Hoka Hey Race Participant Dies in Alaska Crash

A second participant in a cross-country Harley-Davidson race has died — this time in a crash on an Alaska highway.

Alaska State Troopers say 63-year-old Kenneth J. Greene of Ocala, Fla., died Sunday afternoon after he crashed his motorcycle on the Glenn Highway near the Matanuska Glacier.

Troopers said Greene had been participating in the Hoka Hey Challenge, an 8,300-mile motorcycle race starting in Key West, Fla., and ending in Homer, Alaska.

The race was marred with several accidents. Another participant died in Wyoming after he evidently fell asleep while riding.

Troopers said the Alaska crash happened after Greene drove onto the highway's shoulder and lost control of the motorcycle. He was ejected from the Harley and died at the scene.

The race officially ended late Saturday. Jim Redcloud, a participant and race organizer, said 231 people finished the race by that deadline and others continue to straggle in.

Nearly 800 participants started in Key West, Fla., on June 20. Riders paid $1,000 to enter and had to follow a specific course, down to exact streets, to be eligible for the grand prize — $500,000 in gold.

Some riders have said the race is impossible to complete with the required course.

The first two racers to make it to Homer — Frank Kelly of Prosperity, S.C., and Will Barclay of Highland, Fla. — arrived in a tie June 28, each completing the course in 190 hours.