Cyclists cross country for Charleston 9

After dodging a snake in Oklahoma, a vicious dog in Arkansas and a hit-and-run driver near Atlanta, Laddie Williams, a firefighter in Augusta, Ga., has some vivid memories of his cross- country bicycle ride to honor Charleston's nine fallen firefighters.

But he said the most emotional moment of the entire 2,600-mile trek was at the end, as he wheeled toward the charred hulk of the Sofa Super Store.

'It's hard not to cry when you see that site,' said Williams, whose father and grandfather also were firefighters. 'I've been in buildings like that, and you know anything can happen. You picture yourself in that fire, and you think, ‘That could have been me, or one of my friends.' That's why we did the ride.'

Williams, 35, and riding partner, Scott Rousseau, 32, a bicycle mechanic from North Augusta, raised more than $25,000 during their journey, including a $12,264 donation from the International Association of Firefighters.

They began Sept. 11 in Palm Springs, Calif. Two days in, Williams learned that his wife was pregnant. 'That was hard, because it's our first, but then you think of the guys who'll never see their children again.'

Firefighting is dangerous, and so is riding a bicycle across the country. On old Route 66 in Oklahoma, a snake suddenly lunged toward Williams and got caught in his wheel before getting chopped up and left on the road. 'I was going 35 mph and thought I was going down.'

In Arkansas, Williams fought off a vicious dog, bruising his knuckle and knocking out one of the dog's teeth in the mele.

Near Atlanta, a pickup truck on a busy commuting road clipped Williams and sent him flying.

The driver never stopped.

During the trip they spent all but two nights at firehouses, including a night at a department in Fort Smith, Ark., which lost a firefighter to a drunken driver this summer.

The firefighters gave them $400 in donations. 'Everywhere we went, they knew about the fire in Charleston,' Rousseau said.

The last leg of their trip was from Augusta to the Sofa Super Store site on Savannah Highway. More than 20 Augusta firefighters and their family members cheered their arrival. Some of the firefighters had given up vacation days or taken Williams' shifts so he could do the ride.

Still sporting a bruise from his crash, Williams said he and Rousseau saw firsthand how the fire in Charleston touched emergency workers across the country.

'After a fire, everyone always asks why it happened,' he said. 'So much is going on with the investigation now, but that wasn't my main concern. I just wanted to raise money for the families.'

Williams and Rousseau finished their fundraising trip an hour and a half after another event to honor the nine firefighters.

Under bright blue skies, about 150 firefighters, family members and friends gathered at the Ashley River Fire Department's station on Dorchester Road to dedicate a new fire truck dubbed 'Trunk Monkey,' nicknamed for Mark Kelsey, one of the nine Charleston firefighters who died.

Kelsey, also a captain at the Ashley River Fire Department, helped customize the new $320,000 Engine 101 so it would hold more tools, said Ashley River Fire Department Chief Scott Inabinet. Kelsey earned his nickname because he sometimes aped a monkey's dance from a television ad showing a monkey climbing from a car trunk.

'Every time this truck hits the streets, the community will know about Mark's love for his community and public service,' Inabinet said.

Reach Tony Bartelme at tbartelme@postandcourier.com or 937-5554.