Hoka Hey Challenge

[SS145]

Hey People I have not been on line for some time, just wondering
if there has been any talk about The Hoka Hey Challenge?

Thanks Pat

[hotroadking]

http://www.hokaheychallenge.com/

[Valley]

I have 2 locals from here doing it, not for me 

[rigidthumper]

We have 1 local here, using an 08 or 09 cop bike, got accepted. Seems like they're not taking just anyone who enters, gotta have a video application, etc. Like a casting call- they're looking for interesting individuals.   I'd love to do it, but that's way too much time off during the bust season.

[JORENO]

4 motorcyclists crash in Collier County during Hoka Hey Key West-to-Alaska challenge
A 7,000-mile motorcycle trip from Key West to Alaska ended early in Collier County for a group of riders on Sunday.

Four men riding Harley Davidsons were involved in three different crashes in Eastern Collier County on the first day of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. The riders pay a $1,000 entry fee and vying to be the first one to The Kenia Peninsula in Alaska to grab the winner-takes-all $500,000 prize.

Hoka Hey means “It’s a good day to die.”

Fortunately, the four motorcyclists survived with two being taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

All of the accidents occurred on Oil Well Road and State Road 29.

Joseph L. Johnson, 49, of Massapequa, N.Y. and Rodger Michael Joseph, of Victoria, B.C., got tangled in the first accident around 10 a.m. The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Johnson was attempting to make a U-turn on State Road 29 and Joseph crashed into him.

Around 11 a.m., Charles Marble, 59, of Anchorage, Alaska, lost control of his 2006 Harley Davidson on Oil Well Road, 2 ½ miles east of State Road 29. Marble was taken to Naples Community Hospital with serious injuries.

About 5 minutes later, Jerry D. James, 63, of Cooper Landing, Alaska, lost control of his 2006 Harley Davison and overturned it in nearly the spot on Oil Well Road, east of State Road 29.

The Hoka Key Motorcycle Challenge, a cross-country race from Key West to Alaska, was created by Jim Red Cloud, a Lakota Indian and motorcycle enthusiast in South Dakota. Hoka Key, meaning "It's a good day to die," was the call of the warriors who rode into battle with Crazy Horse at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

[JORENO]

I sure hope these report's are wrong, but time will tell!   

Formal complaint filed against Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge                                 http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_a5b791e0-8628-11df-a447-001cc4c03286.html
Homer motorcyclist calls Hoka Hey seriously flawed
http://www.adn.com/2010/06/30/1348363/homer-motorcyclist-calls-hoka.html
Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge generates controversy, skepticism
http://www.examiner.com/x-378-Motorcycle-Examiner~y2010m6d22-Hoka-Hey-Motorcycle-Challenge-generates-controversy-skepticism

[Coff 06]

Sounds like "Hoka Hey" means it's a good day to give me your money.   Coff 06

[JORENO]

Over 110 Hoka Hey riders in town
http://homernews.com/stories/070210/Over-110-Hoka-Hey-riders-in-to.shtml

[02roadcling]

Copied this from the local paper in Bellingham, Wa this morning.

Man on grueling motorcycle race crashes in Alaska
FAIRBANKS, Alaska Alaska State Troopers are investigating whether a Seattle man who collided with two Nenana bicyclists fell asleep during a grueling cross-country Harley-Davidson race.

Troopers said Vik Livingston, 53, collided with Andy Hutten, 50, and Karen Schaad, 22, on Wednesday on Parks Highway, about 50 miles outside of Fairbanks.

Hutten escaped the crash with a cut on his leg. Schaad suffered a chipped vertebrae and a cracked pelvis. Both also had a lot of road rash "I feel really, really lucky," Schaad said. "It could be much worse. I'm glad I can walk."

Livingston was on the last leg of an 8,000-mile motorcycle race billed as the Iditarod of Harley-Davidsons, starting in Key West, Fla., and ending in Homer, Alaska.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that crash occurred on a spot on the highway that is a long straightaway.

Livingston wound up in Fairbanks Memorial Hospital with cracked ribs, a broken clavicle and a punctured lung. He said he swerved out of the way of a car that suddenly braked in front of him.

"All I can remember is I came around the car, and there were two bicyclists there," Livingston said by phone from his hospital bed. "I was thinking, 'What in the world are they doing out here?'"

But Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said there weren't any signs Livingston swerved or braked until after he hit the first cyclist, which is consistent with accidents in which drivers fall asleep.

"That's a possibility," Peters said. "We still need to conduct interviews. It's too soon to know what caused it and why."

The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge has been marred with a rider's death, several accidents and accusations from participants that it is badly organized, the newspaper reported.

Nearly 800 participants started in Florida on June 20, and they must follow a specific course, down to exact streets, to be eligible for the grand prize, $500,000 in gold.

One man died participating in Wyoming after he evidently fell asleep while riding. At least six other crashes have been reported.

Some riders have said the race is impossible to finish with the required course. Participants paid $1,000 to enter.

The first two racers, Frank Kelly, of Prosperity, S.C., and Will Barclay, of Highland, Fla., arrived in a tie in Homer on Monday, finishing the 8,482-mile course in 190 hours.

About 200 riders have finished the race, said Doug Chambers, sales manager at the Farthest North Outpost, which served as the final checkpoint.

[Blazing Saddles]

I feel really badly for the two cyclists.  I've been riding Harleys since 1970 and bicycles since I was 6.  I would be willing to bet that the majority of the participants in this event are no where near physically fit enough to do it with any margin of safety.  The skill required to ride a motorcycle extreme distances is greatly diminished by poor physical conditioning.  In most cases there is a huge amount of focus on the condition of the motorcycle and little on the condition of the rider.  JMHO of course.

Blazin'

[JORENO]

Motorcycle endurance event finishes with winners and tragedy

A motorcycle event meant to test the endurance and ‘warrior spirit’ of participating riders has found its winners in the wake of the event’s only fatality.

The prize was claimed by Frank Kelly of Prosperity, South Carolina and Will Barclay of Highland, Florida as they rode over the finish line at 4:20 a.m. Monday morning. The pair rode 8,482 miles from Key West, Florida to Homer, Alaska in 190 hours to complete the Hoka-Hey Motorcycle Challenge.

The two riders told the local newspaper ‘The Homer News‘ the last leg was the hardest saying they were so tired, they stopped every 5 miles. Reportedly, the pair agreed in Fairbanks that they would cross the finish line in Homer at the same time and ride together.

"Hoka Hey! Hoka Hey!" screamed Kelly's wife Shevonne, who'd waited since 11 p.m. Sunday to greet her husband, reported the Homer News.

Although both rode Harley-Davidson motorcycles to comply with the basic entry qualifications, Barclay only bought his 2008 Electroglide Classic three weeks before the race. It was his first Harley with his other rides being the classic British Royal Enfield. And this isn’t the first motorcycle challenge for the corporate jet pilot who has completed many miles riding through India in the Himalayas.

While the two winners discuss sharing the prize of $500,000 dollars in gold, organizers and officials are discussing the recent and only fatality related to the event which appears to be due to exhaustion.

Authorities have tried to piece together the final moments of Charles C. Lynn, 44, of Sorrento, Florida who was participating in the Hoka-Key Motorcycle Run at the time of the crash. It is believed Lynn was southbound on I-25 in Wyoming Saturday evening when he fell asleep, which caused his motorcycle to veer off the road and into a median about four miles north of Douglas in Converse County.

Apparently Lynn applied his brakes and tried to steer his bike back onto the roadway when it went into a spin. The motorcycle crashed, ejecting Lynn, who was not wearing a helmet. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Although this is the only death associated with the event, four riders retired due to an accident in the first few days of the ride with another fifty withdrawing from ’stifling heat’ and more urban traffic than the riders were used to. Reportedly, the events route was kept to small state roads to avoid heavy traffic on interstates.

Coincidences surround the fatal accident of Charles C. Lynn, the rider who died riding through Wyoming trying to complete the Hoka-Hey Challenge. The Harley-Davidson dealerships which sponsored the Hoka-Hey Motorcycle Run were owned Bruce Rossmeyer until his untimely death on July 30th 2009. Rossmeyer was riding through Wyoming on his way to Sturgis when he crashed.

Before the two winners of the Hoka-Hey Challenge can collect their $500,000 in gold they’ll undergo drug tests, the motorcycles will be inspected and log books reviewed to ensure they all comply with the challenges different rules.

[NETacomaFatboy]

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/63-year-old-dies-in-Hoka-Hey-Challenge-motorcycle-race-070510


another one bites the dust.....