Mitakuye-Oyasin
- "We Are All Related" or "All are related." This is the best way to
describe the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. A family of riders with the
same passion for roaming the countryside be it stateside or worldwide.
It's the love of wondering what's just over the next hill or around the
next curve. Always just beyond our headlights teasing us to push our
mental beings a little further. This will be my second attempt in this
event. I'm considered a Participate from the 2018 Hoka Hey Motorcycle
Challenge. Due to an unfortunate mishap that left me with 6 fractured
ribs, 2 of which were also broken, I was unable to complete the
challenge and earned the status of “Finisher”. Earning the award of
“Compassion” for helping out 3 other Riders until my mishap answered the
ongoing question I kept asking myself, “why wasn't I allowed to reach
my goal of finishing this event?” It was just not my time. I was exactly
where I was supposed to be to make that difference in other people’s
lives and I accepted that fact. I do plan on finishing the 2020 HHMC,
but as always, we can't predict the future, all we can do is prepare.
I
started riding at the age of 15 on a 1972 Honda CL100. I still have
what rust hasn't claimed of it and would like to one day fully restore
or convert it to a little cafe racer. I pretty much ran that bike’s
motor to the ground. I was always dreaming of the day I would be able to
twist the throttle of a big bike out on the open road and be able go
farther than the 2.5 gallons, or faster than the limited 65-70 mph of my
CL100. During the summer of 2007 my dream came true. In July, while
visiting family stationed up in Alaska, we visited the HD dealer of
Anchorage, “just to look.” Long story short a month later in August we
bought my 08 Fatboy. It’s currently sitting at 118,000 miles, which is a
newborn by Hoka Hey standards. Traveling has always been in my family's
blood. Growing up our family vacations consisted of travel from my
Hometown of San Antonio, Texas, to visiting family in Anaheim,
California, or family in the area of Zolfo Springs, Florida. My family
clan while traveling was 10 kids, my parents, and usually a dog. It was
interesting to say the least. The call of the open road is always
present. Those with an open heart hear its sirens voices and enchanting
music. This Challenge is not about only riding several hundred miles a
day for 2 weeks around 10K miles total. It's also about doing something
for those less fortunate, by raising funds for charities. 
Each
rider is asked to pick a charity of their choice and try to make a
difference for someone they may know or have never met. This year I've
once again chosen Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA). They
help children such as my grandbaby, Julianna Lynne Preciado, with
Cerebral Palsy. She is the most accurate meaning of the word “warrior”
and future Hoka Hey Woman Rider. If there's a doubt on her being able
to accomplish a challenge, she'll prove you wrong by finding a way to
complete it with an infectious smile and chest full of pride. Our
grandbabies are every grandparents second chance to physically hold our
adult children as the babies they once were, although we constantly do
it on a daily bases in our mind's eye.
During my down time of not riding, I’ve been working in research for
the last 38 yrs. at Southwest Research Institute. Getting hired a year
after graduating high school, I've had the pleasure of working in
various departments at Southwest Research Institute. My job offers me
projects that require travel, which again works well with my desire to
visit new places and gain access to numerous restricted areas not
allowed to the general public. Some of the departments I’ve worked in
ranged from geoscience, automotive, bio medical, and a few other
miscellaneous departments to my current position as a Principal
Electronic Tech in the Space Science Department. I’ve been able to work
with the big name industries under NASA guidelines for Space
explorations. It's pretty cool knowing some of my work is currently
roving Mars and traveling out into deep space. It humbles a person once
you realize how small your backyard is, and how big our world and beyond
really is. Suddenly what you might’ve determined a big issue in your
life really wasn't so big after all. You just made it big by the way you
handled it. My motto is " Life's only has hard as you make it." This
doesn't mean to ignore it. It means there's always another day. It's
okay to fail or fall down. The warrior spirit comes out when you get
back up and try again, or learn from it and fix it the second or third
time around.
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