Member Profile:

JOHN HOCKENBURY

My mother once told me that if someone is teased and given nicknames it’s because he or she is well liked. That being true, John Hockenbury has idol status. The very teasable guy is the poster child for nicknames. The Hawk, Jersey John, Huckleberry Hound, FlyBoy (ok, I just came up with that one) are some of his well-known monikers.

Like so many of the club’s members, John saw retirement not as an end but as an opportunity to create a more custom-fit life style. On April Fool’s Day, 1993 he retired from the Sacramento Army Depot after 23 years of service. (After time served, the last joke was on them.) His military career actually began when he was a mere 17 years old. He joined up for a four-year stint in the Air Force, motivated by the desire to get out of Altoona, Pennsylvania. While in uniform he honed his skills in electronics, working on aircraft radios, and in his spare time did a tour in Vietnam.

When John finished his Air Force duty he returned to Pennsylvania only long enough to marry Marilyn, then headed to California and his first job. He worked in Stockton for a short while, then spent about a year repairing electronic organs. From there he moved on to the Depot.

In 1978 he bought a 1956 Piper Tri-Pacer which he soon discovered to be an expensive hobby. Since his family didn’t share his passion for flying he decided to put the plane to work. Thus was born his aerial photography business, Hawk’s Aerial Photography. In the beginning he shot on speculation, peddling his photos door to door. The business eventually grew to serve industrial and commercial clients and the contract photographer was then able to hang up his walking shoes.

Upon retirement, John joined a gym and began doing solo bike rides. "I’d been flying a desk for years and had gained a lot of weight," he quipped. After a few months he ventured out on one of another club’s rides, eventually finding a home with the Wheelmen.

Recalling those early days he speaks with the utmost reverence about certain people who motivated and encouraged him. And he made me promise that if I wrote nothing else I had to write about the kindness and helpfulness extended by these individuals. So here it is:

*Hugh Anglin: Because of Hugh’s encouragement and good will John is adamant about the importance of greeting new riders. He remembers one of his earliest rides, being unfamiliar with the roads and falling behind. Hugh, the ride leader, came back for him and while John whined about getting lost and hurting Hugh simply said, "You can do it." After a ride with another club where no one said "boo" to him, he was so grateful for Hugh’s warmth and courtesy. "It’s so important to make contact with new people. It may not seem like much but it can make all the difference to that new rider. It doesn’t have to be a huge deal: just recognition, a hello, and an offer to sit together at coffee. John eventually took over for Hugh as the Thursday breakfast ride leader.

*(John, of course, didn’t mention it, but for those of you who may not know, he received the Hugh Anglin Volunteer of the Year award at the 2000 Annual Awards Banquet, for service to the club.)

Hilde Blye: She was another breakfast ride leader who went out of her way to help and support new people in the club.

Jim Gilman: John had great respect for Jim. He remembers clearly the time Jim was so helpful to him with one piece of information. John was struggling with a racing heart rate and Jim merely said, "John, some of us have Kawasaki hearts and some of us have diesels."

John Abbe: (Shocker.) An inspiration, a role model, a helluva rider, and, yes, I was being facetious with "shocker".

This is typical of FlyBoy – low-key about himself and jubilant about the attributes of others. He probably doesn’t even recognize that he’s as respected by others as he is respectful of them. He is selfless, generous with his time and knowledge, and fun. Ask, and he’s there. If there’s a list of volunteers, John’s name is a given.

His first real effort with the club was to head a committee of about 10 people to form a new Sierra Century route. Earl Reynolds, club president at the time, recruited him. It was quite an undertaking, but the results are historic. "Not too many people know that Ernie Isaacs came up with the idea to incorporate Slug Gulch. You be sure to give Ernie credit for that," John prompted.

John also worked on the Sierra Century jerseys the last two years and on the design of the current club jersey. He was the Thursday breakfast ride leader for about 5 years, works on the Sierra Century every year, has helped with the Santa’s Express program and the Ride Against Hunger.

His initiation at the Sierra Century was as soft drink operator. Back then they used pressurized canisters that held the syrup to make the drinks. The problem was no one told him he had to bleed one of the hoses. There were numerous complaints about the watery, flat sodas, so we can apparently thank John for the appearance of canned sodas at successive centuries. He has also worked rest stops, drove sags and worked home base.

John’s cycling habits have changed over the years. In the beginning he was extremely goal-oriented. He rode during the week and both weekend days, much to Marilyn’s chagrin. And his body hurt. He began to change when Hugh said to him, "the first person at the end of a race is not the winner, it’s the person who’s had the most fun." John now rides the Tuesday and Thursday breakfast rides and one weekend ride. (Well, the Zodiacs also, and the club tour.)

His best achievement, he says, is completing the Death Ride, which he has ridden for 5 years. This past year, not having fully recovered from the Oregon tour, he didn’t complete it, and that’s ok with him. Moreover, he doesn’t feel the need to ride it again.

John and Marilyn have two grown daughters, ages 31 and 25. He is so grateful for, and proud of, them. He credits Marilyn. "She did a great job." Both daughters are married and live in the area. "They are so level-headed, successful and responsible – much more so than I was at that age."

If you’ve read John’s article on Heinz Kiefer and the trip the two of them took to Germany (winter 2001 newsletter/website) you had a poignant and succinct lesson in what makes John tick. Although he wouldn’t want me to say this, John overcame some very difficult experiences in his early years to become a very giving and hopeful person. He sincerely believes that fate led him to accompany Heinz, that it was one of his purposes in life. The trip, Heinz’s last, was solely for Heinz, John says, but John was assisting in the plan that fell so perfectly into place. The experience drove home the idea of a Higher Power. John now looks much more at the big picture, and lets the little nuisances of life slide away. In the philosophy he espouses I submit that it was fate that brought him to us for the purpose of making the club an even better one.