My name is Russell Douglas, rider #1195. I am looking forward to my first Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. Personally, the HHMC represents the ride of a lifetime plus the opportunity to face
challenges and adversity, as well as regain some youthful grit and determination. Public facing, the HHMC allows me to use my participation as an avenue to support Samaritan Village in Orlando. Samaritan Village is a safe home and therapeutic program for adult survivors of sex trafficking, encompassing healing for the mind, body, and soul. Samaritan Village has thrived for fifteen years, growing to three homes (safe, transitional, and independent living), with a record of good governance, mission success, and financial accountability. Campaign page to come, but check them out at Samaritan Village
My first experiences on a motorcycle were as a kid riding mini-bikes on the beach
and in the dunes of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. I grew up in Central Florida, with
loving parents that encouraged a quality education and discouraged street riding; I
failed them on both accounts. I spent most of my adult life working with hospitals
in strategy and finance and riding on the nights, weekends or between jobs.
Eventually I moved to Miami. It was there in 2010 that I read about the first HHMC
from Key West to Homer. I realized my job wouldn’t be there when I got back
(who cares), but mainly, my dear wife had not come to comprehend the importance
of this trip.
I’ve enjoyed the back roads for many years, but over those years the definition of
long-distance as changed to include longer and longer trips. Canyon road, bigger
mountains, higher mountain passes, longer lonely roads. Over the past decade
those trips have expanded to include Canada, including most provinces from Nova
Scotia and Newfoundland to British Columbia and the Yukon, plus two trips to
Homer. That’s all nice, but with age I’ve come to rely on GPS, motel rooms, and
late morning starts to get by. So . . .
I am looking forward to the meeting the demands of the Hoka Hey way, with the
shed your GPS / sleep on the ground / go-go-go attitude required to face and
conquer. Just as much, I am looking forward to meeting more Hoka Hey family.
I’ve valued the people I have met through the HHMC, and the way they uniquely
follow the code of respect, honor, integrity, and compassion.
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