75-year-old stops in Fairmont on cross-country journey
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FAIRMONT - Looking to raise awareness and funds for Save One Life, an organization that helps children with bleeding disorders around the world, 75-year-old Richard Williams of Montana is going from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine, 300 miles a day, on just his 1980 Honda Gold Wing GL1100. On Tuesday, he made a stop in Fairmont.
The Williams family has been personally affected by hemophilia.
"My late wife Rita was pregnant with twin boys," he said. "One bled to death in about eight and a half months of the pregnancy, and then the other twin was born a couple days later, taken via cesarean section. He also had severe hemophilia. As a toddler, he bled into his joints. He bled into elbows and wrists, knees and so on. His joints would swell up with blood inside his body, and he’s had a very tough life."
While doctors warned Williams that his son, Trevor, could die before adulthood, Trevor is now 37 years old.
Before now, the farthest Williams had gone was from central Utah to Canada, about 1,100 miles. As for why he would embark on this nearly 3,000-mile journey now, he said he had some motivation from someone he knew that did it three years ago on a bicycle, Douglas Mildram.
"I’m 75, retired," Williams said. "I am in good health, and I was motivated by a gentleman who did it on a bicycle three years ago, and that motivated me. I figured I’m too old to want to do it on a bicycle, but I could do it on my motorcycle. I told them last year, Save One Life, how about next summer, I ride across the country as a fundraiser for you. They agreed to it."
The bike he is using to facilitate the journey has been his for 16 years.
"I bought it from a fellow that used to work for me when I was the facility engineer for Yellowstone National Park," Williams said. "I fixed it up, rebuilt the engine, reupholstered the seat and armrests and backrests, and repainted it. It’s been a fun restoration project."
So far, Williams said the experience has been amazing.
"You see different parts of the country and experience different weather," he said. "One morning, I stopped the bike and just watched moose. I was near Lovell, Wyoming, and there was a bull moose and three cows just living their lives. I pulled off the side of the road and watched them, and I hope to be able to do other things like that. It’s been a great experience so far seeing our beautiful country."
Tuesday was his ninth day of the journey, having traveled from Oacoma, South Dakota to Fairmont. He plans to be in Portland, Maine by Sept. 11, traveling every day and stopping at night. As for why Fairmont, Williams said he had a little help with that from Mildram.
"He had an itinerary all worked out because he did it through a company that specializes in coast-to-coast bicycle trips," he said. "I asked him for a copy of his itinerary, and I’m following it. That way, I didn’t have to come up with solutions on my own. He traveled 100 miles a day. I’m traveling 300 miles a day. So I went to every third stop that he made, figuring that that’s how I would figure my distance."
Going to every third stop, Williams managed to land in Fairmont. It will also be his only stop in Minnesota.
"From here, I’m heading to Sun Prairie, or maybe even beyond that because I have to cross Lake Michigan," he said. "I’m not going around the lake. That’ll add another 10 hours to the trip. There’s a ferry that leaves Milwaukee, crosses the lake, and it drops me in Muskegon, Michigan, but I’m not sure I’m doing that tomorrow."
On the route he's gone, Williams said a lot of what he has seen of Minnesota has been plains.
"I haven’t seen the big cities or anything, so it was a lot like South Dakota and North Dakota because all these central states are geographically, topographically very similar," he said. "Every time I pull in somewhere, all the places are very welcoming, and people have always been friendly when I stop at gas stations or wherever to fuel up."
As he continues on, Williams is looking to continue spreading the word and raising money for children in disadvantaged places who are going through what his son went through.
For more information and to donate, visit saveonelife.net.