Miles of Purpose: One woman’s 10,000-mile ride to feed kids

For Terri Collier, it is without question her peaceful place. Hitting the road on her Harley every time she gets a chance

“Actually, I might have started when I was two in front of my dad, but then he bought my first bike when I was five,” said motorcycle rider Terri Collier.

As a kid, it was nearly impossible to keep Terri off her motorcycle.

“I’d come home from school, do whatever chores I had to do and go ride my motorcycle, I just loved it,” said Collier.

Today, Collier works in corporate America at a bank, but has never lost her love for riding

“If I jump on my bike after work to go relax, and take a ride, I’ll ride one hundred or two hundred miles,” said Collier.

So, when she heard about the Hoka Hey ride challenge, she knew it was the perfect way for her to combine her love for riding with her other passion kicking childhood hunger.

“What we do is we raise money for weekend food sacks for children,” said Collier.

But to complete the challenge, it wouldn’t be easy.

“No GPS, no sleeping inside, we ride ten thousand miles, we know where we are going to start, we know where we are going to finish, but we do not know the roads in between,” said Collier.

The ride started in Florida and ended in Alaska, with directions given at each checkpoint. Riders are not permitted to leave their bikes at any time during the challenge.

“So, we ride 18 to 20 hours a day, and then when we’re tired, we find somewhere that we can pull over that is safe and sleep. So, I rode ten thousand miles in thirteen days,” said Collier.

She admits it was tough, the race started with 220 riders, only about 160 completed it. But for Terri, it was her motivation to feed kids.

“On my ride, I raised one hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars, which equates out to about eighteen thousand weekend food sacks,” said Collier.

Through all the challenges and even problems with her motorcycle breaking down, Collier has already decided she will do the challenge again next year.

“It’s a very emotional thing and it is very spiritual,” said Collier.

To support the Kickin’ Childhood Hunger visit www.givebutter.com/kickinchildhoodhunger26