Meet The Rider # 985 Valerie Stewart

Born and raised in Southern Oregon. I grew up in Gold Hill, Oregon a horse crazy tomboy who also spent untold hours reading books. In the process of growing up, meeting people and new experiences,  there were motorcycles. I got my motorcycle endorsement when I was 18 or 19. I didn't have my own bike but friends and family would let me ride their bikes. Saddly my new found love of motorcycles soon lay dormant while raising a family, working and life in general.

 

It was a lifetime later, and a second husband who brought motorcycles back into my life. We moved to northern Nevada in the Virginia City Highlands. This opened up a whole different world. I was eventually encouraged to get my own ride so I grabbed that chance and have never wanted to be a passenger again. I have been able to ride and see places and meet people who have truly changed my life for the better.

2024 will my my 3rd Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.  This will be my Lessons Learned and my Unfinished Business  Challenge.  Hoka Hey is addicting and I am grateful for the being able to be part of this amazing group who  have heard the call. I didn't have the honor to meet Jim Red Cloud, but it was finding the Hoka Hey on the internet shortly after the 2010 Challenge that intrigued me to learn more about Hoka Hey. Many thanks for his vision.  Also, grateful that I will be riding with my daughter Andrea Tooley #1066 and my son Craig Tooley #1156.  It is said you only have one 1st Hoka Hey,  but I was able to experience 2022 by watching  Andrea's excitement and now 2024 with Craig's. We are excited to be a part of retracing the 2010 inaugural ride as I have never been to Key West, plus have always wanted to see  Canada,  the Yukon and Alaska!

 

 I am riding for Mile Monsters Inc   
Ride 4 Others | Mile Monsters Inc.
Charity Riders who compete in Cross Country Endurance Challenges. We ride to raise money and awareness in the fight against childhood disease.

Helping kids who have DMD live their best lives. Please check the link, read about our Heroes

Travel Light, Travel Fast, Travel Far
Valerie "Gypsy" Stewart
#985
Wishing us all a safe and fabulous finish.

 

Meet The New Rider # 1134 William Miller

 My name is Kenny Miller, I'm 51 years old and I've been riding since I was 8. Started with dirt bikes, ATCs, 4 wheelers and eventually got my first street bike in high school. I first learned about the Hoka Hey in 2010 but due to time and finances, I did not sign up. I have done many bike trips and camping trips over the years and continue to do so. My first 1000 mile day was from east of St. Louis to Sturgis on a KLR650 Dual Sport bike. I didn't even realize I did an Iron Butt until someone pointed out that my start point that morning was over 1000 miles away. No wonder I was so tired, lol! Fast forward to 2013-14 where I got involved in some long distance charity rides. I was hooked! Riding to dinner down the street is now boring to me, riding to dinner in another state, yeah, let's go!

 

    I decided to apply to ride the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge 2024 for a couple of reasons. I miss the long distance rides of 2013-14, my schedule finally allows me more time and flexibility. Lastly, there was a period of time in 2021 and 2022 where I nearly went blind and couldn't safely ride for over a year and a half. Seven surgeries for detached retinas, cataracts, and correction of one odd shaped eye, multiple procedures in-between, visits to specialists, and lots of pain, I can see! Not perfectly, but close enough to be back on 2 wheels! Riding brings me joy, takes away my stress, and clears my mind.

 

    I don't really have one charity i concentrate on. I'm in the powersports industry and give what time I can to help charities that help homeless vets and injured motorcyclists. So when people ask why I ride, I tell them this, I ride for the poor and the beaten down, to give them hope. I ride for the prisoners and men who have long paid for crimes. I ride for those who've never read or listened to the words that Jesus said about the road to happiness through love and charity. I ride to remind me of the ones who are held back, for the sick, lonely, and old, for the hundreds fine young men we lose each week and thousands who have died believing luck was on their side. I ride for the things that will never be right, and the things that need changing everywhere you go. Until we make a move to make a few things right and we're able tell the world that everything's okay, and carry off a little darkness on my back, till things are brighter for all. I ride.

 

Meet One of the Original Riders # 22 Glenn Hawthorne

My name is Glenn Hawthorne rider number 22. I participated in the 2010 and 2011 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. I have not finished one yet. Shut down at the Canadian border in 2010.  I was DQ outside of Jackson Hole in 2012. Then had multiple mechanical failures. 7-8,000 mile into both rides. Both were amazing experiences. I took my first ambulance ride getting ready for 2012. Totaled the bike and it was almost two years before I could look up without getting dizzy. I have my letter of rehabilitation from Canada in hand and I am looking forward to another chance to finish.

My charity is the Trevathan Family medical expenses fund. Lynnda was one of the most amazing people I have ever known. She lost her battle with breast cancer this year. My goal is to help her family recover financially from all the medical expenses. 

I am also a member of the DD214 Alumni!

Meet The Rider # 878 Jason Miller

Jason is returning for his 4th Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, the previous being in ’18, ’20, and ’22. He is looking
forward to this run, as he has never been out of the lower 48. Navigating border crosses and Canada’s
roads is something he has wanted to do for awhile. He is also excited to do on the journey similar to the
original riders, and to be out there trying to see how many U Turns he can make in a day. Jason’s
favorite part of riding the challenge is the few hours every day at sunrise and sunset, and the incredible
roads that you travel that you would never visit on your own. The most difficult part of the ride for him
is dealing with fatigue and getting to sleep.
A word of advice about riding the challenge: Drink lots of water, sleep when you are tired. Take time to
look around and take some pictures, you will regret it if you don’t.
Jason’s fundraiser is for Community Support Advocates in Des Moines IA. They provide support services
for people with disabilities locally and all across Iowa. They offer much needed services to those with
disabilities and they are growing their foot print to address the much needed increase in children’s
mental health services as well. The Fundraiser is current and on FaceBook.
Fundraiser:Jason Miller Community Support Advocates
Community Support Advocates: TEAM

JMillRider Youtube

Jason is also a husband of wife Sarah and dad to Hudson 18 and Elspeth 15. He enjoys watching Elspeth
in her Color Guard activities and loves her artistic creations. He also is excited to watch his son play in his
first year of college Football at Drake University. He is also passionate videos for his YouTube channel
JMillRider.
Please follow Jason and his progress during the challenge, and donate to The Charlie Foundation. Also
say a prayer or two for ALL the Riders of the 2024 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, and an extra one for
Rider #878.

 

 

Meet The New Rider # 1239 Anne Vansant

Hi there! My name is Anne Vansant, rider #1239. This is my first Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge and I've been excited to participate in such an amazing feat since I first heard of the inaugural 2010 ride! I love life and challenging myself! Two years ago I decided to step away from a career in Healthcare, sell my farm in Colorado, and head to Alaska to challenge myself as a deckhand on a fishing charter in the Bering sea for a full season. It was both the hardest work and most grit inducing lifestyle I've ever signed on for! I loved it! I also was a combat medic in the US Army for 9 years as well and deployed to serve all over the world.

 This year is my year to conquer whatever the Hoka Hey throws my way! I am a patient care rep in Hospice these days and of all my experiences in life I've learned first hand that no day is promised and it's up to each and everyone of us what life we live between birth and death and to push boundaries outside of our comfort zones and see what we are made of. My memories of these experiences have always been met with the warrior inside of me and the friendships of those warriors along side of me, challenging themselves for their own reasons. These are the people I aspire to befriend! I choose to inspire and be inspired by others through kindness and perseverance! I embrace this challenge and can't wait to become part of this amazing family and challenge!

Meet The Rider # 1068 Felix Santiago

The 2024 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge will be my second event. After completing the 2022 as a Finisher I was glad to be at the finish line in one piece. I sincerely had no idea of how demanding this event could be. Yes, you hear all the stories but it is not until you experience the challenges, the event has to offer, that you really find out what this event is all about.

My story is similar to many of the riders participating in this event. I’m no better nor worse than anyone else here. My focus this year is very similar to the first event in 2022. Arrive back home alive and try to do better than 2022. When you look at the list of finishers that is posted at the end of the ride remember that the list does not describe the individual challenges each rider had while completing the event. It also does not describe any coat tails you might have hitch a ride to get yourself to the finish line.

I hope to meet everyone at the events prior and during the event and sincerely wish for all a safe and clean run.  See you all at the starting line.


Felix Santiago

Meet The Rider # 789 Kurt Kvennejorde

 

2013 Challenge, 2014 Challenge, 2015 Memorial Ride, 2016 Challenge, 2017 Hillbilly Hot dog  2018 Challenge
 
Kurt was born in Drammen, Norway 1962 has three Children 1985, 1988 & 1989, with my soulmate Rita Helen. In addition to two fantastic grandchildren.
 
In 2001 I left Norway and went to Houston TX and founded a company RigNet Inc. Texas is where I first started to Ride Harleys, every weekend I rented a bike and was Riding from Friday afternoons to Monday Mornings, In 2002 I Purchased a Fat boy 100 years anniversary gold key edition. Unfortunately, shortly after I must go to Singapore, I shipped my bike to Norway with Texas Titles on, and kept it in the basement collecting dust for a few years
 

In 2006 I was living in Qatar, I was CEO of RigNet MENA in addition to Global CTO for the company. The only focus in life was chasing the “Benjamins” Always in a Suit and Tie. Chasing the next contract and new markets.
 

I was on a short visit in Norway in September 2006 and had a flight back to ME early the next day, I went into the basement where I had my Fat Boy and got a new idea, within just half an hour I had the Bike out of the living room, a small bag on the saddle, and started Riding toward ME and Qatar.
The trip took me 10 days, from Stavanger, Norway to Doha, Qatar. This trip was the first extreme biker journey of my life. I left Norway with Texas plates on the bike and no other documents of ownership or insurance for the Bike.
The thrill and challenges of this trip getting the bike through numerous border crossings made me finally feel real alive again.

I was in capital Damascus in Syria, and had not used any GPS on my trip so fare, as I had a meeting in 2 days I was now in a hurry to get back to Doha Qatar, so I punched in Doha Qatar on the GPS and started Riding, it was only one snag by with using the GPS, that I figured out a little later when I was in Iraq and had accidentally passed a border crossing on a small dessert road.

The shortest route from Damascus to Doha was through Baghdad Iraq, through Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and Not through Jordan and Saudi Arabia as expected. The adrenaline Rush it gave me , when I had survived and was unhurt after a trip through Syria into Iraq back to Syria, into Jordan and through Saudi Arabia riding with Texas plates on the bike can’t be explained.
For all the years after 2006 to my first Hoka Hey in 2013, I was riding my bike wherever I was traveling, I had the passion for riding, but I was always riding alone, as no one I knew could do the long-distance riding in the areas I was riding.

I participated at my first Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge in 2013, did not know nothing what was coming, and it can’t be explained in any way, I think everyone participating will give different answers.
The thrill of been taken to unknown territories, and the uncertainty of what you will meet around the next bend in addition to coping with all this mentally over a long period of time is what really make me feel alive.
After my first Hoka Hey in 2013, it started to grow on me, I just didn’t want it to end, just wanted to continue riding.
When back in Norway, I immediately decided to ride again, and it has become the passion of my life riding The Hoka Hey Motorcycle
Challenges where I have found something special.

Meeting up with a fantastic team of other riders and organizers that have the same passion for extreme riding as myself.
HOKA HEY.

Kurt will be riding to raise funding for Educate a Child