Hillybilly Hall and Broadway Lights

Hopewell Bears, from left, Fonz, Captain, John J., Pogy (down front), Mac, and standoffish to the right our New Yorkers Jim and LD Diva.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, ride to Hillybilly Hall, Hopewell, NJ, November 22, 2015.

Editor's note from Chris Loynd:

I had to work Sunday, representing The Maritime Aquarium at The Chocolate Expo at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in New Jersey. Looks like the Connecticut Bears had a great ride, however some miscommunication left our New York wing a bit miffed. They showed how miffed they were in the usual New York way . . . but I retouched the photos.

Our booth at the Chocolate Expo kept me from riding Sunday. But coworker Cara Kenefick and I worked a 7,000 person crowd on behalf of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Connecticut, where I am Marketing Director and get us into these crazy obligations in the first place. The Aquarium will take a few more Sundays this season.

So this Sunday's guest blogger is Captain and here is his report:

By: Captain K.

Today's riders were John J., Mac M., Fonz, Pogy and John K.

Also ran, James M. and Joanna W.

Today was another mild day for us Polar Bears of CT. I arrived at the DD at 0730. At 0740 John J. arrived and we had coffee while catching up. Around 0750 Pogy called to check in that he would be at Darien RS at 0850 for the ride, as Mac pulled in to the lot. The Fonz showed up at 0815.

As we gathered in the lot getting ready to leave I asked Mac if he would lead the ride. After listening to him go on about getting lost with his H-D GPS I decided to lead  with Mac as sweep. We left promptly at 0830 southbound on I-95. At 0850 we reached the Darien RS and with the help of the on ramp downgrade Pogy was able to eventually join the group. We cruised on to I-287 making great time as their were no stops / pickups. Continuing south we arrived at our destination about 1030. The sponsor of our new early departure program (EDP) Pogy was making the rounds as the clock was ticking, so I offered to get the table. 

After checking in we finished our coffee and paid the bill. Just then Jim and Joanna arrived. Joanna was surprised that I did not stop for them. I said that no one called so we drove on by. I realized I was in the presence of royalty when Joanna offered me her number to call her next time. I told "Princess Joanna" that it's not personal, just tough love. We left and they stayed for lunch.

Please accept this nomination of Princess Joanna into the CTPB Hall of Names.

We stopped at the top for coffee and I was home by 1500.

Polar Bear Photographer Bernard Walsh caught our group arriving at Hillybilly Hall.

New Yorkers Jim and Johanna forgot to let us know they were patiently waiting at the bus stop to join the group.

The New Yorkers expressed their concern with the usual New York delicacy.

Jim and Johanna salved their wounded pride in typical NYC fashion: dinner and a show!

Okay Princess Diva, as I always say in my weekly departure time e-mail, "If we're picking you up en route be sure to let me or the Captain know." See you next Sunday! XXOO

300 Miles in Daylight

Shamong Bears, from left, Jim, Captain, Joanna, Pogy, Chris and Mac.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, ride to Pic-A-Lilli Inn, Shamong, NJ, Sunday, November 15, 2015.

By: Chris Loynd

"One of the great things about getting older is you get up earlier," Jeremy Clarkson, former host of "Top Gear" on BBC.

Barnsider Tavern went out of business. So our destination shifted to the popular Pic-A-Lilli Inn in Shamong, New Jersey. (You couldn't make those names up if you tried.) I say popular because the Polar Bear Grand Tour visits there at least once but also for the end of season blow out. Polar Bear Grand Poohbah Bob admitted the Pic-A-Lilli is close to his home. So it certainly is a popular destination with the man in charge.

Far for us! Which is not all bad. At just over 150 miles one way, we pick up five big Polar Bear points. The Barnsider in Sugar Loaf, N.Y. is just 100 miles one way, four points. Doesn't sound like much, until you ride. Then you get points fever, leading to patch fever, leading to bonus pin fever, leading to perfect attendance dementia, leading to Captain.

Starting as three bikes we smoothly added three more as we cruised toward our destination. Pogy joined up at Darien. Joanna was ready at the bus stop, we never even had to stop for the traffic light. And Jim just appeared, right there on the parkway, powering up the shoulder to smoothly take his place in the pack.

Mac's peripatetic riding style was a bit frustrating for your leader, me. There are times when you try to speed the group up or slow it down to fit in and out of gaps in traffic. But when your second rider has a three to four mile lag time, it's a bit of a challenge. When I made a wisecrack at the stop at the top, I included Pogy who was behind Mac. He took great umbrage. And when Mac dropped further back in the pack for the last leg home I couldn't get Pogy unglued from my wing. He was in perfect position the whole way.

We got to Pic-A-Lilli early. Good thing too, the joint was jumpin' by the time we finished lunch. People were packed-in and waiting for our table.

Food and service were good. At lunch Jim shared some good stories about his multiple Harley dealer experience. Captain maybe found a wizard to help cure his Road King gremlins. And poor Joanna was embarrassed by our waitress. You could tell the waitress knew it was the wrong thing to ask a fellow female sitting at a table full of motorcycle guys.

We reaped the reward of starting early by leaving early. That left us enough time for coffee at the top, traffic over the Tappan Zee, and still got Pogy home just before the 4:40 sunset.

Truly a rose among thorns.

Bears at Chez GSP, Dunkin' stop at the top of the Garden State.

Jim checks the Dunkin' cup for holiday political correctness.

Pogy takes his wingman status seriously.

One-tank Jaunt to Jersey

Bridgewater Bears from left: Joanna, Captain, Jim, Fonz, CT Blogger and Pogy down front.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, ride to The Eagles, Bridgewater, NJ, Sunday, November 8, 2015.

By: Chris Loynd

New Jersey Matt was a surprise visitor when I arrived at our Stratford, Conn. Dunkin' Donuts departure point. Our destination this Sunday is right in his backyard. So he headed up to Connecticut to get a few miles in this Sunday. He's done it before, sort of a Polar Bear ride in reverse.

When we got to the Eagles, Matt quickly said his goodbyes, and so missed the weekly group photo. He said something about having a babysitter for the afternoon. And if you've ever had kids, well, here's hoping you enjoyed your afternoon Matt!

Fonz joined us this week. We hadn't seen him on the first two rides. He told me it had been too warm for Polar Bear riding. "But I woke up," he said, "heard the heater running, and figured it was time to ride."

Jim joined us for the first time this year. He and Joanna were waiting for us at the bus stop. We picked them up but stayed up on I-287, using the Tappan Zee going out instead of the GW Bridge.

We rode down to an Eagles Club in New Jersey, home to the famous AMA New Jersey Corn Boil. (A summer ride worth two Polar Bear bonus points.) Club members put on a great feed for a paltry $12, coffee included.

We sat at big round tables after working our way through a crowded sign-in. Somehow Jim and Joanna ended up at the table next to us instead of our table. That seemed to work just fine for them; Jim brought Joanna to our group in the first place. They chatted happily on their own.

Instead we were joined by a couple of Polar Bears from Maryland. Who knew? Outlanders like us. Most of the Bears are from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.

One of the girls worked for a Navy contractor building submarines. She commutes between Newport News and Groton. Table talk soon centered around submarine classes, building techniques and general specifications. I don't think any state secrets leaked. In fact, it sounded to this neophyte like our Captain knew more about the subject than the expert from Maryland.

He never once mentioned his own submarine project. I was sorely tempted to tip his hand. But one advantage of getting older is that I've learned respect other's business . . . and mind my own.

Our ride was a nice, easy distance, less than 250 miles round trip.

As such, I decided to skip the gas stop my comrades needed to make on the way home. My Honda ST1100 has one of the largest gas tanks fitted to a motorcycle, 7.4 gallons. My gauge at the gas stop was reading only a quarter down. The bike's range is advertised to be more than 300 miles.

It wasn't like there wouldn't be another gas station on the way home. So I figured to test the bike. Worst case scenario, I figured I could drop out of the group and fill up. Worst, worst, case scenario: I have a siphon and my buddies just filled their tanks!

Confidence can be a fragile thing. As we rode over the Tappan Zee Bridge mine faded. This bike is 18 years old. I bought it used. It's relatively new to me. I've never really run the tank down past a quarter. What if the gauge is off? There's no reserve. I'll just sputter and die.

My speedometer always reads exactly five miles fast. I've checked it with the GPS. Does that mean my trip odometer is showing more, or less miles? Doubts filtered in as I rode for home.

I made it to my home gas station with a quarter tank still showing on the ST's gauge. I brimmed the tank to the same point I'd filled it after last week's ride. The pump said it delivered 4.812 gallons. So 7.4 divided by four equals 1.85 gallons per quarter tank. With my quarter tank the gauge says is still available, 1.85, plus the 4.812 I just replaced, equals 6.662 gallons. So there must be slightly less than a gallon reserve when the fuel light comes on and the tank reads empty. Not to bad.

Next I checked the trip OD against the GPS. They matched exactly at 245 miles. So if I figure right, I divide the 245 miles by the 4.812 gallons, to get 50.91 mpg. Yes, there's some small variation for where exactly the fuel reaches the bottom of the filler neck. Even discounting that by, say, 10 percent, I still got 45 mpg.

Yeah, I gotta go touring on this bike next summer.

LD Diva and the boys at Eagles.

CT Polar Bears, New Jersey Matt, in yellow, is an honorary member.

Fonz's first sign-in.

Longest Ride -- Lewes, Delaware

Week 2 Bears, from left: Long Distance Diva, Pogy, Captain and CT Blogger.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Ride to Irish Eyes Pub, Lewes, Del., Sunday, November 1, 2015.

By: Chris Loynd

You know you're a motorcyclist, a rider, when you ride about 550 miles, over 11 1/2 hours, for a one-hour lunch. That's how four of us spent our Sunday on the first day of November when daylight turned to standard time and gave us an extra hour.

Angling for less riding time after the earlier EST sunset, Pogy asked us to experiment with a half-hour earlier start. So we were off at 6:30 a.m. Yes, 6:30 a.m. In Pogy parlance: 06:30.

Fortunately I saw Joanna's e-mail Saturday afternoon. She was planning to be at the pickup spot at 8:00 a.m. We corresponded a bit and I ratcheted her back to 7 a.m.

With Token2 back in the old country, I got my chance to lead. It was an easy task with just four riders. We cranked, yes cranked, the NJ Turnpike start to finish.

I had planned to stop at the last rest stop, but Joanna signaled me so we stopped at the penultimate one. To pull the group over at the next rest stop we usually simply ride up next to the lead and tap our hand on the top of our helmet. But Joanna's from the city. She told me later in her hood that's the sign for cops.

So not knowing our custom she offered a more expressive signal. It wasn't just the pointing, it was the urgent little happy hoppy dance she offered in her saddle. As a parent I immediately got the message. I remember my kids doing that potty dance when they were two years old. It's the cutest thing riding with women.

We were all teasing her at the earlier-than-planned stop because her Harley windshield is covered with stickers she claims to have earned from Michael Kneebone.

This was the longest ride I've done on the ST1100. We've been getting to know each other. And I think we're close to coming to an understanding for long distance touring. I have a small Airhawk just under my butt where the seat scoops a bit then steps up for the passenger. With the blades on my engine guards I can get my too-long legs out a bit now and then. The bike is nearly right for 100-plus mile stints.

A previous owner installed Heli Bars. They appear eminently adjustable, but I don't know how. Pogy offered to help. And I think if I can get the grips just a bit closer to me it will be perfect.

I was truly amazed at how it sipped gas, even at speed. When my compatriots on Gold Wings were near empty, my tank was still half full. Average mileage reported on Fuelly is above 42 mpg for my 1997.  I can't be bothered to keep track. But with a 7.4 gallon tank the supposed 300 mile range per tank seems believable. That means I could make the 1,000 mile run to Daytona Beach with just four fill-ups, easy.

Hmmm, I may have to think about following in Joanna's tracks and do some long distance hauls next summer.

LD Diva was so busy kibitizing, she nearly missed lunch.

Pogy loves the camera!