Scott Ressmeyer spent his 53rd birthday Monday as a New York City tourist.

You know the deal -- subway rides, Times Square, ground zero.

It was the first day in more than two weeks the Country's Barbecue owner hasn't been in the saddle of his Harley-Davidson motorcycle touring the country raising money and awareness for the Children's Miracle Network.

Ressmeyer and his band of brothers have wheeled through 40 states.

They still have eight -- Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky -- remaining before rolling back into Georgia on Friday evening during a downtown celebration.

This is Ressmeyer's fourth touch-'em-all trip, having raised more than $280,000 in the first three. By the end of this one, Scott's Miracle Ride should have raised north of $400,000 for kids fighting cancer, birth defects and other unimaginable illnesses kids shouldn't have to fight.

Ressmeyer and his wife, Rochelle, don't have kids. So, why does he do it? Why does he put his life on hold for three weeks a year to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network?

"What sums it up for me is when you go into a high-risk nursery and see the little ones," he said by phone from the big city. "It touches your heart in ways that are hard for me to describe."

Columbus Police Sgt. Tim Wynn has ridden with Ressmeyer once and rode as far as Amarillo, Texas, this time before turning around and heading back.

"Scott's the real deal," Wynn said. "You run across a lot of good people every day. But you don't run across a lot of Scott Ressmeyers."

There is a lot of publicity that goes with Ressmeyer's ride. Many of you have seen the photos of Scott and his buddies in dusters, hats and jeans. On the surface, it looks like a bunch of outlaws.

If Ressemeyer had his way, there would be little publicity, Wynn said.

"But the publicity drives the money, and the money is for the kids," Wynn said. "I can assure it is not because Scott wants all of the publicity for himself."

Ressmeyer, along with his business partner and Country's founder Jim Morpeth, is also a driving force behind Country's Midnight Run, which raises money and awareness for the blind.

"He does a lot of good," Wynn said.

Ressmeyer's goal for the Children's Miracle Network is to raise money until he hits $1 million. Only Ressmeyer would turn what started as a solo cross-country-and-back bike journey for his 50th birthday into a millon-dollar fundraiser.

But that's just the kind of guy he is, Wynn said.

"There is not a better friend in the world," Wynn said.

Amen. Just ask the kids in the high-risk nursery.

Chuck Williams, metro editor, chwilliams@ledger-enquirer.com.