My name is Joe Houseworth. I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was stationed at the Foreign Language Institute in Monterey, CA in 1980. I borrowed a friend’s bike and taught myself to ride on California Highway 1, along the Big Sur Coast. I was hooked, and have been riding ever since.
When I’m not riding, I enjoy fishing, golfing badly,
cooking gourmet meals for my wife, and reading - usually recipes! I’m
practicing with foods from many different regions, and my wife Krista is
a good sport about trying my many creations.
I read about the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge about 8 years ago in a
motorcycle magazine, and wanted to test myself in this run; sadly, until
2019, I didn’t own an American built motorcycle.
I’ve been doing long distance riding since I got my first
BMW in 1998. Since then, I’ve done several Iron Butt runs, including
the 50CC. The Hoka Hey challenge is, to me, the pinnacle of endurance
riding, since it combines skill and stamina with helping people via
supporting Native American charities.
I expect this first Hoka Hey ride will be a difficult but
not insurmountable challenge. As I am still recovering from COVID and
COVID-related pneumonia, as well as a pneumothorax, this will push me to
my limits. And to me, life is all about finding your limits and pushing
through them. I learned survival skills in the military, including map
reading and basic camping. I believe those skills will help me to
succeed and excel, and that my own determination to overcome the
physical damage done by COVID will see me to the finish. I may not make
it in ten days, but I will make it.
I had planned to raise money for the Fisher House, but
the illness and long recovery, in addition to moving from California to
Idaho, have put my fundraising efforts far behind. I hope to be able to
raise some money for that amazing organization.
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