Accident in first day of cross country motorcycle challenge

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.

Accident in first day of cross country motorcycle challenge