Fourth of July weekend, already one of the biggest tourist weekends of the year for Homer, will be a whole lot busier next year if organizers of a cross country motorcycle race succeed in their plan to send 1,000 bikers - plus 4,000 additional family and friends - to the End of the Road.

The Hoka Hey Challenge, a 7,000-mile trek billed as "The Iditarod of Harley Davidsons," is set to begin in Key West, Fla. on June 20, 2010 and culminate in Homer two weeks later with a $500,000 prize for the winner and "a bash that will mark the arrival of the most hardcore bikers on the road," according to the race's Web site, www.hokaheychallenge.com.

"It's going to be a lot of fun. Everybody is really excited about having the Challenge come to their town. From Key West all the way to Homer, we've had nothing but positive response," said race organizer Beth Durham.

At Monday's meeting of the Homer City Council, however, reaction was mixed at best.

"This town can't accommodate 5,000 people. It's the Fourth of July. We're full. To say that we're going to have the celebration to beat all celebrations just let me know when you're going to do that because I'm going to leave town for awhile," said council member Dennis Novak.

"I find it interesting and presumptuous that they chose us as their destination without consulting us," said council member Barbara Howard. "On the morning after, are we going to say we made a terrible mistake?"

A year in the making, the Hoka Hey Challenge was supposed to take place this summer, said Durham, but the economic downturn forced many prospective riders to balk at the $1,000 entry fee.

In addition to paying the fee, participants will be expected to ride only air-cooled Harley Davidson motorcycles, follow posted speed limits and submit to random drug tests because "nobody wants to be on the road with a bunch of tweekers," according to the Web site.

The race, sponsored by several motorcycle-related businesses and a handful of Harley Davidson dealerships, will be raising money for number of charities, including veterans' organizations like Disabled American Veterans and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Its name - Hoka Hey - comes from a Sioux phrase meaning "It's a good day to die."

Although she declined to say how many applicants had signed up so far, Durham said she expected to reach the goal of 1,000 riders. Considering most of them will be Vietnam veterans, the scene in Homer when they arrive is not likely to rival the lawlessness of the classic outlaw biker film "The Wild One," she added.

But it will be crowded.

"We realize it'll pretty much take the entire Kenai Peninsula to accommodate that many people. We anticipate they're going to fill the hotels in Homer and the neighboring communities and probably the campgrounds, as well," said Durham.

Although City Manager Walt Wrede assured council members that city staff and representatives from the Homer Chamber of Commerce were working with organizers of the Hoka Hey Challenge to ensure the event could be done safely, Novak was unconvinced.

"I'm not happy. You're opening the door that we might work with them on this. I think you've overstepped here and you're leading them on," he said to Wrede.

"The last time I checked, America is a free country and if 5,000 people want to come here, then they have the right to do that. I've never seen us put a barricade at the top of the hill and say you can't come here," said council member Beth Wythe.

At their Monday meeting, council members postponed a resolution supporting the Hoka Hey Challenge until after race organizers complete a "scouting" trip to Homer next month.

Linda Broadhead, visitor services manager for the Chamber, said she was working with organizers, as well, and would have an announcement about the event as soon as she met with them.

"It could be a lot fun and could make the city pretty busy next year," said Broadhead.

Aaron Selbig can be reached at aaron.selbig.@homernews.com.