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It’s snowing in upstate New York, a bone chilling 6 degrees Celsius as Will Barclay warms up his Royal Enfield for the morning ride. “It’s always a good day to ride,” he says with a wry smile and rumbles off into the silent white countryside. This philosophy garnered Will the win in what’s probably considered the most challenging motorcycle ride of the decade. Hoka Hey tasked riders to 8500 miles of secondary roads from the Florida Keys to Homer, Alaska. Barclay left dead last and crossed the finish line almost a full day ahead of the pack winning the Half Million Dollar purse. Hoka Hey once again challenges riders and Barclay is now the man to beat. What’s his secret, what makes this 51-year-old private Jet pilot so indomitable? I caught up with Will at Chester’s Harley-Davidson, Arizona, ground zero for Hoka Hey, August 5th 2011 and asked him. 
“I had been training for Hoka Hey unintentionally” Barclay stated. “I enjoy motorcycling the Himalayas and India solo on my Royal Enfield and regularly encounter every possible scenario. At 18 thousand feet altitude you develop stamina and endurance, when it’s time to stop I just pitched a tent, sleep a few hours and continue on. There are no road signs so an intuitive sense of direction is critical. As a pilot, I ride between flights so timelines keep me focused and unrelenting, Hoka Hey was a natural.”.JPG)
Sleeping several hours a night for days on end may natural for Will Barclay but I dare say serious contenders beware. He rode 194 hours and only 10 of those, the wheels weren’t turning. The bar is set and riders from around the globe who will partake in what may become the world’s most famous motorcycle ride. With Harley-Davidson as this year’s sponsor and Barclay the man to beat, participants had better step up their game. What’s Will doing to prepare for this year’s Hoka Hey? He’s doing what he always does, rides. He traveled upstate NY to Arizona (in three days) then to Las Vegas and back to Arizona. After bike week he plans to ride to San Francisco and then back home. Although it seems that Will’s positive attitude and willingness to fully engage in every life experience has far more to do with winning than any preparation..JPG)
This affable 6’1″ Jet Pilot seems completely in command of his surroundings. We discussed upcoming preparations as I attempted to pry his secrets. Will asked if I wanted to go for a ride with a smirk, as if testing my mettle. We left Chester’s and headed towards the mountains. Within half-an-hour we stopped at a T on a tiny road in the middle of nowhere. Will sat idling as if pondering a left or right turn then suddenly darted across the hard road and rumbled up a dirt road towards the mountain’s base. I followed in the dirt and gravel. It wasn’t too bad but not my choice to pilot a half-ton of Harley and rider. The scene was spectacular; endless freshly plowed dirt rows and not a human in sight. I heard his stereo playing a song by the Allman Brothers Band, Midnight Rider…Ain’t gonna let’ em catch me no, aint gonna let’em catch the Midnight Rider. Will seemed to need this space to ride; I can’t begin to imagine what motorcycling through the Himalayas alone must be like. The dirt road ends and becomes, well…just dirt and in the distance a truck approaches. 
Winning is having faith and faith is believing something is real that hasn’t happened yet.
Read the full story and Wills secrets in Baggers Magazine available in magazine racks June 21st
Also follow Will at www.kozmoto.com
http://www.baggersmag.com/index.html
http://www.hokaheychallenge.com/index.html
http://willbarclay.com/
http://www.facebook.com/BarclayWill
