Best Laid Plans of Mice & Men

Not sure what that phrase means.  Mice make no plans, they act on instinct.  But we make plans and the plans for our 2015 Memorial Ride and the 2016 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge are coming together nicely!!  We are moving forward with plans each day and will reveal all of the details when we launch a completely revised website in the coming weeks.  The new site has a totally new look and direction and is shaping up to be an exceptional product!!  Not that we want to tease you… well, maybe we do… keep your eyes open for the launch of the new website and all will be revealed. Once launched, we are confident, you will agree it was worth the wait!

In the mean time, the Board of Directors for the Medicine Show LLC also wants you to know we are working hard to create a meaningful event for 2016.  One that will not only tax us, fight us and endeavor to break us, but one that will also provide to us an indescribable set of feelings and a new way of thinking.  

To a Hoka Hey Challenger the accomplishment of crossing the finish line comes with a price.  Yes, we pay money to ride, but it is not the money I am talking about.  We are told the best things in life are free, but that is not entirely true.  In fact, the best things in life are never really free. They may not have a monetary price tag, but it will most certainly cost you in time, effort and sometimes emotional or physical pain.  

Although there will be NO entry fee for the 2015 event… It will cost you.  You’ll pay the price of time, commitment, determination, pain and discomfort.  We go into it knowing these things, but we choose to persevere because we intend to honor those individuals that lost their lives while participating in the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.  Charles Lynn (6/26/2010), Kenneth Greene (7/4/2010), John Anderson (6/26/2013) and Newton Pereira (7/27/2014) all believed in the ideals that were set forth when the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge kicked off in 2010.   It is probable these intrepid individuals came to the starting line with one goal in mind, but it is almost certain those plans shifted long before their rides were ended...  Such is the way of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.

We invite all Hoka Hey Challengers and supporters on any make or model of motorcycle to join us at the Geographic Center of the US in Lebanon, KS on the morning of July 31st, 2015.  We will ride as a group to South Dakota that day and will reconvene to parade down Main St. Sturgis on August 1st where the Indian Motorcycle Sturgis store (2106 Lazelle St. Sturgis 605-206-7830), owned by our own Chris Johnson (Hoka Hey Rider #75) will welcome us with a party that is worthy of our Fallen Riders!

Registration for both the 2015 Memorial Ride and the 2016 Hoka Hey Challenge will begin when the new website is launched.

Also, we would like to include links for our Challengers on our new site.  So, if you have a personal website, you own your own business, or you have a BLOG; we would love to include a link on the new “Friends of Hoka Hey” page!  Please forward your links (and/or contact information for Hoka Hey Rider owned businesses), stories and pictures to steve.briscoe@hokaheychallenge.com if you wish to share!

Daytona Biketoberfest

The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge tipi will be setup at Destination Daytona for Biketoberfect from the 16th to the 19th of October.  We need all available Hoka Hey Challengers to stop by if you are in the area.  We will be gathering potential Challengers for the 2016 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.  I will sneak in a bit of information here (without giving away too much) and tell you to get your name in quickly for the 2016 Challenge.  Due to some newly implemented policy changes for the 2016 Challenge if you do not get your name in early you may be left out.

We will also publicize our 2015 Memorial Ride.  What is the Memorial Ride you ask?  Well, I’m glad you asked.  This ride is a Memorial in Honor of our fallen Challengers.  Hoka Hey Challengers and other invited guests will assemble at the Geographic Center of the US in Lebanon, Kansas for a departure on the morning of the 31st of July 2015 for a ride to Sturgis, SD.  On the 1st of August we will be paraded down Main St of Sturgis with Police escort.  Upon our arrival and trek through town we will all gather at the Indian Motorcycle Dealership in Sturgis which is owned by our own Chris Johnson (Hoka Hey Rider #75) for a welcoming party.

This is a ride you will not want to miss and in fact your absence would be conspicuous.  More information will be provided over the next few months.  Hope to see you in Daytona and certainly hope to see you in Lebanon for a great ride to Sturgis in honor of our brothers.

We've Come a Long Way

We’ve come a long way.  For the past many decades the main stream media has painted a bleak picture of the biker.  An innumerable number of articles, movies and books have been published providing a narrative of someone’s understanding of the riding community; many times the author of the narrative has never ridden or rides only on perfect days.  But it is not often that main stream media gets it right.  In fact, history tells us, the infamous picture from Hollister, SD was a hoax, but that single picture alone spawned a plethora of negative beliefs and connotations. 

Yes, we are different.  We are prone to be outspoken when we have something to say and we do not often back down when met with an obstacle.  We are a small percentage of the riding community; we are Hoka Hey.  We ride for the enjoyment and the excitement, but these are not the only reasons we ride.  We ride for a purpose that most will never understand.  We see the oppressed and we work against the oppressor.  We see a wrong and we work to correct it.  We build our lives around Honor, Integrity, Compassion and Respect.  We come from different walks of life but we band together as a single force; we are Hoka Hey.

Persistence

More often than not if we fail to accomplish something it is due to a lack of persistence on our part.  Granted there are times when a task just cannot be accomplished due to outside forces, but the level of force we succumb to varies with different people.  There are literally countless examples of applied persistence during a Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.   Each year there are a number of riders who exemplify themselves with a heightened level of persistence and dedication.  Chuck Marble (Hoka Hey Rider #85) is one rider who did just that during the 2013 and 2014 Challenge.  Last year Chuck found himself in a swampy ditch in Minnesota.  With the help of Matt Wolf the bike was put back upright and, after taking some time to remove the multitude of ticks acquired while wallowing in the swampy water, continued on his way.  Later during the same ride he was struck by a deer and went down in the nether reaches of Arkansas. Alone in the night he straightened his front fender and duck taped his ride to make it to the Checkpoint in Little Rock.  Upon arrival at Lander’s Harley he was taken to the hospital where it was discovered he, in addition to his road rash, had some seriously bruised ribs.  He returned to Lander’s made some final repairs on his ride and continued on to Irving; completing the ride.  During the 2014 Challenge Chuck towed a fellow rider 12 miles and assisted that rider through his dehydrated state; staying with him until he was sure all was well.  Upon his arrival in Homer, Chuck remained on station until that rider came in.  Like I say, there are countless examples of persistence and selfless service to others from start to finish of every Hoka Hey Challenge.  Selfless service and persistence in the face of serious obstacles has become synonymous with the Hoka Hey Challenger. 
  

Continue to watch this BLOG; submitted stories from our riders are coming in and bits and pieces will be placed here.  
  

Hoka Hey!!!

Hoka Hey 2014 Summary

On July 20, 2014, courageous riders from around the globe gathered once again at the Marriott Beachside Resort Hotel in Key West, FL for the start of the 5^th annual Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge™.  The Organizers of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge™ recognize that this event requires a coordinated effort and would like to publicly acknowledge the following businesses and individuals for supporting this year’s ride:

·       The people of Key West, FL and Homer, AK for welcoming the Hoka Hey participants and their families. 

·        Alan Beaubien and the Marriott Beachside Resort Hotel

·       Cory Wood and Peterson’s Key West Harley-Davidson

·       Mina Valdez and Rick’s Bar Key West

·       The Salty Dawg Saloon, Homer, Alaska

·       Kenai Peninsula Harley-Davidson, Soldotna, AK

·       The Marlene McDonough and the Down East Saloon, Homer, AK

Participants were required to stop at three checkpoints between Key West and Homer.  An integral part of the Challenge itself, the checkpoints were selected based on their strategic locations and the superior service they offer; the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge™ would like to show their appreciation to this year’s checkpoints for taking first rate care of our riders: 

·       Wind River Harley-Davidson™ in Lawton, OK

·       Big Sky Harley-Davidson™ in Great Falls, MT

·       Harley-Davidson of Prince George™ in Prince George, BC

Participants expect to be constantly challenged by an unforgiving course as they traverse back roads and byroads and spend nights outside next to their bikes and of the 75 riders that signed up to participate, 58 Challengers left Key West and 43 of them made it to Homer, AK!  Congratulations to everyone that made it to the finish line! 

LIST OF FINISHERS

Completed the entire route without deviation and followed the rules of engagement as outlined by the Terms & Conditions of the event.

Rider #	First Name	Last Name	Check-In Date	Check-In Time
71	Eugene	Adee	7/31/2014	1:20am
74	Rodger	Annicelli	7/30/2014	5:15pm
78	Ralph	Styers	7/30/2014	8:35pm
85	Chuck	Marble	8/2/2014	10:00pm
91	David	lutes	7/29/2014	11:45pm
116	Jim	Herold	7/29/2014	1:55AM
168	Jeffrey	Kohn	7/27/2014	6:15pm
190	Richard	Drake	7/28/2014	3:55pm
323	Dale	Martin	8/1/2014	6:45am
332	Heinz	Spielvogel	7/29/2014	2:29am
342	William	Reynolds	7/31/2014	1:10am
605	Mark E.	James	7/31/2014	6:35am
619	Garry	Simoneaux	8/4/2014	5:00pm
621	Kenneth	Militmore	7/30/2014	12:55am
626	Jeffrey	Piscitelli	7/28/2014	8:15PM
685	Wendy	Battles	7/31/2014	1:10am
706	Tom	Hunter	7/31/2014	4:25pm
720	James	Van Vlerah	7/31/2014	1:10am
725	Rich	Griffith	7/29/2014	2:29am
731	Dominick	Zapploa jr	7/29/2014	10:35am
733	William	Buskell	7/31/2014	10:48am
736	Billy	Fultz	7/28/2014	2:20am
747	Robert	Kumpe	7/28/2014	3:55pm
750	George	Jackman	7/27/2014	6:15pm
780	Randy	Black	7/29/2014	11:45pm
785	Matthew	Wolf	7/29/2014	10:35am
789	Kurt	Kvennejorde	7/28/2014	2:27am
802	Joe	Lacey	7/30/2014	12:50am
803	Shannon	McKinley	7/30/2014	12:50am
804	Gabriel	Carrera	8/1/2014	8:15am
805	Mark	Childers	8/1/2014	8:25am
809	Rex	LeGalley	7/30/2014	5:35pm
814	Robert	Saunooke	7/29/2014	10:35am
817	Joshua	Childers	8/1/2014	8:25am
818	Gary	Burd	7/31/2014	1:20am
820	Dale	Miller	8/1/2014	5:05pm
824	Allan	Thompson	8/2/2014	10:00am
826	Jeffrey	Williams	8/1/2014	2:00pm

LIST OF ARRIVALS

Riders who for one reason or another, had to go off route or their route could not be validated.  Regardless of their reasons, these intrepid riders would not be satisfied until they saw the finish line in Homer, AK.

Rider #	First Name	Last Name	Check-In Date	Check-In Time
1	EB	Chester	7/30/2014	2:00pm
64	Judy	Wagner	7/30/2014	2:00pm
321	Samuel	Jeppsen	8/1/2014	5:00pm
676	Stanley	Kistler	7/31/2014	5:10pm
677	Debra	Kistler	7/31/2014	5:10pm

LIST OF STARTERS

The following intrepid riders started out from Key West but were unable to finish the ride.  Whether they wrecked or encountered other obstacles, these hard-core riders had the fortitude to take the Challenge!

Rider #	First Name	Last Name
31	Michael	Barnak
164	Gary	Trumper
239	Helmut	Karner
359	RIP	Alexander
646	Thomas	Schmidt
691	Newton	Pereira
724	Arthur	Pond
729	Dennis	Elsasser
735	John	Levins
752	Mathew	Klebe
781	Richard	Rutherford
806	Kevin	Marchand
808	Raymond	Roberts
815	Russell	Phillips
819	David	Gaggi
822	Matthew	Martin
825	Arthur	Arway

RECOGNITION

Those participants who completed the Challenge in the spirit of Hoka Hey and who exhibit the attributes that most closely reflect the true spirit of the HHMC we recognize:

1. Heinz Spielvogel, #332 – RESPECT
2. Eric Buskell, #733 – HONOR
3. Mark Childers, #805 and Josh Childers, #817 – INTEGRITY
4. Chris Drake, #190 and his wife Sue – COMPASSION
5. Jeff Kohn, #168 and George Jackman, #750 – AWARDED THE COUP STICK FOR ARRIVING AT THE FINISH LINE FIRST

Adventurous riders should watch the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge™ website (www.hokaheychallenge.com) for information about the next event or call 605-890-0386 for more information.

Many pictures have been uploaded to the Hoka Hey Facebook page and many more are coming.  Stop by our Facebook page and see what our riders have provided.