Experiencing everything America has to offer on a Harley motorcycle

H.O.G. member Kevin Stephens took on the 50 Rides, One Nation challenge to collect coins for every state he visited, and has found it an enriching experience.

When Kevin Stephens of Benton, Arkansas, found out about the H.O.G.^® Ride 365^™ program, little did he know it would kick-start a passion that has seen him cover more than 150,000 miles and all corners of the U.S. in his quest for challenge coins.

Kevin, a member of Central Arkansas Chapter, started accumulating riding miles when he bought a Heritage Softail^® back in 2016, receiving his 10,000-mile patch soon after.

By 2021, he began to seriously look into the H.O.G. ride programs and enrolled in the Harley-Davidson App challenge, accumulating digital coins. “The digital coins were nice, but you can’t display them like physical coins to show what you’ve achieved,” says Kevin. “Then I started looking into the other challenges and discovered you can accumulate physical coins by completing 50 Rides, One Nation.”

Kevin started 50 Rides, One Nation in 2022, by which time he had traded up from his Heritage to a Road King^® and then a Road Glide^®. Arkansas and the surrounding states, including Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana, and Texas were quickly completed. Then Kevin and a buddy set off for a trip out west, covering nearly 8,000 miles, and ticking off the coins for Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, and more in the process.

That 2022 riding season saw 19 states completed, with further trips each year from 2023 to 2025. Alaska is the sole remaining coin he needs to collect, and Kevin predicts he’ll have completed all 50 states by 2026.

“When I first became aware of the challenge coins for 50 Rides, One Nation, it lit a fire beneath me and inspired me to collect them all. I want people to see that I have been to every state.

“I now have a dedicated display area in my house for the coins. One of our chapter members made me an American flag board to hold them all, followed by a Harley-Davidson-themed second board to display the coins I gathered for 10 Rides for ’23, 10 Rides for ’24, and 15 Rides for ’25 [annual challenges that are also part of Ride 365].”

Once the final coin for Alaska is in his hands, Kevin will have the full set of 50 on display, as well as an official rivet—a replica of the one that will be on display at the Harley-Davidson Museum® to commemorate successful 50 Rides, One Nation participants.

“I’d encourage anyone thinking about taking on the ride challenges to start by doing their research to find out what they entail,” says Kevin. “Read the H.O.G. Benefits Guide, which explains the basics of what’s involved for each challenge. Then, if possible, talk to someone who has taken on one or more. I wanted to collect and display physical coins, so that was my motivation for doing 50 Rides, One Nation. It’s an accomplishment, and I’m proud of riding all over this beautiful country of ours. Finally, bear in mind a challenge like 50 Rides, One Nation can be done over several years, so you don’t have to rush into it.

“It’s difficult to explain to someone who doesn’t ride just how amazing it is to do a challenge like this on a Harley-Davidson^® motorcycle—just you and the bike. For me, it’s like therapy in a way. You get lost in what you’re doing and where you’re going, and the things you see and the experiences you have on the way are just incredible. I’m proud that Harley-Davidson recognizes and encourages that with the Ride 365 program.”

---

Tags: