Unbelievable and extremely disappointing.
While scanning the blogosphere for news you can use, I found evidence that NONE of the 11 riders who finished this 14,000 mile race within the 16-day time-frame would be awarded ANY of the $500,000 prize money.
The justification given by organizer Big Jim Durham at the 9 Oct awards ceremony: speeding. At some point over the course of the race, each of the riders had violated the rule about obeying all posted speed limits, and so they were all disqualified.
- Why did Big Jim ask the 11 winners to come to the awards ceremony in Mesa when he knew he was going to disqualify them? That's just adding insult to injury. I wonder where Big Jim got the money to pay for his transportation to Mesa?
- If the GPS used is so accurate, why did Big Jim advertise a 10,000 mile course when in fact it was over 14,000? Last year they did not use US Fleet Tracking and they relied on local police to enforce the speed limit rule. I believe in technology but I have certainly witnessed a wide range in terms of GPS accuracy and reliability. Riders should challenge this.
- Why even have a time limit if the course distance is off by 40% and violating the speed limit rule is a disqualifying offense?
- Could anyone have completed the 14,000 mile course over back roads in 16 days without speeding? To cover 14,000 miles in 16 days requires an average of 875 miles per day. If a rider is able to average 50 mph while riding on back roads, it would take 17.5 hours of riding per day to cover the course. That leaves 6.5 hours for gas stops, stretch breaks, maintenance, food, and sleep.
Those 11 riders who made it over the course in the allotted 16 days and passed the post-race drug- and lie-detector tests had every reason to believe they'd be splitting the purse. The way Big Jim has handled this STINKS! I used to think I would like to try this challenge but at this point, it looks like a SCAM.
Read the summary of the awards ceremony here Hoka Hey Challenge 2011
Read the story as reported by Cyril Huze
Related posts on PhilosFX
http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-heck-is-hoka-hey.html
http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2011/08/hoka-hey-sitrep-7.html
Being dubbed the greatest riders in the world just doesn't quite cut it for those who had their eyes on the purse. That is disappointing to say the least! I am glad they don’t have such a rule for travelling to work. I may not ever get paid!
ReplyDeleteHey, QofT: Yes, very disappointing. Will Barclay, the rider who crossed the finish line first this year, won last year because three riders ahead of him were disqualified. So I am pretty sure Will was carefully following the rules.
ReplyDeleteIt just seems heartless to withhold the $500K prize money unless a rider actually got a speeding ticket.
What is more, there are many complaints from riders about poor route instructions. The claim is that Big Jim wanted the race to be impossible to win so he could avoid paying out any prize money. Like last year, there were not enough entry fees to cover the purse.
We have not heard the last of this yet.
By the way, traffic is so thick around here that drivers are more likely to get ticketed for going too SLOWLY! No one ever gets a ticket for keeping up with traffic regardless of posted limits. But Lord help the driver who impedes the flow!