4 accidents during the first leg of the Challenge. From Clutch and Chrome:
Accident in first day of cross country motorcycle challenge
Tuesday, 22 June 2010 | Written by Digits |
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A race from Key West Florida to the northern state of Alaska meant to
test the spirit saw two of its participants injured in the event’s
first leg across the United States.
Called the Hoka Hey Challenge, which stands for ‘it’s a good day to
die’, only brought injuries to two riders who made it as far as Naples
Florida in the opening stages of a fourteen day challenge.
A total of four riders were involved in incidents just hours after
their Key West send-off, with all accidents taking place near the
intersection of Oil Well Road and State Road 29 in Collier County.
Two riders, Joseph L. Johnson of New York and Michael Joseph Rodger
of British Columbia, collided just before 11 a.m. after Johnson
attempted a U-turn in front of Rodger, according to an FHP report. About
a half hour later, Charles E. Marble, 59, and Jerry D. James, 63, both
of Alaska, lost control of their Harley Davidsons in two separate
crashes while rounding a curve in the road.
An upside to the incidents, all four riders were wearing helmets and
there were no major injuries.
According to organizers, the fourteen days of riding will see bikers
tackle 62 Mountain Ranges, 33 Indian Reservations, 25 National Forests, 8
Deserts, 6 National Parks, 4 Swamps, and 2 Countries. Describing the
event as ‘[testing] themselves and their machines to the fullest of
their capabilities, the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is a test of
endurance, grit, and determination.’
Taking the phrase of ‘it’s a good day to die,’ from the call of the
warriors who rode into battle with Crazy Horse at the Battle of Little
Bighorn, event organizers compare themselves to great Native American
warriors of the past, riding their trusty steeds and sleeping under the
stars.
With a preset limit set by
organizers of one thousand riders for the event, an estimated five
hundred are participating with approximately half of those residents of
Alaska, including the two riders involved in Monday’s accident.
But it’s not just a test of the warrior spirit being challenged over
the 7,000, fourteen day ride that has some officials concerned.
Following the rules of directions given every one thousand miles at
checkpoints and the requirement of sleeping on the ground instead
resting in hotels, participants are chasing the winning pot of $500,000
in gold for the first rider to arrive at the ride’s destination of Homer
Alaska.
Between the possibility for exhaustion and risks riders may take to
win the large prize some officials at the scene of Monday’s accident
expressed concerns.
Regardless, many riders have reason to take the event seriously; the
entry fee to participate was $1,000.
According to the challenges press release, a television show is being
shot during the event which is reportedly limited to air cooled, V-Twin
Harley-Davidson motorcycles only. Although custom bikes may qualify,
certain modifications may not be permitted.
The website and rules state riders are supposed to ride within legal
limits and the events route is being kept to small state roads to avoid
heavy traffic on interstates. The organizers have even told officials
that the winner will be given a polygraph test to make sure he or she
didn’t break any laws, and a drug test for performance enhancing drugs
when the event is completed.
"The heat, the weather, the sun, the humidity -- there are people
from out west that don't understand the humidity, and how it can be so
taxing on a person," Beth Durham, co-founder of the Hoka Hey Challenge
told KTUU an Alaskan television station.
Subject: Hoka Hey Got Underway! 
Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:50 pm
This is going to be something special !
Can't wait to see, and hear more about
That's my son!!! 
He'll take highways back cutting about 2000 miles off the trip...his estimate after his research before the trip.
