Passes & Canyons Blog

I always enjoy the annual OFMC weeklong trip with the guys but beyond that I am largely someone who likes traveling alone. I can go where I want, stop when I want, and ride just as much or just as little as I want.

So I’m the kind of guy who is particularly interested in something like the AMA Grand Tours program. As explained by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), “AMA Grand Tours, which allow riders to travel to destinations on their own schedule, are the perfect choice for motorcyclists who enjoy traveling solo or with a small group of family or friends. Participants document their visits to tour destinations with a photo or a stamp in a travel log. For 2018, the American Motorcyclist Association is highlighting six AMA Grand Tour events.”

I’ll present the list below but first I want to mention one in particular: the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.

This is one of those times when you really know that things do change over time. Holy smokes! The Hoka Hey is now an AMA-sanctioned event!? Wow.

A little history here. In its first year–and it was initially supposed to be a one-off event–this event met with a tidal wave of skepticism, cries of fraud, and just general doubt on the parts of many, many people, including some who participated. I don’t remember all the twists and turns at this point but if I recall correctly, the two guys who reached the finish line at the same time were disqualified and I don’t know if the $1 million prize (was that the amount?) was ever paid out. I mean, I guess it was, but there were people who disputed that, saying the “prize winner” was in cahoots with the promoter. I don’t claim to know.

This must have been about 10 years ago. And now here it is an AMA-sanctioned event. An understatement: I guess they got the kinks ironed out.

So what are these tours for 2018? Here’s the scoop, straight from the AMA.

2018 AMA Grand Tours Schedule
AMA District 2 Polar Bear Grand Tour: Jan. 7-Dec. 23
Residents in the Northeast can join riders starting in the winter season, when groups ride to points each Sunday in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Connecticut. Even though they start during winter, the rides continue throughout the year. The 2017-2018 tour marks the program’s 40th year.

Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge: July 13-Aug. 13
Starting in Medicine Park, Okla., this route continues for nearly 10,000 miles, entirely within the lower 48 states, before returning to Medicine Park for the finish. The tour traverses scenic byways and passes through several National Parks and Native American reservations.

SCMA USA Four Corners Tour: Jan. 15-Dec. 15
This AMA Grand Tour offers two USA Four Corner Tours: the “Regular” and the “True X.” The organizer provides a package containing the ride materials and reviews the completion of either ride when they receive the finisher’s package.

SCMA USA 15 Best Roads Tour: Jan. 15-Dec. 15
This challenge started in the spring of 2011 after the AMA published a “Best 15 Roads” article in American Motorcyclist. Two riders took the challenge that year: Kathy and Larry Lamarche from Canada. Since then, many riders have accomplished the feat. The list was updated in 2016 with three replacement roads and a route change to an existing road group unit.

SCMA California Adventure Series: Jan. 15-Dec. 15
The California Parks Adventure challenges riders to visit all the national parks in California. There are 25 national park sites, stretching from Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma in San Diego to the Lava Beds and Redwoods in northern California. The 25th and newest park, Caesar Chavez National Monument, was created in October 2012. The challenge is to ride to each park within a calendar year and document the visit with a photograph and a stamp from the visitor center in the SCMA Passport.

For the California Missions Tour, riders add a photo of themselves at each location in their passport book, purchased from SCMA, detailing all 21 locations. Riders submit the completed passport and attend an annual awards banquet, where SCMA presents them with a California Missions pin and plaque.

Tour of Honor: April 1-Oct. 31
In this unique AMA Grand Tour, riders take any route they wish to stop at seven memorial sites in each state. Riders can visit as many selected memorials as they choose, meaning they can complete one state or several. After registering and receiving their rally flag, riders travel to the sites and photograph the flag, alongside their motorcycles, at the memorial. Visit any seven memorial sites to receive a finisher’s certificate.

I’m not sure at this moment but maybe I’ll discuss the several tours on this list that interest me.

Biker Quote for Today

Two wheels, one engine, zero limits.

What if they gave a Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge and nobody got any prize money? No, I’m not talking about last year’s questionable event, I’m talking about an awards ceremony that was held over the weekend . . . and Big Jim Durham said no one gets a cent.

I owe Dan Leffert and Alan Baumbach on this one. They were the ones who alerted me. I had pretty much ignored the Hoka Hey this year, even though they did come through a bit of Colorado. And like a lot of other people, I was only aware that Will Barclay, last year’s winner, had won again. But even Barclay doesn’t get paid this time.

What’s the reason? As it says on the Hoka Hey blog, the winners must not exceed the speed limit. Last year all they had to depend on was issuance of speeding tickets by local jurisdictions. This year they had GPS and other fancy gear that could actually track such things. And surprise, surprise, every single one of the supposed winners exceeded the speed limit at one point or another on their 11,000 or so miles of riding.

So no one get any prize money. Gosh, what do you suppose Jim Durham plans to do with all that cash?

And a bigger question than that, I wonder what the reaction is at Harley-Davidson? Harley signed on as a major sponsor this year but you really have to wonder how happy they are about this turn of events. Will they be back as a sponsor next year? I guess we’ll just wait and see.

I’ll also be extremely interested to see if even 10 riders sign up for next year’s Hoka Hey.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Report: All finishers in 2011 Hoka Hey disqualified, no cash payments made

Biker Quote for Today

Horsepower: Because sometimes testosterone is not enough.

As I reported on Examiner.com, Harley-Davidson has signed on to be the chief sponsor of the 2011 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. What I didn’t mention in that report was the wave of skepticism that immediately followed that announcement.

For instance, Todd8080 has been to several such reports with his comment saying:

Have traffic laws in all of the lower 48 states suddenly changed overnight? Up until now it’s been illegal to race any vehicle for money on public roads in every single state.

You can call Hoka Hey an “endurance challenge” or anything else you choose, but the fact remains whoever gets to the finish line first wins the cash, and that’s called racing in any language.

No one has the right to jeopardize the driving public (in 48 states no less) by conducting an illegal race on public roads. Last year’s Hoka Hey was fraught with death and serious injuries, and not just to the race participants.

Over on Cyril Huze’s blog, Grayhawk offered this:

One might surmise that this sponsorship might put HD at the top of the grief list and the deepest pocket if the 2011 event repeats itself in confusion, issues, deaths, publicity, etc. from their 2010 effort no matter the assurances it will be different, your words from an excerpt above specifically, “stretching the boundaries”, may be deemed by some as encouragement to extend man and machine past it/their capability to reap monetary rewards. Event insurance alone may not suffice the negative impacts if this event goes south, just asking.

Now, with Harley as the sponsor, it would not be surprising if competition was limited to H-D riders, and that may be the case but it may not. The Hoka Hey home page says “The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge is open to riders of Harley-Davidson motorcycles” but on the Entry page it says “This year’s event will be open to riders of V-twin, air-cooled motorcycles.”

The general opinion on that limitation, if it is in fact the case, is just fine: He who pays the piper calls the tune. Again over at Cyril Huze, TommyBoy remarked:

So, the Hoka Hey is now supported by Harley and only Harley motorcycles can participate!!!!!! Surely, the boys Harley & Davidson are looking down and smiling as once again The Motor Company eliminates Indian from what could have been a tremendous advertising/growth opportunity.

Some of the objections to the Hoka Hey right from the start have come from members of the Iron Butt Association, many of whom consider the Hoka Hey to be dangerous and badly conceived. I suspect they also fear it may have repercussions that will damage their own events. A commenter on my Examiner page, who oddly chose to identify himself by the name “IBA,” had this to say:

I knew it wouldn’t take long before the IBA whiners started chiming in. You have your rally, so go away already. If IBA was so great you would be the one with the big sponsors and prize money events rather than making your riders do all the documentation and work then pay too much for a patch they can get made for $2. IBA is a great idea in the hands of the wrong people.

So the Hoka Hey is back for 2011, and whatever its merits or deficits, it’s getting a lot of attention. I see this first hand when I check my Google Analytics statistics for the three days since I posted that sponsorship article. In that time fully one-third of my readers have been to that story, and its readership outstrips the No. 2 story 15 to 1. Yikes!

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Biker Quote for Today

As I get older and more fragile, my bikes get bigger, heavier, and more powerful….Another beer please!

One of the hallmarks of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge from the very start has been the poor or non-existent communication coming from the organizers. This situation continued right up to the award ceremony Wednesday night at the Broken Spoke campground outside of Sturgis.

The organizers had eventually announced that the winner would be named and the prize awarded at the Broken Spoke. But then Will Barclay was named the winner, and Barclay told an interviewer that he had already received his winnings. That left a question in many people’s minds about whether the award ceremony would still be held. With no word to the contrary, those of us in Sturgis planning to attend the ceremony assumed it was still on.

But there are two Broken Spokes, and the Hoka Hey site didn’t specify which one. I went to the Broken Spoke in town and nobody there had heard of the Hoka Hey. One helpful fellow checked and told me absolutely that the ceremony was not going to be held there. That left the campground.

We ran out to the campground a little before 7 on Wednesday and looked around for an event about to begin. There was nothing we could see so I asked one of the sound guys getting set up for that night’s performance by Gallagher. He had never heard of the Hoka Hey, it was now 7 sharp, and he told me that at the very least, there was not going to be any Hoka Hey ceremony on this stage.

Great. Do we stick around? Is there anyone who can answer some questions?

But then, at maybe 7:10, the owner of the Spoke got up on the stage and started talking about the Hoka Hey. And a few minutes later, there’s Big Jim Durham up on stage, and we have an event. So much for the sound guy having a clue about what was going on.

Ultimately the event came off, Will Barclay received his “rubber” check, and Durham announced that there will be another Hoka Hey next year, with a prize of $1 million.

I have one word of advice for Durham or whoever organizes next year’s event: communicate.

I honestly have no idea whether Durham is a scam artist as some people claim, whether the designation of Barclay as winner is totally legit, or what’s true and what isn’t. Without first hand information, and investigative resources far beyond my abilities, I’ve just done my best to sift through what people have said and check the facts I could check.

But let’s say that the whole thing was on the up and up right from the start, and all this skepticism and criticism were totally off the mark. Durham and the rest could have allayed an awful lot of these issues if they had simply communicated better.

• Release the list of competitors before the race begins
• Release checkpoint lists daily during the race
• Release the “photo finish” photograph that proves Barclay’s tire was four inches ahead of Frank Kelly’s
• Demonstrate to the media before the finish occurs just how the photo finish equipment is set up and will work

And there is so much more. If they had made a practice of making the whole event as transparent as it could be, there would not have been all these murky areas to raise suspicions. It would appear that there would still have been skeptics, but there would not have been this widespread doubt that resulted simply from the fact that no information was available.

And it also wouldn’t hurt if Big Jim would engage his brain more often before opening his mouth. It wasn’t the media that “got it screwed up” that he was claiming the FBI would administer the polygraph tests. Durham said that in so many words, and his statement is readily available for anyone to listen to. He made numerous other statements, too, that later proved to be incorrect or had to be clarified. Jim, you don’t have anyone to blame but yourself if you make a wrong statement and people call you on it.

So now the Hoka Hey is wrapped up, at least for now. I, for one, am happy to lay it to rest. But I’ll be back with more if there is anything more to report. There are some lawsuits out there . . .

Biker Quote for Today

Helmet laws suck. They interfere with natural selection.

The word from Will Barclay, the putative winner of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, is that he has already had his $500,000 prize wired to his bank account, so it would appear that some folks’ expectation that no payout would ever be made was unfounded. Still, as one comment on Examiner in regard to this said, “This completely exonerates the organizers of all improprieties associated with the race. NOT!”

Nobody has done a better job than Cyril Huze of stating the questions that Big Jim Durham/Redcloud ought to answer. I doubt we’ll ever see answers to those questions, however. But here’s the latest.

Quick Throttle ran an interview with Barclay and it’s an interesting read. The story was picked up by U.S. Rider News and in a comment on that story, Frank Kelly, or at least someone who claimed to be Kelly, disputed the “photo finish” decision that ruled him out of the money. Kelly and Barclay had been in a heat for the finish and agreed to cross the finish line together and split the prize. Durham announced, however, that there could only be one winner, and that winner was Barclay because Kelly had been disqualified.

Now, I say, “at least someone who claimed to be Kelly” because there’s no way be sure here whether someone else simply posted this comment and claimed to be Kelly. With that understanding, here’s “Kelly’s” comment:

I have a bit of heartburn with alot of people saying I was disqualified or that I disqualified myself, no such thing happened. My name is on offical checkpoint sheet. The reason I was told by Jim “Red Cloud” Durham that Will was the winner and we couldn’t split the pot is that the Hoka Hey Organizers said that there could only be one winner and in their “photo finish” Will’s tire was a couple of inches ahead of mine. I haven’t seen the picture yet. I was told from Jim “Red Cloud” Durham that if Will didn’t pass his polygraph then I was next in line to have to take it. I am not sure where this info is coming from but someone is getting lied too.

So in keeping with the tone set by Cyril Huze in his questions, I think it’s also fair to insist that Durham release the photo, as well as the particulars of how this image was captured. Are we talking about serious photo-finish equipment such as they use at racetracks? Or is the photo simply one shot by someone sort of close to the finish line, sort of almost perfectly in line with the finish line?

Maybe they did have that sort of precision equipment in place and in operation. But it is exactly these sorts of unknowns that will continue to cast a shadow over the Hoka Hey until solid answers are provided. And double-checked. Because if one thing is certain it is that Jim Durham is, at best, careless with his words. He accused me and other reporters of error when we reported that he claimed the FBI would administer polygraph tests to potential winners. “That’s another thing they screwed up,” he said. Well, I know I was quoting his words exactly when I wrote that he said that, because I heard him on the radio interview he did with KBBI radio in Homer, AK. And there are other, similar instances.

So, congratulations to Will Barclay, and kudos to all competitors who finished. But is everything about the Hoka Hey settled now? NOT!

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Biker Quote for Today

Biker: A drunk liar in dirty clothes who plays with a large vibrator in public.

We all know about the best laid plans of mice and men. Well, I had the idea in my mind that my main focus this week was going to be the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, preparation and practice for which are currently underway down in Colorado Springs. I was down there Tuesday, I’ll be down there again tomorrow, and once again for the actual race on Sunday.

It was inconvenient that the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, which I also had plans to cover, was set to run through the same time period, but I figured no problem, I’d do a piece on the start of the race, try to touch in with my rider contact sometime this week, and then turn more of my attentions in that direction once the Pikes Peak was over.

What I didn’t count on was the huge amount of interest there would be in the Hoka Hey, and the surprisingly slight interest in the hill climb. I should have had a clue about a month ago when my web stats started showing a lot of traffic on the story I did about the Hoka Hey back in February. When I put up my first story on Examiner.com about the Hoka Hey it was like an explosion. Within a few hours that story drew more traffic than my Examiner page normally gets in two days, and generated more comments than I usually get in a week. And that was just the beginning.

A key to all this seems to be that very few other news sources are following this event. I put up a few articles and by default, the crowd came to me. The Hoka Hey organizers have links on their home page that presumably should go to their Facebook page, their MySpace page, their Twitter feed, and other places. However, while the anchor text is there, and the various pages they should point to are there, the code is not. Those links are dead. So the organizers are providing almost no information about their event.

In the meantime, my planned coverage has been thrown out the window. I planned to track Bob Peterson as he made the ride and he gave me the cell phone number of the main phone in the camper his support team is traveling in. I was to call them periodically and get an update on his progress and condition. After repeated calls, and leaving messages, I have never gotten hold of anyone. And Bob is French-Canadian, so his Facebook page for the ride is in French. I don’t speak, or read, French.

But hey, it’s OK, I’ve got other aspects of the ride to cover. For starters, it appears to many people that the whole thing may be a scam. It seems the organizer has a bit of shady history, and he definitely seems to lack in public relations skills entirely, at the very least. Some followers of the race are telling the naysayers to show proof or shut up, while others just don’t care. Truth is, there probably weren’t that many riders who truly thought they might win that $500,000 purse. For them, the ride and the adventure is the whole reason for doing this. And no matter what happens when they all reach Homer, AK, their experiences will be theirs for the rest of their lives.

So I have no idea where this story will lead next. And heck, at this point I don’t even know where the riders are. But it’s the Pikes Peak hill climb that is now more of a distraction, while the Hoka Hey is front and center.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
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Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycle racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty. — Peter Egan

OK. I mentioned way back in February that the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge was coming up this month and the start was yesterday. This a 7,000-mile race from Key West, FL, to Homer, AK, with a winner-take-all prize of $500,000 in Alaskan gold.

The only bikes allowed in this race are Harley-Davidson air-cooled V-twins. The entry fee is $1,000, so the organizers needed at least 500 riders just to pay the winner’s prize. Apparently they got about 750 takers.

I’m going to be following Robert Peterson, of Quebec City, in this race on my Examiner.com page. That arrangement came out of Robert contacting me to inquire about problems riding over Rabbit Ears Pass with a bike tuned to sea level or thereabouts. It creates some issues for me because Bob’s Facebook page on the race is in French. Presumably he’s French Canadian. But I have a cell phone number where I can reach his support team–and hopefully him, at least on occasion–and everyone on the other end of the line speaks English.

So the race got off to a difficult start yesterday, at least for a few riders. It’s hard to get it clear from the news reports but at least four, and maybe five, bikes crashed at approximately the same place around Immokalee, FL. It would appear there was some sort of hazard at that spot, else why would so many bikes crash in multiple crashes in just one spot? Who knows. But Bob wasn’t one of them.

An interesting thing about this event is the skepticism. The idea of awarding a $500,000 purse to the winner does sound extreme. One person commenting on my first Examiner story had this to say:

It’s interesting that by the rules, no prize need be awarded now. According to the rules they do not need to pay the winner if ANYONE gets in an accident or gets a ticket. There have already been several accidents as of this afternoon so it is entirely possible the riders will continue on for naught. Another disturbing point is that one of the “charities” targeted for funds is the Red Cloud Foundation whose relationship to Hoka Hey co-founder Big Jim “Chief” Red Cloud is unclear.

And I read in a H-D forum a comment by one guy who said he’ll believe it all when the money actually is given to the winner. I guess we’ll see.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
Quebec City’s Robert Peterson sole(?) Canadian in Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge

Biker Quote for Today

Harley-Davidson® motorcycles: Impeding the normal flow of traffic for over 100 years.

Here’s an interesting looking challenge. Have you ever heard of the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge? This 7,000-mile run starts in Key West, Florida, and ends on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. The race begins on June 20, 2010, and the winner will take home half a million dollars in Alaskan gold.

Hoka Hey, the organizers tell us, means “It’s a good day to die.”

“HOKA HEY” was the roar of every warrior that rode into battle with Crazy Horse. Join us as we ride into battle. As we put ourselves on the line to find out just who we are.

More from the organizers:

Known as the Conch Republic since the city seceded from the union in 1982; Key West reflects the rebel spirit of the Hoka Hey Challenger and we couldn’t think of a better place to kick-off the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge!

Key West is said to be the southernmost city in the Continental United States. It is also the southern terminus of U.S. 1 and State Road A1A. The Southernmost point in the continental United States is claimed to be at the corner of South Street and Whitehead Street and this is where our adventure will begin on June 20, 2010.

About the destination:

Homer is on the shore of Kachemak Bay on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula. In fact, Homer is just 15 miles away from the westernmost point in the North American highway system at Anchor Point, AK.

Homer’s most distinguishing feature is the Homer Spit, a narrow 4.5 mile (7 km) long gravel bar that extends into the bay. And it is here that our Challengers will find the end of the road. Plus, when the Challengers arrive in here; they will be greeted by one of the most enthusiastic and endearing group of people you could ever hope to meet!

The event is a benefit for the following charities.
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Warrior Weekend
Disabled American Veterans
American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.
Vietnam Veterans of America
American Indian College Fund
National Multiple Sclerosis Society

This looks like one to watch for. If you decide to run in it, let me know and I’d love to carry your reports.

Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
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Biker Quote for Today

If ya ain’t flyin’ ya ain’t tryin’!