Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge

Saturday, May 16, 2026

Meet The New Rider # 1368 Christina Griffith

Hello sunshine 🌞, I'm Christina Griffith (rider #1368) from Hotchkiss, Colorado. My wonderful husband and I have been married for 26 years. We have 3 beautiful daughters. 3.5 (one is still cooking) grandkids. I'm a late arrival to the motorcycle world. I was a passenger princess for many years. In 2016 I started riding my parents trike. I fell in love with three wheels and solo riding. I've experienced the beauty of all the lower 48 states. From the crashing ocean waves, to high mountain peaks, blowing corn of the plains, to the desert cactus. My adventurous spirit always wants to know what's over the next hill and around the next corner.

I discovered the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge in 2020 through Google search for endurance riding. I instantly knew right away that I wanted to participate in the challenge. At the time they weren't accepting trikes. And I wasn't ready. For the last six years I've been preparing for this ride. I was even trying to think of ways to become a route tester. One way or another I was determined to ride this ride.

"Wheels for Hope" is my fundraising campaign for Breakthrough T1D. It's for Type One Diabetes research. A hope for a future were those we love and cherish won't have to struggle with this disease. Were they don't have to worry about choosing between affording their insulin or paying bills. Not worry about possible loosing limbs or their life to this disease. Hopefully we can come together to help find a cure for those we love.

Meet The New Rider # 1276 Dave Walker

My name is Dave Walker, rider #1276. I currently reside in Glastonbury, CT and I am the proud Dad to a son and twin daughters (hence the gray hair). I grew up in East Hartford, CT in a motorcycling family, the youngest of 5 siblings with my father and two older brothers all riding in both the dirt and street. Needless to say, I happily got introduced into the family tradition at an early age. I bought my first motorcycle, a dirt bike, at the age of 12 and I’ve been riding ever since. I attended college, earning a bachelors degree before becoming a career firefighter, retiring after 26 years of service.

I’ve ridden expensively around New England and beyond, and I enjoy riding as often as possible. Getting on my bike and logging miles is great for my state of mind. It’s where I can think, sort through life’s challenges, or just tune out of it all for a bit and enjoy the curves and scenery. It gives me a chance to unwind and disconnect from everything but the road and what’s ahead of me. I’ve attending the Laconia Motorcycle Rally in New Hampshire every year since 1990 and am a member of the Iron Butt Association (IBA #88777), enjoying those long rides.

I initially heard about the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge from friends of my riding buddy and fellow firefighter Jim “Hooch” Matthews (HH#1275); Matt Klebe (HH#752) and Greg Lapardo (HH#993). I had been looking for something to challenge myself, both physically and mentally, as well as allow me to pursue my passion for riding, since my retirement from the Fire Department. The HHMC seemed like the perfect fit to test myself, as well as accomplish the goal that has been talked about for the last 15 years, that of riding around our beautiful country with my Union brother and riding buddy, Hooch Matthews. I’m looking forward to riding parts of the country I haven’t been to yet while also challenging myself in new ways.

I am currently undecided on a fundraising charity.

Friday, May 15, 2026

Meet The Returning Rider # 953 Jesse Alexander

I’m a Network Engineer by profession and a BBQ enthusiast at heart. I completed the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge in 2020 and am aiming to earn my second finish after being sidelined in 2022 and 2026 while traveling to the start.

When I’m no

t working or riding, I enjoy cooking BBQ—whether it’s catering or competition. While rising costs have slowed things down a bit, it’s a passion I plan to pursue even more in retirement.

As in previous years, my charity of choice is The Dog Alliance Hounds for Heroes.

For me, the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is about more than the ride—it’s about sharing an incredible adventure with friends and family.

I’m grateful for the constant support of my wife, Carol, and my many friends.

Meet The New Rider # 1246 Howard Condrey

My name is Howard Condrey, I was born December 22^nd 1955. My career was construction Superintendent building mostly Hotels in Virginia and North Carolina. I retired in 2018 after a bit of a cancer scare making me realize life is too short.

I have been a HOG member since 2005 holding several different officer positions, enjoying leading rides and mentoring new riders. Currently without a local Dealership I run a Face Book riding group with over 600 followers. (My fear is that one day 10% of those show up for a lunch ride)

I’ve always enjoyed trips with friends and recently gotten hooked on Rally’s such as Hops and Snafu. Even to the point I’ve put on a few of my own for Eastern North Carolina. All my events raise funds for the Kennedy Childrens Home of Kinston NC. For my 70^th Birthday I completed my 1^st Bum Burner Gold.

Within my riding group I have four friends that have completed the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, thus at 70 years old this year I’m challenging myself to be a finisher.

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Meet The Returning Rider # 1038 Gene Fiamma

In 2022 I entered my first Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge and did well as a first-time starter. I returned in 2024 and, with the knowledge and experience of my 2022 ride, I finished well ahead of my first Hoka Hey pace. I will line up in Woodstock, Illinois in August for my third Challenge and I am looking to improve once again.

Improving for me is not only about the time it takes to cross the Finish Line. Improving represents riding well, being in the present, engaging more with the locals when the time and the place permits, and sharing my stories and experiences with the new riders in this year’s Hoka Hey. There is no doubt that the lessons learned from previous Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenges deepen one’s knowledge of how to navigate the 10,000 mile journey and how to endure the many days and nights on the road, and this knowledge will continue to serve me well in 2026 and beyond.

This year I will be combining my love of motorcycling (I am the Captain of the Ft. Lauderdale Drill Team and third time entrant into the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge) with my passion for the game of golf (I am the Starter for several PGA TOUR golf championships) as I set out to raise funds for the boys and girls of the South Dakota First Tee Program specific to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The First Tee is a nationwide charity that views golf as a metaphor for life – a game with unexpected challenges that help build strengths beyond the technical skills of playing the game. The First Tee focuses on helping kids develop character, resilience, self-confidence, and inner strength (much like how the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge positively affects participants) by using golf to empower personal growth while enabling the kids to learn to play the game.

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home to the Oglala Lakota Nation, is recognized as one of the poorest reservations in the US, with high unemployment, poverty rates exceeding 50%, and severe infrastructure deficits. There is no golf course in all of the vastness of the Pine Ridge Reservation, yet The First Tee is there and currently assisting the boys and girls with life lessons and golf lessons. It is my goal to raise funds for the benefit of these outstanding boys and girls.

And if the Hoka Hey route this year should take us through the Pine Ridge Reservation, it would be an amazing thrill for me to pull off the road for an hour or two to visit with the kids, and the coaches, and maybe even hit a few dozen golf balls with them!!!

Hoka Hey!!!

Meet The New Rider # 1376 Dan Middleton

Hello All,
I am Dan Middleton (#1376). I grew up in the small southern town of Loxley Alabama. I like to think I had a pretty normal childhood. Average grades, average athletic ability, and average height. After high school I joined the US Marine Corps, and after a couple years found my way to a reconnaissance unit.

Over the next 20+ years I bounced to 7 different duty stations and deployed all over the world. After retiring from the USMC, I decided to get a formal college education. In 2020, I completed my BA Economics, and in 2022 I finished my most recent degree - MS in Data Science. I have two great kids, and 3 even better step-kids. I feel clarification is needed, when I say “kids” I should say that their ages range from 30-18. So maybe not “kids” per se, but still super great nonetheless.

My first bike was a 1973 Honda 350 F that I rode to every day to high school. My next bike was a 2014 Suzuki Hayabusa and, after realizing that I was not as limber as I once was, I decided to switch it up completely and bought my first HD (2018 SGS). On that Street Glide I discovered that I really love touring across the country on a bike. There’s something purely spiritual and introspective when you see the landscape changing right in front of you. I took 2 separate summer trips - each over 17,000 miles - on that bike, and when the time came to get a refresh, I bought my current bike (2023 RG ST).

I’ve done a couple trips on it so far, but the best of all my long rides was when my wife joined me this past summer on her Indian Super Chief. Seeing the world change around you is humbling as I described earlier, but to do it with someone makes the experience more than a “yeah, I saw that.” It elevates the moment to a shared memory, facilitating the manifestation of something beyond oneself, giving those who shared the experience an unspoken connection from which they will forever have to the other. As one could assume, I have had many shared experiences with my recon brothers while I was on active duty. I didn’t realize how truly special that was 'till I went several years without it. Now thanks to my wife, her support, and the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge , I may just find it once more… If I can be so blessed.