions that we encounter are not always random but are sometimes put before us for a reason. This was more than a ride for charity, it was a means toward personal growth. I enjoyed the latest tales from this tremendous, philanthropic ride and hope to read more. Thank you, Mr. Bingenheimer for continuing to report on this.
I believe in Angels and think that there were several that accompanied Jim on his travels. Words on paper cannot convey the exhaustion that Jim felt at times during his ride, but the voice mails that I received throughout the night from Jim at his gas stops revealed an almost incoherent voice on the other end that I barely recognized as Jims. If Angels had not been by his side, surely he could not have stayed awake, let alone upright, (all while traveling at very high speeds)during this undertaking. Thank God for looking out for my Jim and for giving him the courage to push on and the wings of an Angel to carry him home safely.
He's not heavy.......
Jim, thank you so much for riding the 30K for MDA. What an incredible story! MDA partners come from many different industries from Fire Fighters to home builders to Harley riders. Harley Davidson has been a long-standing partner of MDA's and we couldn't be more grateful for their partnership, and their loyal bikers like you. I can't imagine what the road was like for 30,000 miles, but I can tell you that your ride will enable MDA to continue providing help and hope for our families in Southern Colorado living with Muscular Dystrophy. Thank you, on behalf of our families. Thank you!
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