The controversial Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge finished Sunday; according to Cyril Huze, there were 31 finishers, who will split an equal amount of the winning purse.
Organizer Jim “Red Cloud” Durham shortened the rally to 6,000 miles this year, and didn’t route it through Canada; it started in Las Vegas, Nevada and ended in Gowanda, New York. Durham also put a minimum time limit on the rally, to discourage speeding; anyone finishing early would be disqualified.
According to Huze, that meant finishers ahead of schedule had to kill time (as much as 48 hours) waiting around for the finish line to open. Huze didn’t have a dollar value on this year’s purse; supposedly, the riders didn’t know. There was no fundraising effort advertised this time around either, and no lie detector tests at the end. And also, we figure, no riders were accused of being CIA agents, like last year. But where’s the fun in that?
I rode this years challenge and would like to say there is nothing crooked or fraudulent in this operation. What people fail to realize is that it cost money to put on this type of event, from travel expenses of organizers and staff to booking venues and organizing activities to promoting the event. But just to put a number on this years challenge this is what I know: 88 registered participants at $1000 per participant equals $88,000 taken in. Of that 50% will go to the purse ($42,000) then subtract $230 per rider for their US Fleet tracking device (48 new riders $11,040) now this could be different amount as I don’t know if everyone was eligible to receive a new unit. Also include the cost of challenge coins, decals and promotional materials and I would say you are left with little more than $25,000 at the most for travel costs and lodging for staffers and organizers. Not much left to give to charity let alone swindle out of some cry baby riders.
The other thing is last year (like this year) is that speeding was not allowed, but the 11 riders last year were disqualified due to speeding 20+ mph over any known speed limit. Those same riders speed the same 20+ mph over to arrive a full two days ahead of any other riders. In my opinion they should be disqualified this year as well.
So next time you claim these people are swindling money or running a fraudulent operation, at least learn the facts.
Rider #749
E-Z Rider, if you really rode this, email me at zac@cmgonline.com. We’d love to hear some more details.
Why do you bother publicizing an obviously fraudulent operation?