Team VanVlerah

 Yesterday we welcomed the second to the last group of riders to cross the finish line at Wolf’s Run here in Irving, NY.  Team Van Vlerah included the first father – daughter team to ride in the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.  Jim Van Vlerah and his daughter Abagail rode for the last 3 days with Chris Cowden of Chesapeake, VA and arrived at the finish line at 3:21 pm on the 16^th.  After 11 grueling days on the road they were elated to be here but were already talking about next year’s ride!  

The announcement for the 2013 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge will be made at the End of the Road party tomorrow, Saturday August 18^th, when we hold the Honors and Awards for everyone that completed the 5,600 mile ride from Las Vegas to New York.  Though the ride started out on some fairly straight and level highways, the riders had to contend with 100+ degrees in the desert of Nevada the Plaines States.  Colorado offered some reprieve from the heat but the mountain roads were just a taste of the technical riding the Challengers would have to negotiate as they headed eastward.  Participants rode 2,770 miles before reaching the first checkpoint located at Doc’s Harley-Davidson in Kirkwood, MO. 

Doc’s outdid themselves with private bathrooms for riders to clean up a bit while Doc’s pit crews washed and fueled their bikes.  Cold drinks and Subway sandwiches gave the riders the strength they needed to go the short 910 miles to the next checkpoint at Renegade Harley-Davidson in Alexandria, LA.  

Customer service seems to be the mantra at Renegade as they even went so far as to haul a rental bike 337 miles one way to a Challenger who, even though his bike was totaled from an accident, still wanted to complete the ride.  Way to step up and be awesome Renegade HD!!

 

Only one rider remains on the road to the finish line.  Daniel Certa, #732 spent a few days in St. Louis with a neck injury but is pressing on in hopes of being here in time to take part in the celebrations!  He finds himself now on some of the most severe highways we’ve ever taken the Challengers down.  He faces switchbacks that start in Tennessee, curve over the North Carolina state line and then wind back up in Tennessee again!  After 1,880 miles of this torture the finish line will definitely be a welcome sight!

Keep an eye on him on our website (www.hokaheychallenge.com) and cheer him on to the end of the road!