The Hoka Hey Challenge, a 7,000 mile cross-country odyssey from Florida to Alaska on a Harley

INTERVIEW WITH WILL BARCLAY- HOKA HEY WINNER

http://quickthrottle.com/hokahey2010realstory.html

 

Thanks for posting that. He's a remarkable man.

 

Yep. Looks like it was legit after all, huh?

Ride safe!

 

I heard about this race shortly before it was to begin. I gave it some real thought, maybe I'd give it a try. But then I realized I didn't have the time to properly prepare for it. My initial thoughts were similar to the winners, but I probably never would have taken the prep to the level he did. Maybe next year.......but this years winner deserves everything he got!

 

He sure is a interesting guy.I am surprised he got paid after all the talk about the ride promotors being shady and all.
To ride 7000 + miles in 194 hours or 8 days with a total of 10 hours sleep is amazing.
I would like the challenage of the ride but no way could I compete with that.
If Iwas to do the ride it would be for personal challenage not to win. So why pay the entry fee just do the ride on your own.

 

I think that he was lucky because of the filing of complaints in Florida and the FBI telling a reporter that due to the amount of money involved that they might look into it.

The original printed declarations of what was involved ( disappeared from the internet) had many false claims of major concern.

The biggest lie was that a 13 episode was going to be filmed and the production company was named. A number of riders were to be featured riders. That was always a total lie. Jim Duram (Red Cloud) admitted it at the send off.

The next biggest lie was that each bike would have a tracking device to note starting time, arrival at each check point and to verify that the route was followed. That was a total lie.

Another lie was that the check points would be staffed 24/7. That did not happen either.

A multitude of minor details were constantly changing.

The main thing is that the winner did receive his due. The ride for those that made is was an experience of a lifetime.

But, in no way was it necessary to front a grand to do it. Or was it worth it for the two deaths one in Wyoming and the other in Alaska. The riders went well beyond their endurance level in the hopes of winning and fell asleep and ran off the road. Another fell asleep and ran into a garbage truck. He survived. There were about 18 accidents in total. A rider in Alabama ran into a group of bicyclists. Never heard the outcome of that one.

 

lh, I hadn't heard all that.
Some of those 'lies', as you put it, may not have been intentional but rather things someone thought they could instill before thinking it through, such as each bike being fitted with gps. Maybe it was supposed to be a race similar to the gold rush of '49, or the ride of the Pony Express.....
But those things would be quite a costly. It was open to the first 1000 who signed up, but it sounds like only 500 or so did. Only 300 or so made it to Homer Alaska by the 4th of July, the day the winner was supposed to be announced in a big 4th of July celebration there. I guess Homer had to be reimbursed for their expenditures in this event. Someone had to pay for the checkpoints and their being manned. Sounds like some weren't but at least provisions were in place so participants could get their maps for the next leg. Either way, they were 'checked in' for following the prescribed route.

So what about where the profits went. Think any of the riders were there due to where the money went, or were they there for the ride and a chance to win?

I think the winner said it all when he gave his opinion on it, and yes its always easier for the winner to say things like this. Part of what makes this ride so significant was the fact that everything wasn't so set up that it took away from a rider having to adapt, modify and endure. On a ride like that all sorts of potential problems could, and for some, did arise. But wasn't it the same for everyone? Its sad some lost their lives, but everyone participating should have known the risk. Another thing the guy said, was that riding a Harley, it seemed to fit the whole personna of a ride like this. Riders like that and who would take on a challenge like this are fall backs.....falling back to a time when people didn't whine about everything but rather took a challenge, and saw it through bucking up to the daily obstacles they encountered.....without whining. Today everyone wants everything given to them, wants someone else to do the dirty work like setting up every little iota of a detail so the riders might not have to overcome anything other than the ride. And I'll bet there are many of the losers who are doing just that-whining about every little thing they can and blaming that on why they didn't win. Tood bad, but thats how things are today. Not many gracious winners or losers anymore, although this winner seemed pretty well grounded in reality. Maybe thats a reason why he did win. Preparation.

So next year they say there will be another race, maybe open to all bikes. Probably have 1000 riders, gps for everyone, manned checkpoints everywhere, everything regulated, every move scrutinized...............and the race will have lost that which the name really means, "it is a good day to die", an American Indian battle cry, which, imho, is a fall back to a time when men took on a challenge and all of the obstacles he encountered along the way knowing full well it might mean dying trying to get there.

Sorry for the rant......

 

All the details were stated in the Official Hoka Hey website, on their blog's and written literature. The organizer got up before the start and said he lied about the issues to get them to sign up. How more clear do you need it?

 

How much did they donate to the Indian reservation to help with their water system? I thought it was a charity ride to benefit the Native Americans and several other organizations? So, I wonder how much the charities got if the winner got $500k? I'm very surprised that Mr. Barclay got his money but if he says he got it, I have no reason to think that he is lying.

 

Ok, ya got me, he lied. BFD. It still didn't stop those who did the ride from goin on with it did it? So it must only be a big deal to those who want another point to whine over. Exactly in line with what I said. I wonder how many participants did it solely due to where the profits were going. Remember there was overhead involved so unless everyone was donating their costs only the remaining monies could be donated anywhere, including the winnings. And yes it would be interesting to know just exactly how much of the leftovers went to the charity he claimed was going to be the beneficiary.

I guess I didn't, or would have if I had signed up, looked into where the profits were supposed to go, or where they did go. I would have figured I was paying out a $1000 + costs for a chance to race to win a half a mil.