My name is Alan Beghtol, Hoka Hey # 1067 and I am from Colorado originally but have lived in Kentucky going on 25 plus years. Probably the scariest thing for me, after I found out I was accepted for the 2022 challenge, was the idea that I had to write a two or three paragraph bio about myself. Easy for some, but not for most, to tell the world in a short clip about your life, what your thoughts are or where you hope you might be or where you are in that amazing journey called life. With all that said, I just turned 59 years young December 2021 and to be quite honest, am fairly surprised I have lived this long. I raced moto cross in high school and since I was knee high to a grasshopper, I have wanted to fly helicopters. Crazy dream for a 5-year-old but that was all I wanted. So, against my father’s hopes of working and rodeoing on a ranch, and despite my mother’s fear of getting into harm’s way, I joined the military three months before I graduated high school. From that point on, this crazy thing we call life, has been an amazing ride. 24 years of flying special operations missions and hundreds of combat flights all over this great planet, in every dangerous scenario you can imagine, with brothers and sisters that I would not hesitate to do it again with, has led me to yet another amazing life challenge that has me both excited and apprehensive.
So, with the stage set and after many trips to Sturgis, Daytona, Thunder, and tens of thousands of miles crisscrossing these United States, I knew nothing of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge or its challenge until a good friend of mine, Cheyenne #1027, mentioned it in passing years ago. Never gave it a second thought until after watching events unfold in 2020 for #1027 on the challenge that he had no control over, I felt a sense of honor and extreme pride watching him and the rest of the riders trying something so challenging. It was at that point that I decided to learn more about what my friend and the other riders were so passionate about. And after some deep reflection and some discussion with my family, I applied for the 2022 challenge.
So, the adventure began! 4 iron butt completions, a serious gear shake down and some much-needed bike mods later, I am getting more and more excited about the challenge. The history and motivations for riders to attempt this physical and mental challenge is quite amazing. To ride a motorcycle 10 thousand miles, to sleep with your bike in all the various elements, and to go old school and navigate by using a set of directions given to you only moments before the start and not able to “plug” those directions into a GPS or phone, is quite the challenge. The physical and mental challenge is something that comes from deep within and something that every challenger will find in themselves across the scale from “can’t” to “finished.” And for me, that is what life is all about. And the idea that I can use my determination and passion for riding, to help a charity, is even more exciting.
There are many different activities that people do to make them feel free, but for me there are two: when my feet leave the ground (which I still fly a helicopter for a living) and riding through God’s beautiful creations on two wheels. I have been blessed to be able to do what I love, through God Almighty and an amazing family, for without those there is no purpose. I am so honored to be accepted for this challenge and excited to meet new brothers and sisters who share a passion and a drive to find that in themselves that no one else can.
Please donate and follow all the riders on this amazing challenge and remember “Fortune favors the brave."
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