Eddie James died he was 46

Eddie James died in a motorcycle accident, James for more than 20 years, was the motorcycle enthusiast. He reveled in the freedom of long-distance riding, particularly to open areas in the West and South.

"I think it was a great escape for him," said his brother Jonathan Johnson. "He loved long horizons, the mountains."

With the wind blowing through his thick, snow-white hair, Mr. James rode his motorcycle to all 50 states, logging more than a half-million miles in his lifetime, his brother said. His favorite spots included Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Florida and Mississippi.

But Mr. James didn't just seek out vast stretches of highway and open terrain. He also explored oddball stops that were off the beaten path. For instance, he knew where to find the world's largest ball of twine in Darwin, Minn., and had visited the world's largest hand-dug well in Greensburg, Kan. He also had collected more than 650 stamps from hundreds of national parks.

And in 2006, Mr. James coordinated ride events for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation's "Ride for Kids," raising money to find the cause of and cure for childhood brain tumors.

"Basically, anything that involved motorcycling and traveling, he was on board for," said his fiancée, Lisa Erbes of Atlanta.

He was killed doing what he loved the most, dying Dec. 6 in a motorcycle crash on Interstate 75 close to the Northside Drive exit.

A memorial service for Edmund "Eddie" Clarence James III, 46, of Atlanta will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at H.M. Patterson and Son, Arlington Chapel, in Sandy Springs. The funeral home is in charge of arrangements.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he grew up in the tiny town of Silver Lake, Minn. In his early teens, he moved to Winsted, Minn., to live with his older sister. He found a job 15 miles down the road, cleaning barns, bailing hay and milking cows as a herdsman assistant. To travel back and forth, the then-15-year-old bought his first motorcycle.

"It was a green [Hodaka] Road Toad. Basically, it was a glorified dirt bike," said sister Aura Lee Carpenter. "It was noisy as all get out. It leaked oil, and it was so ugly. But he fell in love with it."

In the early '80s, he worked at several Minneapolis/St. Paul motorcycle dealerships, and in 1984, he was a founder of TeamStrange Airheads, which has evolved into one of the leading long-distance riding organizations nationwide.

In 1989, he started racing at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn. He enjoyed racing, and even involved family members. In fact, he made them his pit crew, Mrs. Carpenter said.

He even drove his 7-year-old niece to her first communion on his motorcycle, dropping her off at the church's front steps. "We never had a moment in my family … that Eddie and his bike weren't involved," she said.

Mr. James moved to Atlanta a year ago and owned multiple bikes at the time of his death. He was a big bear of a man who lived life to the fullest and loved children, family members said.

"He's Santa Claus on a motorcycle," Mrs. Carpenter said. "He loved his bike. His whole life revolved around that."
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