2020 Hoka Hey Challenge
The challenge started and finished in Panama City Beach, FL. We took off on Sunday August 9th at 6:30am
I participated in a 2011 Victory Cross Country that I bought used and fixed/upgraded for the quest.
That alone was a challenge because the brand went out of business in 2017, parts were available only by mail order and took from days to weeks to arrive. Any big issue could mean being out of the competition.
And turned out to be true. I hit some big potholes on a road in construction in Colorado that broke the fork seals, allowing the oil to leak and get into the front brakes reducing the braking power considerably. I rode about half the challenge with almost no front brakes. I had to be very careful all the time because I could not stop quickly.
Also in the second checkpoint the Harley Davidson dealer didn’t want to change the oil because they don’t know the motorcycle, but they allowed me to do it myself instead in the workshop.
The first day was very productive, I was able to ride a little bit over 1000 miles. That ended up being to be imposible to keep, as the challenge went on, roads were more difficult and tiredness started to kick in.
The drill was more or less the same: riding for about 20 hours a day, sleeping 4 hours. Stopping for gas, bathroom and meals. Also because of Covid-19, restaurants were either closed or offering take out only. Most of my meals were gas station food eating standing next to the bike.
Finally my routine consisted of waking up, riding until I needed fuel, stoping for gas and breakfast in the same place. Then riding the whole day, drinking gatorade from my hydration system. Then having dinner in a gas station around 10:00pm and riding until 2:00am and finally resting 4 hours.
For sleeping I had a yoga mat, a sleeping bag and a 1 person tent. I discovered that in the west the air is so dry that you can sleep under the stars and wake up dry. So I didn’t need to set up the tent, I used it only once in Vermont in the checkpoint because it was drizzling and there were no dry spots left. It turned out to be very unproductive because of the setup and torn down time.
After a few days of this routine I got used to it, some days I was able to do more miles, others less. That depended on the kind of road, traffic and also the number of times that I got lost and had to go back.
Then on day number 8 while cruising Ohio State Road 124, at about 4:00pm I hit a deer that made me go out of road. The ditch was deep and covered with tall grass, I was not able to keep control and flew away of the bike.
I landed on the grass face up. I was wearing full gear (helmet, gloves, boots, riding jacket and pants) and an airbag vest that self-inflates when I’m separated from the motorcycle. The vest accomplished its goal, it inflated and cushioned the fall, keeping also tight my back, neck and head. I didn’t get harmed at all!.
When I knew I was safe my first thought was “After so much effort, I’m out of the challenge and in the middle of nowhere”. The bike was about 20 yards ahead, pointing backwards.
Locals started to stop and came to me asking me if I was Ok. I told them so. Then they offered help to put the bike back on the road. It was a difficult task because of the slope and the tall grass. Finally we were able to put it back on.
I checked it and found out that most of the damage was in the saddlebags and plastics, the controls in the handlebars were misaligned but I was able to ride it. I kept going carefully and stopped in the first gas station I found. I bought duct tape to tie up the saddlebags and fixed the controls with the tools I carried.
The last days of the challenge happened in the East Coast. It was the most difficult and slow part because of traffic and rain.
I spent the last night in Toxaway, NC. It was raining but didn’t want to setup the tent, I found a roof behind a church that was dry.
Next day I woke up early with the decision to finish that day, I didn’t want to spend another night on the road. I finished North Carolina, crossed South Carolina and North of Georgia. It was a slow day and my hopes of finishing that day were vanishing. I hit Alabama at about 4:00pm. Luckily the roads in AL were mostly straight and empty. I entered Florida around 9:00pm and crossed the finish line on Sat Aug 22 at 10:50pm, 13 days 14 hours and 20 minutes after the start.
There are no words to describe the whole experience. As all the finishers say, this challenge changes you. You have to deal with frustration, obstacles and the unexpected.
I’m looking forward for the 2022 Hoka Hey!
