The Hoka Hey Challenge 2011 was a great success with the World’s Top Riders competing in a 14,000 mile cross country event. The course took them through 48 states and 2 Canadian Provinces and ended in Cape Breton, Canada.
This year, the Hoka Hey went high tech and utilized GPS tracking devices to monitor the riders to insure compliance with the prescribed route of navigation. All finishers complied with the route but the top riders had to submit to polygraph exams for further scrutiny into their compliance of the many rules.
Because of the fact that the 2010 event did not utilize US Fleet Tracking to obtain information about the rider’s speeds and location; the Organizers had to rely on local law enforcement as the primary means of enforcing speeding violations. The Organizers relied on the issuance of a speeding ticket or moving violations, along with the polygraph examination to qualify the 2010 winner. In this 2011 event, the information provided by US Fleet Tracking specific to the 11 contenders could not be ignored by the Organizer’s of the Challenge. After the final validation had been completed, even though the 11 riders who finished within the allotted time frame have accomplished something that no other rider on earth has done, they could not be awarded prize money. The situation was discussed at length at a Contender’s meeting and consideration was made for the fact that the Contenders had to incur significant additional expense to travel to Mesa, AZ for the mandatory polygraph examination. There was an offer made and accepted to help offset their expenses for the mandatory travel. One contender was not able to be present for the event and another intends to seek other remedies. In the end, these elite riders were celebrated on stage as the winners of the event and were recognized as the greatest riders in the world!
A number of the Hoka Hey Challengers were on hand to celebrate the winners and enjoy festivities at Chester’s Harley-Davidson, Mesa, AZ during their annual Rocktoberfest. Chester’s Harley-Davidson was the starting point for the Challenge and on Saturday, October 8th, 2011 Chester’s welcomed the riders back with a ceremony to honor all the brave men and women, who fought the elements to complete the grueling 2011 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. Everyone present enjoyed 11 Rock Bands, a poker run and a spectacular concert by Paul Rogers of Bad Company which brought everyone to their feet!
Thanks to all that made the 2nd Hoka Challenge a great success! Especially the folks at Harley-Davidson Motor Company and US Fleet Tracking, proud sponsors of the Hoka Hey.
The 2012 Hoka Challenge is scheduled to run next August. The course will be LESS THAN 7,000 miles, to afford more riders the opportunity to participate. The anticipated total ride time should be 12 days or less. The route will once again take those who love to ride through the back roads of America. Applications will be available on the website in November. Please check our website for updates www.hokaheychallenge.com
The Toughest Ride for the Toughest Riders on Earth! 10,000 Miles of Pure Adrenaline!! The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is a grueling battle of endurance and determination! Join us and test your abilities to navigate, endure and persevere along some of the most technical roads in North America. Check out the web site at www.hokaheychallenge.com or contact the organizers for more information (info@hokaheychallenge.com).
