Meet The Returning Rider # 980 James Hollister

 

Greetings!  Jim Hollister here…HHMC Rider #980...looking forward to another Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge!  It seems like it was just yesterday since the last one, but this time I will be retired (for the second time), two years older, hopefully a little wiser and equipped with a few lessons learned from my first Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. 

 

Wait…what?  I’m going to do this again?

 

I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in and finish the 2020 Challenge.  It was something that I had been wanting to do for several years.  I can’t really explain why, but it called to me…over and over.  Finally, I was in a position to answer that call.  I had no expectations other than the assumption that it would be pretty awesome.  It did not disappoint!  I was not on a mission to “find myself” or to have a “life changing experience”…and that was a good thing!  There was no time.  Hey!!  You have to pay attention to what you are doing out there…it is easy to miss a turn…critters run in front of you…many of the roads were very technical…it is easy to miss a turn.  Yes, I said that twice for a reason.

 

What I really wanted was to have the Hoka Hey experience…to participate in something much bigger than myself.  The theme for 2020 was Momis Komet – Perseverance.  Looking back now, it was quite fitting for me.  I knew it would be challenging, but I really had no clue how everything was going to go down.  I had ridden my bike long distances before, but never quite like this.  I had never camped before, let alone from my bike, so the first night of the challenge was the second time I ever put up a tent.  I had never embarked on a journey without researching my route and knowing where I was going.  Ah yes…the journey.  It was incredible.  We knew where we were starting from and then about 20 minutes before departing on the first leg, we finally knew the first checkpoint, but had no idea what was in between.  And that’s how it went until the end!  Interestingly enough, a few times I found myself in places I had been before.  While traveling through Ohio, we rode within a few miles of where I grew up!  I stopped a lot to take pictures and look around along the way.  I went off route to see areas of interest, always being sure to get back on route where I left.  The scenery was amazing and it was easy to get caught up in the incredible beauty that is America.  I got turned around more than once.  I got pretty good at setting up and taking down the tent.  It didn’t take too long to realize I was carrying too much stuff.  I saw a bear crossing the road ahead of me.  I saw majestic mountains and long, straight stretches of road that seemed to never end.  I got cold.  I got wet.  I got tired.  A couple times I questioned myself as to why I was doing this…LOL.  Pressing on, I finally completed the challenge on the afternoon of my 16^th day…arriving the same time as a pretty big thunderstorm.  It was the perfect finish!

 

So yeah, to answer my question to myself…I’m definitely gonna do this again!

 

Another great thing about the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is the opportunity to bring awareness to and raise funds for charities or organizations that are near and dear to our hearts.  Our nation’s veterans comprise a small percentage of our population.  You’ll find them living and working in communities all across America.  Most folks do not know the things they may have seen…the holidays they spent away from their families and friends…the sacrifices they have made.  They are patriots who would step up in a heartbeat to once again defend this nation and our freedoms.  Whether they served a few years or made a career of the military, they call each other brother and sister.  Having spent 24 years in the USAF, another 16 years working for the USAF, and living in the shadow of Fort Bragg, NC for the past 30 years I have had the distinct honor and pleasure to get to know and work with many of my brothers and sisters from all branches of the military. 

 

Unfortunately, through this same experience, I have learned that things like veteran homelessness…PTSD…and veteran suicide are very real.

 

One local organization that strives to assist veterans experiencing these and other issues is Off Road Outreach.  Their mission is to:

Enrich the lives of homeless veterans and others by providing meals, hot showers, clean clothes and kindness from their Jeep.

Help reconnect our veterans to the land they fought and sacrificed for through the True Patriot Inc. Patriot Therapy program.

Provide suicide prevention support and resources to our veterans.

 

These folks are awesome, they are committed to our veterans and do great work here in the community.  I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to help them out through generating awareness as well as raising some funds for them to continue their mission.

 

Off Road Outreach falls under the umbrella of services of True Patriot Inc., a veteran owned and operated 501c3 non-profit organization.  All donations are tax deductible.

 

Take some time to check them out at www.offroadoutreach.com.

 

Ride safe…and often.  Hoka Hey!

 

Meet The New Rider # 1084 Charles Miller

 

As a new rider to the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge I am seeking purpose in my love and down right addiction to motorcycle riding other than selfish joy, and feeling of freedom, and meditation. As a rider who has been riding on and off for 18 years and have owned many motorcycles, I find my passion for riding has grown as I have grown as a father and husband. When I began riding I was a young single soldier whose only commitment was to the service of my country. That service allowed me to fund my first Harley Davidson, a Sportster 883 Hugger. After my service I continued to ride and travel as an apprentice lineman working on power lines. For a few years as a lineman I traveled and lived in a 24’ foot travel trailer, with my Cummins truck, and my motorcycle. In 2008 the recession hit and worked dried up. I moved my trailer back to my hometown in Spokane, Washington and parked it at my battle buddies house who was also my closest riding brother.  Shortly after that I met the woman that would become my wife, but during the recession I lost my motorcycle. As the economy recovered by 2010 for me, I was working again as a lineman, later bought a house, had kids, and got married. I grew as a father and husband giving my family financial stability and a solid home. About three years ago while taking stock of my life so far, I found for as much as I have been blessed with something was still missing…my Harley. Upon test riding a Harley I found for a decent price that feeling ignited in me again. Now I take care of my family, my job, and my Harley.

I know there is more to my passion for riding than just an innate joy. I want to allow my passion of riding to have purpose, but what purpose? The HHMC gives me the opportunity to ride for purpose, this is why I want to ride in the HHMC. As a father I have learned that I have a blind endless love for my children. I want to take care of, and protect my children from everything, however I know there are things outside my power as a father to protect my children from. I can teach them to look both ways before crossing a street, and to not talk to strangers, but I cannot protect them from childhood diseases such as cancer. Therefore, I have chosen St. Jude’s as the charity to raise money for to help with cancer research and pay for cancer treatments for children afflicted with cancer.

The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge has intrigued me since I first heard about it because of the opportunity to live on your motorcycle with only minimal necessary items that can be packed on your motorcycle. As I have become older and more settled, I find myself more accustomed to creature comforts. I used to live with minimal comforts and very few things, a trailer, a truck, and a motorcycle. At one point in my life I went at least a year with sleeping on little more than an Army cot at best, and not every night did I have that luxury. I have many battle buddies that can say the same. However, I am not complaining about these conditions rather look back in envy of those times as a testament to endurance and simplicity I once had as a younger man. My expectation in my ride on the Hoka Hey is to awaken the minimalist, endurance, and abilities I once had. I expect the Hoka Hey Motorcycle challenge to present opportunity re-awaken survival abilities I gained as a young man. With this awakening I hope to find new experiences and new abilities in places I have never traveled before to navigate through, hunger, exhaustion, weather, and hopefully amazing landscapes I have never seen before.

In May of 2021 I attended the Hoka Hey reunion in Seguin, Texas with my battle buddy, that I consider a brother, who is new to the Hoka Hey as well. During this event we tried to gather as much information as possible. I learned from Hoka Hey riders that have completed previous Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenges everything from where to find the most reliable rain gear, to safe places to find rest, such as churches, to installing additional lighting on your motorcycle to light up the road at night. I gained knowledge of the importance of tank bags and techniques for keeping track of your trip mileage to navigate directions. However the best advice I was given by Hoka Hey riders was that it is my ride, make it my ride and my journey. This advise reminds me to allow the ride to guide me and be my experience.

As a working man raising a family with a beautiful wife and a demanding job I have many obstacles in order to participate in the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. I have to save up enough paid leave at work to accommodate at least three weeks to travel to the start of the Hoka Hey, complete the Hoka Hey in 14 days or less, and return home. I also have to make sure I have enough money saved up for my wife to provide for our children while I am away. Another obstacle to overcome is I have to organize my responsibilities at work operate smoothly for the time that I am gone for the Hoka Hey by training someone reliable to fill in for me in my supervisor role. Additionally, I must return home in time to take my wife to a romantic location for our 10 year wedding anniversary on July 14^th as it is a milestone anniversary. In January of this year 2022 I have overcome the first challenge of saving up enough paid leave to accommodate three weeks for my Hoka Hey ride. I will now have to maintain at least three weeks of paid leave. I will now be putting money away in a savings account every payday for the wife to have extra money to take care of the home and kids while I am away and pay July's bills in advance. I will delegate my work responsibilities to two different supervisors at work and ensure all those who depend on me know who to go to for their needs and instruction. The last challenge I must overcome I can only overcome on the HHMC, and that is successfully completing the HHMC in 14 days or less. I plan to do this by tapping into my endurance and survival abilities I gained as a younger man and getting my body into shape prior to beginning the HHMC.

Learning about the existence of the HHMC came from someone who I consider a brother. A brother who has been riding with me for 18 years, a brother who I served with in Iraq, a brother that opened up his home to me after the recession of 2008 by letting me move my trailer onto his property. A brother who on our 2020 Sturgis trip, continued on to Florida living on his Harley. While on this ride after Sturgis, I rode with him as far as Missouri before I had to steer the handlebars West to return to my family and work. It was on this ride in 2020 that my brother made it to Florida living off his bike that my brother learned of the HHMC from someone he met on his travels. My brother shared the knowledge of the HHMC with me and we began researching the Hoka Hey. As he and I researched the HHMC more and more it ignited a desire in me to ride the Hoka Hey to provide the opportunity to ride for a purpose and grow as a rider.

 

 

The very essence of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is based on ‘Wolakota’; a Lakota ideal of living in peace and community with everyone and everything. To live Wolakota is to live a life of peace, friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood, as well as respect between human beings and all forms of life.  Living in accordance with this belief encourages people to step forward and take accountability; to work together to right the wrongs of this world; to acknowledge the strengths and wisdom that all cultures hold in common; and to renew our connection to each other and to the Earth.  By upholding the philosophy of Wolakota through RESPECT, HONOR, INTEGRITY, COMPASSION, PERSEVERANCE and SACRIFICE; we can achieve the well-being of the People seven generations into the future. 

Why I'm fundraising for St.Jude's

 

 

Meet The Returning Rider # 979 Jeff Chauncey

  

 

My name is Jeff Chauncey. Rider # 979

2022 will be my second Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. After finishing in the top 20 in 2020, I was hooked!! My brother and I rode the 2020 Challenge together from start to finish, and that is our plan again for 2022. We went into the challenge with a goal to just finish with our bodies and bikes in one piece. We were fortunate enough to accomplish that goal with an Elite Finisher status to boot!

I am a member of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club. The club is an international organization that has shown tremendous supported to all its members that have ridden in the HHMC.

I will be riding for the Non-Profit Mile Monsters Inc.

This charity consists of a team of hard-core riders from around the nation that ride to raise money and awareness to fight Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne is a fatal disease that affects the muscle groups in young boys. As of now, there is no cure. We aim to help change that!

Please consider making a donation at Mile Monsters Inc. and support our mission.

 

I am looking forward to participating in the 2022 Challenge, seeing all the HHMC veterans again, and meeting the new riders! 

 

Meet The New Rider # 1083 Philip Grove

 

Phil Grove started riding motorcycles in the late 60s as a desert racer in AMA District 37. He raced some of the toughest desert races including the SCORE Baja 1000, and the Mint 400 in Las Vegas. As it happens though, Phil didn’t stay in motorcycle racing, but riding and the love of the challenge of riding across the desert stayed in him.

 

Decades after hanging up his racing gear and selling the dirt bikes, Phil bought his first Harley Davidson. Now, this wasn’t the first bike he’d bought or ridden since getting back into riding (40ish years later), but it was the first one he really … REALLY rode. His first Harley was a 2015 Street Bob that took him 72k miles in two years before he sold it and bought his next Harley, a 2018 Heritage that he put 30k miles on in about 10 months before trading it in for a 2018 Road Glide. Just recently, Phil spotted a gorgeous 2020 Heritage and decided that with more than 80,000 miles on the Road Glide, it was time for another trade-in. In all, Phil has accumulated more than 225,000 miles in just over 5 years.

 

Phil is riding in the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge this year because he loves a good riding challenge, and at 79 years young, finishing the Hoka Hey is the ultimate challenge and will be his crowning achievement. He already has three Iron Butt certifications that include a Saddle Sore 1000, and a Bun Burner Gold (1500 miles in 24 hours). As if that wasn’t enough, he just completed a coast-to-coast challenge in which he rode from Coronado Beach, CA to Jacksonville Beach, FL, a total of 2,356 miles in 46 hours and 28 minutes.

 

As a Vietnam Era Veteran himself, Phil has chosen to ride and raise money for the Veteran’s Guest House, which was founded in the early 1990s when two Reno veterans, along with their community, discovered that out-of-town veterans and their family members were sleeping in their cars while visiting the local VA. Today, the Veteran’s Guest House provides U.S. Military veterans and their family members temporary overnight accommodations when they are in the Reno, NV area for medical treatment.