Hundreds of bikers pass through West TN on way to St. Jude

DYERSBURG, Tenn. — A group of bikers on a mission got to see the results of their hard work Friday.

“For the past year we’ve been raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for the kids, and today is the day we get to take it down to the hospital,” said Gary Fulrath, an organizer of St. Jude Rides.

More than 400 people on 250 bikes stopped in Dyersburg on their way to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.

“This is all generated out of the St. Jude affiliate in Peoria, and we’re really excited to be able to come down here,” St. Jude Rides founder Michael McCoy said.

While the bikers come from Iowa to Tennessee and everywhere in between, they say the yearlong fundraiser has been a team effort. Like the St. Jude Marathon, each biker has to raise a certain amount of money to be able to go on the ride.

“Each person has to do their own fundraising, then we do group fundraising, and then the coordinators, they have to put it all together,” Fulrath said.

Even the employees at the hotel where they stayed are proud of them.

“The fact that they are coming here to Dyersburg, stopping on their way to take thousands of dollars to St. Jude, what a privilege it is for us to be a part of that,” said Lou Adams, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express in Dyersburg.

The bikers say they cannot wait to get to the hospital.

“It means a lot to these people to know, because today they’re going to get to go to the hospital, and some of these people are new, and they’re going to get to see where their money is going,” McCoy said.