Men and women wearing leather vests and Tin Man T-shirts took a 60-mile motorcycle ride through Troup County to benefit the family of a fellow biker Saturday. The “Tin Man Ride” began and ended at Captain’s Cove, located at 301 Commerce Avenue and included more than 60 motorcycles this year.
The Southern Cruisers Bikers Club hosted the ride in memory of Arthur Davis, an 11-year Navy veteran and LaGrange resident who died of congestive heart failure July 28.
“We called him “Tin Man” because, like the character in the Wizard of Oz, he was in search of a heart,” friend and biker’s club member Brenda Sellers said.
Sellers coordinated the event, which lasted from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and included lunch, raffle prizes and a silent auction.
Davis, who suffered a heart attack in 2010, was waiting for a heart transplant when his condition worsened in February.
Proceeds from the benefit, originally planned to help with Davis’ medical bills, will help the family pay for his funeral.
“This is the only group of people I know that would drive 50 miles to pay $20 to drive another 50 miles for a friend,” the club’s first officer Derrick Lewis said. “It’s a brotherhood.”
Lewis led the ride and said Davis never missed an opportunity to ride his Harley-Davidson or help someone in need.
“He was just one of those people who is always giving,” Lewis said.
Wife Kris Davis said the group has given her an overwhelming amount of love and support.
“This is our family,” wife Kris Davis said. “We lived and breathed motorcycles.”
Friends and family described Davis as an avid biker, a selfless person and a people person who never met a stranger.
“He had a heart of gold and was always laughing. He’s laughing at us right now for battling the heat out here, ” friend Lucky Phelps said. “He was an amazing man and we are blessed to have had him in our lives.”
The “Tin Man Ride” raised more than $5,000 to help the Davis family with $6,400 in funeral costs, Sellers said.
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