‘That was a sign’: Air Force veteran reruns unforgiving motorcycle challenge despite saying he’d never do it again
Two years after Patrick Romeo ran the Hoka Hey, his original bib number became a lifeline for those struggling
HOMER, Alaska (KTUU) - Patrick Romeo is an avid motorcyclist and one who doesn’t shy away from a good challenge.
He’s done several rides through the Iron Butt Association — a loose-knit organization through which membership is obtained by riding a certain amount of miles within a specific timeframe — and even celebrated his 50th birthday with a 50 states in 50 days ride.
But anyone who understands the draw of life on two wheels knows the more you ride, the more you want to. It’s exactly why Romeo decided to push his passion a step further by entering the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge (HHMC) in 2020.
“I’ve never done multiple long-distance days, which is kind of what this requires,” Romeo said. “So the first time was to see — was to challenge myself to see if I could complete it.”
The Hoka Hey is a grueling motorcycle run where participants have 14 days to ride a 10,000-mile predetermined route through some of the less-traveled roads in North America. The ride is held every other year, and each year the route is different, but the rules are always the same: no GPS, no sleeping indoors, and riders must only rely on the fuel in their tanks.
“You don’t know the route until about 20 minutes before you start,” Romeo said. “When everybody is lined up, they hand you turn-by-turn directions.”
Those turn-by-turn directions Romeo scribbled onto the inside of the windshield of his 2013 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic at each checkpoint along the route.
The point of the HHMC is not just to challenge motorcyclists, but to allow them to raise money for other organizations that bring awareness to social issues. Participants are encouraged to conduct fundraising on behalf of charities or individuals — raising over $500,000 during the 2020 run.
Romeo — an Air Force veteran — chose to run for Resurrecting Lives Foundation, a national nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among service members and veterans founded by Dr. Chrisanne Gordon.
“I was a firefighter for 29 years — I got hurt on the job and I was off for about two and a half years with physical therapy, occupational therapy, surgeries — and she was instrumental at a lot of times helping me get through aspects of that,” Romeo said. “Choosing her organization was — I mean, there was no thought for me.”
Romeo ran the 2020 challenge after randomly pulling bib number 988 — a number which, at the time, didn’t really mean much.
After completing the challenge that started and ended in Panama City Beach, Florida, Romeo decided that was good enough for him.
“When I crossed the finish line, I accomplished what I set out to do — nothing left to prove,” Romeo said. “I said at that time I was never going to do it again.”
Romeo stood by his decision to close his chapter with the HHMC for two years. But in July 2022, the FCC launched its nationwide, easy-to-remember, three-digit dialing code to connect people in crisis with mental health counselors.
“To me, that wasn’t a coincidence,” Romeo said of his original bib number. “That was a sign.”
Romeo contacted Dr. Gordon, who both agreed he would run the HHMC again in 2024, again for Resurrecting Lives, but this time with a focus on the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It would be a ride to raise awareness for resources.
Romeo didn’t know what challenges lay ahead as he lined up at the start point for the 2024 HHMC in Daytona Beach, Florida. After penning the first set of directions on the back of that same windshield, his right hand rolled back on the throttle, as his left eased out the clutch.
He was back on the road, four years after his first challenge, churning out the first few miles with thousands left to go before he’d reach the finish line in Homer.
Almost immediately, Romeo hit bad weather along the course. Consistent rain made the ride cold and left his clean gear in a constant state of dampness.
Still, he weaved his way along the route through the Lower 48 and into Canada, fueling his bike at gas stops as needed, running on little to no sleep to keep pounding out miles before entering Canada to start the leg up the Alcan Highway.
Around day eight or nine, he recalls hitting a mental wall. While leaving Fort Nelson, BC, Romeo found himself at the top of a mountain surrounded by fog so thick he couldn’t see anything.
Still cold and wet from that day and the days prior, the thought of quitting crossed his mind.
“It was to the point, if this was the type of challenge that there was, you know, a judge next to me that I could say, ‘I tap out,’” Romeo recalled. “I probably would have quit right then and there.”
Romeo remembers thinking that even if he did quit, he still had to get off that mountain and ride home. He contacted his family to tell them how miserable he was but didn’t tell them he was thinking about exiting the challenge.
Then, a text from his son-in-law — a Marine combat vet — shifted his focus back to why he was riding the Hoka Hey again.
‘I’m sure there’s a lot of veterans that wanted to give up until Resurrecting Lives helped,’ the text read. ‘Just saying.’
That simple message brought Romeo’s head back into the challenge.
“It’s not about me,” Romeo said. “Everything I was experiencing on that ride — the long days, the short nights, the miserable weather, the pain — pales in comparison to what our veterans, a lot of our veterans, are going through.”
With that renewed sense of purpose, Romeo made his way down the mountain and continued north through Canada determined to finish what he swore he’d never start again.
It wasn’t long until he was crossing the Alaska border and heading south toward Anchorage. After a brief layover in the state’s largest city to get a new tire put on and an oil change, Romeo began the final four-hour stretch to Homer.
He completed the 2024 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge in 11 days, with his family waiting for him at the finish line.
A group photo was taken in front of a modest flag placed at the final checkpoint in Homer. The silver “988″ decal stands out against the red finish of the bike’s top box. Right next to it is Romeo’s grandson holding a sign that reads “You Did It Papa.”
That same bib number that once meant nothing now means everything to Romeo.
“988 is my number for life now,” Romeo said. “Whether I never do [the HHMC] again, whether I do it 10 more times — it will always be for Resurrecting Lives Foundation.”
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