Sycamore man completes Hoka Hey Challenge, finishing 12th

SYCAMORE – Most people would never think of entering a more than 10,000-mile cross-country motorcycle challenge.

Robert “Gopher” Goffinski of Sycamore completed it.

Goffinski participated in the 2018 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, a nearly 10,000-mile route that must be finished within 12 days. Goffinski completed the challenge in 11 days and 18 hours. He finished 12th out of the 113 riders that were qualified finishers.

Goffinski not only participated in the challenge as a way to celebrate his 70th birthday, he also raised money for the Disabled American Veterans and the Christian Motorcycle Association’s youth ministries.

The challenge began July 15 from Medicine Park, Oklahoma. After traveling from Oklahoma to checkpoints in Panama City Beach, Florida, Bettendorf, Iowa, and Spokane, Washington, Goffinski made it back to Oklahoma in time for the qualified finisher celebration event July 28.

During the challenge, participants are prohibited from using GPS and are given step-by-step paper directions at each checkpoint. Participants are given a tracking device to guarantee they will remain on the course. The officials of the event monitor locations to make sure participants stay on the course. If a rider goes off course, they must return to the point at which they left or be disqualified.

To further add to the challenge, participants are prohibited from resting in hotels. They must sleep within close proximity of their motorcycle outdoors.

Goffinski said that during the challenge, he slept in an assortment of places: in the parking lot of a Walmart, factory, church, post office or just on the ground with a hammock, self-inflated mattress or a tarp.

“The route was quite challenging to stay on. It was difficult to follow the directions when you don’t know where you’re going,” he said. “I got about four or five hours of sleep a day. The roads were challenging with curves, construction, even gravel. We didn’t use highways, it was mostly two-lane roads. It was dangerous at times, especially in the dark.”

The ride was indeed dangerous: One motorcyclist was killed in an accident and others were seriously injured and hospitalized after colliding with animals such as deer and elk.

“We saw wildfire smoke and animals like buffalo, elk, deer, antelope and open-range cows,” he said. “At times, it was more than 100 degrees [Fahrenheit]. We drove through Big Bend along the border of Mexico, through the Smokey Mountains, the Ohio River Valley, Yellowstone [National Park], the Black Hills of North Dakota, Utah canyons and deserts. The weather was surprisingly good, it only rained a couple of times.”

At times during the challenge, Goffinski questioned his decision to participate.

“On the first day, I went off road into the ditch,” he said. “Another time, I made a wrong turn and a lady in a truck had to help me get my bike back on the road. I got lost a few times and had to double back. I almost ran out of gas in New Mexico. When I was in Davenport, I realized I was only about two hours away from home. But I completed the challenge, and I can say I did it.”

Goffinski attributes his success in the challenge to arriving early to the line-up and getting a good spot, a lucky feather he found on the ground during lineup that he kept with him the entire trip, and support from his loved ones back home, including his wife Maggie.

“I want to thank all of my family, friends and supporters that sponsored me in spirit and monetarily,” Goffinski said. “I was able to talk to a few friends and text message my wife. They could also track my movements via GPS, and I think that stopped them from worrying as much.”

Goffinski said he’s looking forward to more motorcycle adventures in the future. In April, he plans on attending the challenge’s reunion in Medicine Park, Oklahoma.

“I would do the Hoka Hey Challenge again,” Goffinski said. “I’m just astonished that I completed this challenge without incident. It makes me feel very accomplished to have completed it. But sure, I would do it again. Why not?”