Southcentral Alaska prepares for wave of arriving motorcyclists

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Expect hundreds of motorcycle riders in Southcentral Alaska starting next week. They're part of a cross-country race from Florida to the Last Frontier called the Hoka Hey Challenge.

The race has some law-enforcement agencies on edge, and there are warnings for drivers.

As summer roads stretch out in front of motorcyclists, it's easy to see why hundreds of them decided to ride from Florida to Homer.

"This is their big adventure, it's a big vacation," said Craig "Blue" Breshears with Alaska Bikers Advocating Training and Education. "And they're going to be sightseeing, and they're not going to be paying as much attention to the road and to the other road users as they really should be."

They're all factors that mean drivers should be extra-careful next week, when the Hoka Hey Challenge finishes in Homer during the 4th of July weekend.

"We expect to see some of the participants showing up around the 1st, the 2nd and the 3rd," said Alaska State Troopers Sgt. Bryan Barlow. "As those days go on the volume will go up, so it'll be larger and larger."

The 7,000-mile race's home stretch involves a trip on the infamous Seward Highway, both dangerous and amazing -- with law enforcement out in force.

"It's it in the form of the troopers who normally work here," Barlow said. "The Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol is going to be on the Kenai Peninsula -- we have the better part of that entire unit will be down here on the Kenai Peninsula, working."

"Always checking your mirrors, every time you're going to switch lanes," Breshears said. "Use your blinkers -- because if we see you changing a lane and we see your blinker, we're going to get out of the way. We're going to either move forward or we're going to move backward, but we're going to make sure that you can see us. We're going to be sure we're not in the way."

Officials say they expect about 800 motorcyclists.

Contact Rebecca Palsha at rpalsha@ktuu.com