Homer Alaska - Hokey Hey

Photo by Michael Armstrong Frank Kelly, left, of Prosperity, S.C., and Will Barclay, of Highland, Fla., stand under the finish banner on the Homer Spit after finishing the Hoka Hey Challenge.

After 8,482 miles from Key West, Fla., to Homer for the Hoka Hey Challenge, riders began to arrive early Monday morning at the finish line at the Kevin Bell Ice Arena on the Homer Spit. While mostly an endurance event, the challenge also is a test of map skills and orienteering — and for organizer Jim Red Cloud, a vision quest.

As of Wednesday at noon, 14 riders had arrived in Homer (see box, page 18). Crossing first and together at 4:20 a.m. Monday morning, 190 hours and 20 minutes after leaving Key West on June 20, Frank Kelly of Prosperity, S.C., and Will Barclay of Highland, Fla., rode in to the cheers of a small group of family, friends and fans.

"Hoka Hey! Hoka Hey!" screamed Kelly's wife Shevonne, who'd waited since 11 p.m. Sunday to greet her husband.

About 500 riders started in Key West, but an unknown number have dropped out because of accidents, illness and mechanical breakdowns. One Hoka Hey rider died during the journey. According to the Casper, Wyo., Star-Tribune, 44-year-old Charles C. Lynn of Sorrento, Fla., died Sunday in a single-motorcycle incident when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle hit a median about 4 miles north of Douglas, Wyo., on Interstate 25. Investigators said they believe Lynn had fallen asleep. He was not wearing his helmet.

About 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, a third Hoka Hey challenger, Eric Wickre of Homer, pulled into Homer. Wickre, however, had deviated from the route earlier and was disqualified (see story, page 14).

Other Homer riders remained on the road. As of Wednesday morning, Jesus Trejo and Alex Sweeney were both on the Alaska Highway, with Trejo north of Fort Nelson, B.C., and Sweeney south of there. Bill "Old" Petersen was taking it easy and about four days from Homer. Todd Cook and M.B. Cody also are still on the road.

"Everybody I talked to who has done it this far, they're into it. They're into the ride," Trejo said in a phone call on the road near Liard River Hot Springs, B.C. "Some guys have total bad attitudes about it, calling it a fraud. I don't see how it could be a fraud."

Trejo said Hoka Hey organizer Jim Red Cloud told them at the start there was a spiritual aspect to the challenge: the riders would go to sites of inhumanity to Native Americans and gather their souls to take to South Dakota. The leg from Rock Springs, Wyo., to Missoula, Mont., went through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, with a spot checkpoint at Chief Red Cloud's house. The route also went through several Indian reservations.

"The whole thing morphed into something different. It finally struck me when I was lying down with heat stroke in Oklahoma," Trejo said. "The guy (Jim Red Cloud) had a vision of what he wanted to accomplish. It was almost one of those Christo art pieces scrimshawed across North America with Harley-Davidson riders."

Other challengers have been riding on their own spiritual missions, including many Vietnam War and other veterans riding for their comrades killed in combat. To honor that spirit, Jackie Dentz, owner of Crabbie's Restaurant on Pioneer Avenue, is handing out to any challenger a poem she wrote. A Harley-Davidson rider, Dentz wrote "We Can Never Forget" after seeing the traveling Vietnam War Memorial at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer in 1991. The poem imagines a person riding a Harley of a man killed in Vietnam, with the lines "So I ridie it, face into the wind and imagine you close / I know your spirit is with me; that's when I love you the most."

Barclay and Kelly had been in the head pack since the second checkpoint in Mississippi. Somewhere outside of Missoula, Mont., the two men pulled ahead.

"They were all with us, and then we kept going," Barclay said.

Barclay and Kelly met each other on the road. They made a pact in Fairbanks when they left the last checkpoint about 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon: they'd finish first together.

Barclay said he and Kelly decided if either made the dash to take the whole prize, the challenge would turn into a road duel with potentially fatal consequences to themselves or other motorists. Instead they decided to finish together.

"We both sacrificed a quarter-million to do it," Barclay said. "I'm just happy."

Under Hoka Hey race rules, Kelly, Barclay and other top finishers must first pass a drug test, an inspection of their Harley-Davidson motorcycles and verification of log books and records to be declared the official winners. If their finish is declared legitimate, they'll split a $500,000 pot, although Hoka Hey organizers weren't sure yet if splitting a pot and finishing together was allowable. The winner officially will announced at the Hoka Hey celebration starting at 3 p.m. July 4 at Stone Step Lake Estates.

Every rider who's finished has had stories to tell of the grueling race. Mike McGuire of Walnut Creek, Calif., who finished fifth on Tuesday, said he saw every kind of weather on the trip, from sleet to hail to a lightning storm in Wyoming.

"You're looking at the road and you're the tallest thing," McGuire said of that storm.

"Those mountains last night kicked my butt," Jack Beasley said of the ride into Alaska Tuesday. Beasley, of Delray Beach, Fla., finished sixth and was met by his wife Crystal, who held a welcome banner signed by their children and grandchildren.

Near Portage, Beasley had a close call when a moose ran out in front of him — so close he said the moose had tire tracks on its rear.

Sometimes, McGuire didn't even blow up his air mattress when he slept.

"Most of the nights, you were so tired. It wasn't all that hard falling asleep," he said.

McGuire did get at least one good night's sleep — but not intentionally. He had to camp out in Canada at a gas station closed for the day to wait for it to open.

Some riders have arrived barely awake. One rider got pulled over by Homer Police on the Spit because he looked tired and got an escort to the finish line. Annie Malloy, West Coast coordinator for Hoka Hey, said police and Alaska State Troopers have been asked to look for Hoka Hey riders and evaluate them for fatigue.

Barclay said he had a brief fright just outside of Anchorage when an Alaska State Trooper pulled him over. One traffic ticket could mean disqualification.

"We drove slow, well, just because," Kelly said. "Better safe than sorry."

Troopers pulled him and Kelly over to check that they weren't fatigued and unsafe to ride. Assured the men were safe, the trooper let them continue. Both men seemed alert — if not excited — at the finish line.

"We thought we'd never get here," Kelly said.

"We literally were dragging ourselves down the road," Barclay said.

The last 590 miles from Fairbanks to Homer was the most grueling leg, Kelly said.

"We'd get 5 miles and stop," he said. "It was the longest trip ever."

Crystal Beasley expressed a sentiment that's been echoed by many families and fans at the finish line and on Homer News comment blogs.

"These guys are definitely winners in my book. They've come a long way," she said.

Unofficial Hoka Hey Results

All times and places are unofficial and subject to verification by Hoka Hey officials. Times recorded noon Wednesday, June 30.

• 1) (tie), 4:20 a.m., June 28: Will Barclay, Highland, Fla., riding a 2008 Harley-Davidson Electroglide Classic

• 1) (tie) 4:20 a.m., June 28: Frank Kelly, Prosperity, S.C., 2009 Road King Classic

• 3) 3:30 p.m., June 28: Eric Wickre, Homer. (Disqualified.)

• 4) 7:57 p.m., June 28: Marc Storey, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

• 5) 2:18 a.m. June 29, Jeff Mosby

• 6) 11:39 a.m. June 29: Mike McGuire, Walnut Creek, Calif., 2010 Ultra Limited.

• 7) 12:38 p.m. June 29: Jack Beasley, Delray Beach, Fla., 2007 Police Special.

• 8) 1:57 p.m. June 29, Darryl Thacker

• 9) 4:57 p.m. June 29, Peter Barnes

• 10) 6:29 p.m., June 29, John Q. Smith

• 11) (tie) 8:24 p.m., June 29, Ron Klima, Sarasota, Fla.

• 11) (tie) 8:24 p.m., June 29, Chuck Klima, Sarasota, Fla.

• 12) 10:45 p.m. June 29, Mike Novak

• 13) 2:34 a.m., June 30, Dannie Wight

• 14) 8:55 a.m., June 30, Gregory Holt

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong.@homernews.com.