Short Run

Connecticut Bears in Sloatsburg, from left: Captain, Token2, Paul, Princess, CT Blogger and Grumpy with Pogy down front.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, ride to Rhodes North Tavern, Sloatsburg, NY, December 27, 2015.

By: Chris Loynd

Sloatsburg, N.Y., is one of our closest destinations from Connecticut. In fact, it is shorter for Token2 to ride directly to the tavern than the I-287 and Hutchinson Parkway bus stop where we usually meet him. Which is what he did.

Token2 was on, as he described it, "a finger-drumming, eye rolling kitchen pass." He had to get back home fast to play host to holiday guests. It was our loss. This is Token's backyard. On past rides here he has taken us on scenic rides through Harriman State Park, and a few times 'round the roundabout.

Still, I was glad he came because he provided one of the funniest moments of the morning.

Stymied by the short distance, Princess rode from Long Island to our Stratford, Conn., start point. Paul also rode up from Norwalk to Stratford, only to turn around and head back south with the group. He lives in Norwalk, Conn., or Kalamazoo, Mich,, or both, it wasn't entirely clear.

Our Connecticut crew does not have many sub-one-hundred mile runs for the Polar Bear Grand Tour. Personally, I enjoyed the extra sleep. We left at 10:30 a.m., hours later than our usual departure times. We should have left a bit earlier; I did not allow for traffic.

Nowadays Tappan Zee traffic slows because people gawk at construction of the new bridge going up parallel to the current one. Driving home from the holidays on Saturday, I noticed the phenomenon. It was the only real jam we experienced all the way from Delaware. Today we had the same slowdown and from both directions. Additional accident rubbernecking headed west got us to the destination a bit later than planned.

Pogy did a bit of construction ogling himself. At lunch he complained there were no American flags flying from tops of any construction cranes. Usually some patriotic worker puts a flag on the pinnacle of the highest crane. At lunch we speculated the work is outsourced to the Chinese. I was guilty of a bit of construction rubbernecking myself on the ride home confirming Pogy's concern. All I saw were checkerboard orange and white aviation warning flags. Bridge commissioners, if you're listening, Pogy has a suggestion. Or all our blog readers could go on the new bridge web site and suggest they display a flag.

On the "Bridge commissioners" link above there is a tab for "contact us." There I sent the following message: "I was disappointed today to not see an American flag flying from any of your construction cranes. Typically I see the colors proudly displayed at major and minor construction sites. One so prominent as yours should show some patriotic pride."

Our late arrival was exacerbated by my lead. With Paul and his tiny thumper in the mix on this run, I decided to let him know we could accommodate most all riders. He was one of my students in the Connecticut Rider Education Program (ConnREP) classes this past summer. Pogy, John Jackson and I are instructors. I always tell my students about the Polar Bears. Token2 is a ConnREP graduate who learned about the Polar Bears from his instructor. I guess two converts in like 10 years maybe says something about our sanity.

I kept a reasonable speed achieving a comfort level that pulled Paul into our formation. On his previous trip with the Connecticut Bears, he tagged along at the back of the pack so he could "ride his own ride."

Princess was offered the lead, but settled for second bike. All I required of her was staying in position and using her mirrors to catch lane changes by the sweep when I couldn't see them. She proved a capable and precise rider, at my right hip the entire time. She rode tight.

Grumpy was next in line. He's back from medical leave. Being both short and warm, he figured this was a good opportunity to try out his new hand and healed body. He was pleased with the results.

Rhodes North Tavern is one of those wonderful Polar Bear destinations that gets us. Half their parking lot was blocked off for bikes only. A staffer was outside directing bikes for maximum packing.

Inside, lunch was wonderful. Token2 went ahead as we were delayering and Tavern staff put together a few tables for our group of seven. Our waitress was fast and efficient and never was heard a discouraging word. Our busboy brought us free scones while we waited for our orders to arrive. Princess was delighted to see a BLT first on the menu. I probably should have ordered one. It looked fabulous: ruffled lettuce, extra bacon, copious in size and penurious in price.

My steak sandwich was New York style which means slices of steak instead of the wafer-thin "Steakums" style meat we're used to in Philadelphia. Seems I've made this mistake before. That said, the sandwich was delicious, as were the sweet potato fries. I brought half home. Somebody remind me next year to order the BLT!

Grand Tour Grand Pooh-bah Bob Hartpence shared a rave review for last week's destination, The Tilted Kilt. He said management was very accommodating, the girls friendly and the food delicious. The manager asked if Bob thought it would be okay for the girls to pose on some of the bikes in the parking lot. Bob quickly assured him no bear would object! Hopefully my work schedule allows me to make the ride next year.

Getting Bob's Tilted Kilt report.

As we caught up with each others' lives, Pogy shared with us a new chapter in his elderly friend's story. And the weather being wonderful and once again unseasonably warm, he decided to stop by to see his friend who now lives near Danbury. He quizzed Token2 on the best route. And in his queries he asked Token2 if there was any difference in a particular Interstate exit for a given route East and West. Token2 immediately answered, "No . . . except that they go in opposite directions." Pogy tried to explain. Token2 defended his answer saying, "I don't know how else to answer that question." You had to be there, but it really hit my funny bone, hard!

At the Dunkin' Donuts departure.