Meet the Riders: John Levins #735

John Levins #735, from Panama City Beach, Florida learned about the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge from his childhood friend and riding partner Eric Buskell #733. John rode his first Challenge in 2012. The death of his father earlier that year was the impetus as John says, “it inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and go ride.”

John had a turn of bad luck during his second Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge when he hit a deer in British Columbia in 2014. His injuries were severe enough to end his Challenge there instead of the finish line in Homer, AK. The end of John’s 2014 Hoka Hey ride was not the end of his story. John was medevac'd out of British Columbia to Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane Washington where his Aunt Sandie Kessler, head of operating nurses, helped him through surgery and later cared for John in her own home for another week before he flew back home to Panama City Beach, Florida.

He loves pushing himself out of his comfort zone and getting off the beaten path. He feels more people friendly than in his past and believes he has gained a new family in Hoka Hey. An eye opener for John is something he calls “road doping,” John explains it is a feeling you get after long hours/days of riding, “where you are in the middle of nowhere and people who aren’t there are cheering you on.”

He suggests new riders take their time and enjoy the ride. Try not to get frustrated and have the experience of a life time. Southern Iron Kustoms in Panama City Beach, Florida is sponsoring John for the 2016 Challenge. The Muscogee Indian Nation’s rural relief project in Bruce community near Panama City, Florida is John’s charity of choice.

John is looking forward to the 2016 Challenge & says he wouldn’t skip riding any of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenges if possible.

Meet the New Riders: Brian Edwards #838

Brian Edwards, #838 from Chesterfield, Michigan, is focused on why he wants to ride the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, “I want to be one of the elite long riders, I want to push myself as far as I can.”  His longtime friend & HHMC Pro Long Distance Rider Mitch Matzek, #104, encouraged him to take on the Challenge. Brian’s enthusiasm could be considered contagious because he has already convinced two other friends to sign up for the 2018 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.

Although he has ridden other motorcycles for many years, Brian has been a Harley Rider for 10 years & will be riding his 2010 Streetglide in the Challenge.

“Wolverine HD is my sponsor this year & has helped me with my fundraising efforts.” Brian’s chosen charities are the Amvets Post 29 in Mt Clemens, Michigan and the Vets Returning Home nonprofit located in Roseville Michigan. Between the euchre tournament, fund raising dinners and other events, Brian has already exceeded his fundraising goal of $10,000 and continues to raise money for his chosen charities.

Brian is very excited to take on his first HHMC and has realized that although he could just write a check to support these organizations, asking others to get involved and sharing the reason for his efforts has been very rewarding

Meet the New Riders: Daniel Neathery #856

Daniel Neathery #856, from Natchitoches, Louisiana, learned about the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge in 2012 when his employer, Renegade HD, was an official HHMC Check Point as the Challenge came through Alexandria, Louisiana. With some encouragement from Chuck Marble #85 and sponsorship from his employer, Renegade Harley Davidson, Dan is able to participate in this year’s Challenge. 

Seven years ago & a month after getting married, his wife encouraged him to purchase his first Harley. Seven years later he has a new 2016 Road Glide to take on the 2016 Challenge.

His efforts to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has become a collective effort by local clubs, HOG chapter events & other local community organizations. Donations can be made on their paypal  account!

Meet the Riders: Eric Buskell #733

Eric Buskell # 733, from Panama City Beach, Florida, is an experienced Challenger with the 2012 and 2014 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenges under his belt. He first learned about the event after reading about it in Full Throttle Magazine. The finish line was his most memorable moment of each of the rides. He felt like he pushed himself to get there and finds it very rewarding. It gave him the confidence he lacked to get out on his own and ride. He says, “Now I’m a guy who can go out into the world by myself.” In the 2014 HHMC, his riding partner, John Levins # 735, was injured in Canada and Eric was required to go on by himself. Getting to Alaska really boosted his confidence.  One of his scariest experiences was waking up to a police officer and a drawn gun in his face. Once the officer was satisfied with his explanation, Eric was allowed to go back to sleep. By then he was wide awake and rode on.

Smelling the breath of a moose in the Rockies and riding through Glacier National Park in Montana are two of many exceptional moments Eric experienced.  Through the rides in 2012 & 2014, Eric learned how much he had missed in the past when travelling by interstates. Since his first Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge in 2012, he enjoys the twisties and back roads at every opportunity. 

When asked if he made any new friends he said, “They are much more than friends, they are family.”

The nonprofit, Paws and Claws is a passion Eric looks forward to supporting as he rides the 2016 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.

Meet the New Riders: Abby Clabough #846

Abby Clabough rider #846 has wanted to do the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge ever since she heard about it. Talking with Heinz Spielvogel #332, and following his journey and then talking to Junie Rose #383 finalized the desire.  She had to do this ride. She considers herself somewhat of a “motorcycle psycho” and after retiring a softail and purchasing a new road glide thought, “How could you have a new bike and not ride 20k to break it in.”  Doing the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge this year for her is a “dream come true.” Being an avid rider, loving to just shoot across country for the weekend with her very supportive boyfriend and teaching a motorcycle safety class has helped Abby prepare for this event. She is well aware that anything can happen on the road. She loves the idea of sleeping next to her steed and looks forward to saving the money most spend on sleeping (at a hotel)  “A little scary but I think I will get use to it.”

First Gear and Bikers Choice have been supportive of Abby’s plan to ride the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge and have provided some gear for her to test. Abby is raising money & support for A Women’s Shelter in Greeley, CO. who deal with domestic violence. It is not always a popular subject to deal with, but Abby is helping in her community. She also loves the chance to support the Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce with entrepreneurial efforts to create a strong economy for the people who live there.  if you want to follow along as Abby gets ready for her Hoka Hey Challenge, she has a fantastic blog at HokaHeyAbby.com.

THE HOKA HEY MOTORCYCLE CHALLENGE PARTNERS WITH PALA CASINO SPA & RESORT

We are proud to announce that our 2016 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge will start June 21 at Pala Casino Spa & Resort in Northern San Diego County, CA.

The ride will leave the Pala Reservation and travel across the United States to the coast of Maine before ending on July 2 in the Wolf's Run on the Seneca Nation near Irving, NY.  

Pala Casino Spa & Resort is owned and operated by the Pala Band of Mission Indians. "Chairman Robert Smith, the Pala tribe and our entire casino team are proud to partner with the Challenge to help the Pine Ridge Chamber of Commerce provide educational and employment opportunities for so many deserving people. It also is pretty cool to be the starting point," said Bill Bembenek, Pala's chief executive officer.

About Pala Casino Spa & Resort:
Pala Casino Spa & Resort includes a Las Vegas-style casino with 2,000+ slot machines, 81 table games and 15 poker tables; a 507-room hotel; a 10,000-square-foot, full-service spa and salon that features 14 treatment rooms; a state-of-the-art fitness center; swimming pool with 12 private poolside cabanas, and dual-temperature outdoor whirlpool hot tub. Pala also offers 11 restaurants and 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space. Pala Casino Spa & Resort is an AAA Four-Diamond Award winner for 12 consecutive years. Its state-of-the-art Pala Spa was named the one of the Top 10 spas in California, one of the Top 10 in the casino industry and one of the Top 100 in North America for 2014 by Spas of America. Pala Spa also was named the number one spa on the West Coast and one of the top 100 spas in the United States for 2013 by Spas of America. Previously, Pala Spa was named the 2009 Best Casino Spa by Spas of America, the 2009 Best Casino Spa by the Southern California Gaming Guide and in 2012 received a spaAward and was selected by Spas of America as one of the top 100 spas in the United States. In 2011, Pala Casino Spa & Resort was voted Best Casino in San Diego by the public in the 10News.com annual A-List poll sponsored by KGTV-TV 10 News in San Diego. For more information, visit http://www.palacasino.com/

Hoka Hey Challengers and supporters can book their room by calling 877-725-2766 and identifying themselves as being guests of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.  Reservations must be received no later than the 16th of May to receive the group rate.

Everyone is welcome to join us at our "Meet and Greet" on Sunday June 19th.  Even if you don't know someone that is riding the Challenge we would love to have your support!!

…said the spider to the fly.

The 2016 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge continues to come together and is, as previous years, going to be a difficult endeavor to say the least.  If you consider yourself an adventurous person then perhaps the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is tailor made to test your mettle.

However, considering yourself an adventurous person and being an adventurous person capable of navigating the adversities of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge are two distinctly different things.  The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge will entice you and promise you grand accomplishments and lead you to believe you are capable of doing anything.  The Challenge will whisper in your ear and paint a picture of you beating the odds when all others have failed.  But that is exactly what the spider said to the fly.

As you endeavor to conquer the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge will endeavor to conquer you.  That’s what it does and it is very good at what it does.  If I were a top salesman I would tell you how easy the Challenge really is and that the dialog depicting the unforgiving and unrelenting nature of the Challenge is nothing more than hype to make it seem hard.  I would tell you that because, as a top salesman, I want your money. If I don’t entice you to give me your money then I am no longer the top salesman—some other salesman, one more capable of painting a pretty picture, one comfortable with twisting the truth would take my place.

I am not a salesman.  I am a Hoka Hey Challenger and I know, first hand, just how unforgiving the Challenge can and will be.  If you stop riding for the day because your butt hurts then the Hoka Hey Challenge WILL most likely break you.  If you depend on a GPS while traveling through new areas then the Hoka Hey Challenge WILL break you.  If you are uncomfortable with the thought of being lost, then the Hoka Hey Challenge WILL break you because you will get lost—more than once.  If you do not like being alone for days on end then the Hoka Hey Challenge WILL break you.  If you cannot go a day without showering, if you do not like sleeping on the ground, if you require three meals a day (meals not from a gas station) then the Hoka Hey Challenge WILL break you—twice.  If it is a frightful thought to encounter a deer (or any creature of the forest), as it dashes across the road in front of you in the middle of the night, then the Hoka Hey Challenge WILL break you.  If riding in rain that turns to hail bothers you then the Hoka Hey Challenge WILL break you.  Most importantly, if you are not capable of making responsible decisions when you are beyond tired, cold to the bone and in physical pain then the Hoka Hey Challenge WILL break you in the worst sort of way.

There are parts of the Hoka Hey Challenge that will leave you with sights, events and memories of moments in time that you will look back on fondly for the rest of your life—but to get there you must ride through the hail storm, the dust storm, the blistering heat in the middle of the desert, and the bitter cold of snow fall; sometimes all four in a single day.  While riding the Challenge you will be amazed, irritated, excited, humbled, astonished, exasperated, motivated, inflicted upon, overjoyed, annoyed and impressed—each of these emotions will present themselves in equal measure each and every day.  Muscles and bones you never knew you had will ache and burn.  There will be many times you will be so tired and sore that dropping your bike when you stop at an intersection will be a real possibility and most likely will happen.

The Hoka Hey Challenge is not for the meek.  It is not for the person who “thinks” of themselves as adventurous.  It is not for the casual rider—in fact the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is not for the vast majority of licensed motorcyclists.  It caters to a very small piece of the riding community.  The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge may call your name… if you can talk yourself out of it I suggest you do.  If you cannot talk yourself out of it, if it becomes an obsession, if you have ridden thousands of miles in a few days and look forward to doing it again, if you are truly the type of person who has a gut-wrenching need to push yourself beyond your known limits, then the Challenge is designed specifically for you.  Regardless, the Challenge will do everything it can to break you and make you regret your decision to enter this unique realm.  The question is, “Who is stronger?  You, or the Challenge.”  Let the journey begin; Icimani-Hoka Hey 2016.