Coldest This Season

CT Bears at Twin Lights, from left: Token2, Grumpy, CT Blogger, Captain, Pogy.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Highlands, NJ, Sunday, March 5, 2017.

By: Chris Loynd, a.k.a. CT Blogger

Well just two blogs ago, I quoted my favorite author Mark Twain about the changeability of New England weather. That Sunday's weather was springtime balmy. This Sunday's ride was the coldest of the season so far. It was 12 when I woke up Sunday morning, warmed to 18 by departure time. On the way home the temperature climbed to a nearly tolerable 30.

Hey, I know it's a winter riding club. So I am not complaining about the cold. It is hard to explain the Polar Bear Club. For me, the primary reason is that I cannot contemplate giving up my motorcycle for nearly half the year just because it is cold outside. The stress relief, camaraderie, joy of riding are all there in any weather and under as many layers of clothing as it takes.

Still, I hate being cold. And unlike the Grand Tour's Chairman, I chill easily. Bob Hartpence joked Sunday how he was relieved to see his thermometer this morning. Me, I went into polar preparation.

First step in my most frigid preperation is to attempt to warm my carbureted, 20-year-old motorcycle in my unheated garage. I have one of those electric radiators. Immediately upon waking I jump out of bed, throw on my pants and winter coat and run out to the garage to turn on the heater. The unheated garage is also un-insulated. So I snug the heater up close to the bike's engine and then tent both with a blanket. The old girl's never not started. She's a bit cranky at these very cold temperatures. But on full choke, and with a bit of patience, she'll fire.

Next I prepare myself to achieve some level of comfort. The problem is that to achieve warmth comfort I have to give up some level of clothing comfort. Even with the electrics, all the extra layers get tight and uncomfortable. By the end of the ride I can't wait to get out of my "space suit."

For me, hands are the hardest to keep warm. For really cold days like this one, I switch from my electric gloves to this really great set of NorthFace mountaineering mittens. They're windproof, down filled and I slip one of those air-activated hand warmers inside with my fingers. Works like a charm.

Not all our riders are as wimpy about the temperature as I am. Captain never uses electrics. He layers up and puts hand warmers in his gloves. Grumpy rarely wears a full-face helmet. This ride he showed up in a half helmet and a wrap to protect his face.

Bitter cold whittled our numbers to the core bears. And however we handled it, we all survived the cold just fine.

Despite the cold there was a good turnout at Bahr's Landing, an excellent seafood restaurant right on the water in the shadow of the twin lighthouses. Pogy and I were sorry to no longer see turtle soup on the menu. It was excellent and a treat he and I looked forward to each year.

Token2 showed up on a very, very green new replacement for his grenaded Guzzi.