Saving the day during RAGBRAI

During our recent ride through Storm Lake during RAGBRAI, we experienced some serious trouble with our bus and the team at Graham Tire went well above and beyond to get us on the road again. We'd like to share the story with you and extend you our sincerest thanks.

As we left the start of RAGBRAI outside of Sioux City, we had to jump our bus to get it moving on day one. Our driver, Bob Thompson, was nearing Storm Lake when the bus stalled in the middle of a highway, stopping traffic. A Sheriff's Deputy was kind enough to jump the bus not once, but three times to help it limp into town and onto the lot at Graham where it stayed on Sunday night. Our host family was kind enough to loan us a car to shuttle us back and forth to the bus that night and the next morning so our RAGBRAI team could shower up and continue the ride while the driver, Bob, stayed behind with the bus on Monday.

The team at Graham quickly assessed the situation and realized we needed a new alternator. After two alternators arrived from other stores, we learned one needed to be sent from a Minnesota location and would arrive the next day. With out RAGBRAI team still on our bikes and already in the next overnight town, Bob needed to get our camping gear and personal belongings to us. The team at Graham once again rescued us by loaning Bob a vehicle to drive to a local dealership and rent a cargo van.

After that, they actually unloaded our belongings from the bus into the van so Bob wasn't doing all the heavy lifting in the summer heat by himself.

Bob made it to Algona with our belongings so that we could have a peaceful night. On Tuesday, we loaded all of our belongings back into the van for his return trip to Storm Lake. As soon as the alternator arrived, the team at Graham dropped everything to make our bus their top priority. Within a short time, the bus was running smoothly, and the team at Graham helped Bob empty the rental van and load everything back onto the bus.

It is certain from this story that so many incredibly kind people were willing to help us get on our way and continue the vacation we'd all looked forward to. But without the help of the team at Graham, none of this would have been possible. We extend a very heartfelt thanks to all of you!