‘Gas tanks are full. Hearts are full.’ Miracle Riders returning to Columbus
Mike Frank did his first Miracle Ride in 2012. He said the sight of the full contingent of Miracle Riders rumbling into a gas station can make some folks apprehensive, maybe even nervous.
“We take over a gas station and every pump,” he told fellow Miracle Rider Jason McKenzie, who recorded several on-the-road video interviews for the Ledger-Enquirer during the 2026 Miracle Ride.
“Someone will be brave and come up and see the stickers on the bikes and go, ‘What are you guys doing?’ And we get to tell that story,” Frank said.
He said before they leave, the riders have a new friend, and they’ve been able to tell their story about Columbus.
“Gas tanks are full. Hearts are full,” Mackenzie interjected.
“Yeah, exactly,” Frank said.
This group of modern-day Pony Express riders left Columbus on May 1 for a 9,300-mile motorcycle ride through 16 states to raise awareness and money for Columbus State University’s College of Education & Health Professions. They are scheduled to return May 22 to a homecoming celebration and concert from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Broadway in downtown Columbus.
Those 14 riders delivered postcards with personal greetings to people along their journey. Another eight riders did the same during regional rides in Georgia, Florida and Alabama. This year’s ride is the second to harken back to the iconic Pony Express riders, who delivered mail on horseback in 1860-1861.
The following comments are based on the nomination letters several people submitted to the Miracle Ride and were provided by Marion Scott, a member of the Miracle Riders’ communications team:
Billings, Montana (May 12) Miller Robson, meteorologist at KTVQ in Billings, Montana, was surprised to see Scott and the Miracle Riders show up at his television station. The former meteorologist at WLTZ in Columbus still has friends here in town — such as Rhonda and Larry Kees, who asked the riders to deliver their greetings to Miller. The message from Rhonda and Larry was brief but heartfelt: “You are remembered and missed by folks in Columbus, Georgia, especially by us.”
Sandy, Utah (May 10) Liz Hurst and Joy Sautter became fast friends when they lived in Columbus as their husbands served churches here. Both families moved to other states to serve other churches. Now, Joy and Nathan are foster parents for two young children from traumatic backgrounds, and they help other foster families navigate the system. “Last year, the Miracle Riders delivered a letter to me,” Liz wrote. “I stood in my driveway watching these incredible men pull up, bringing a piece of Columbus, and felt the magic of home reaching across the miles. Now I want to pass that magic along. I want Joy and Nathan to know that Columbus, where they served, where they loved, where they became family to us, hasn’t forgotten them.”
Salinas, California (May 8) Tami Nelson in Ruthton, Minnesota, wrote that she and Jill Eisner attended school together and graduated in 1979. They lost touch after graduation, but their paths crossed again 10 years later. Tami was struggling through the first few months after divorce, which Jill had recently experienced. Jill called Tami and shared her own journey, then gave Tami advice that has stayed with her. She told Tami to look in the mirror and tell the person looking back that she loves them. “That conversation gave me the strength to move forward,” Tami recalled. She raised her children, went to college, earned her accounting degree and became a CPA. “To this day, I remain deeply grateful to Jill for that life-changing phone call,” Tami said.
This is Miracle Rider Ross White’s third trip. He said it’s a way to pay it forward.
“With what we’ve been doing with CSU, it’s exponential,” he said. “It’s always going to be helping people in the community. The people that we are touching as far as CSU’s nursing students and everything else, the lives that they are able to touch moving forward is, you know, tenfold.”
The Miracle Riders announced in March they have reached their initial fundraising goal of $1 million for CSU’s School of Nursing, a goal set in 2021.
That enabled the creation of three clinical simulation labs to train nursing students, practicing nurses, first responders and others who provide direct medical care to infants, children and expectant mothers.
Look for more reporting, photos and video about the Miracle Ride at ledger-enquirer.com.
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