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| CT Polar Bears in Montgomeryville, via automobile, from left: Grumpy, CT Blogger, Pogy and Captain. Thank you Bernie Walsh for taking the photo! |
By: CT Blogger
Photos by: Grumpy
It is said that there are sunny day and rainy day friends, the latter being more reliable and resilient. Perhaps such is too philosophical an argument for our Sunday Polar Bear excursion. Pogy put it better, "Oh great; six hours of ragging on each other!" One advantage of riding together in the car is that we get a lot more taking time together. Even riding together all day on bikes, we get less than an hour to talk. Sunday's drive was a real treat.
I am not ignorant of the perception that a six-plus-hour drive to nowhere in the rain is crazy. As it turned out, we had great fun the four of us. At the end we were all glad we went, and went in a car.
Sunday's forecast was for rain. Weathermen disagreed on how much and when. Some were saying thundershowers would end by morning. Some called for clearing in the second half of the day. Still others suggested an all-day thunderstorm threat.
Me, I'm getting too comfortable these days to desire a whole day of riding a motorcycle in the rain. It's one thing if you're touring and have to. Even more acceptable is the unexpected shower. You suit-up and take it. But purposely starting out in the rain, in the winter, riding all the way to Pennsylvania and back, seemed excessive.
So I called Captain and suggested we consider a four-wheeled alternative. We'd discussed just such a possibility the night before. Captain's weather forecaster was more optimistic. He answered my call from the Dunkin' in Stratford with his rain suit on and his Honda Goldwing parked outside in the steady drizzle. "See what Pogy thinks and call me back," he suggested.
I called Pogy and his National Weather Service forecaster was more dismal. Pogy had even called the tower at Sikorsky Airport in Stratford. He was flat out against riding but willing to spend the day with us in a car. He even offered to drive if Captain and I could get down to Norwalk.
Captain easily agreed to driving instead of riding when I called him back. So he rode his bike back home, quickly stripped off his motorcycle gear, changed into regular clothes, got in his car and drove over to pick me up, most conveniently, at my house.
Meanwhile I guessed Grumpy might be going. He's a Connecticut Polar Bear regular; he's even adjusted his work schedule to open up Sundays for riding. Fortunately, I got him just before he headed out the door, also all dressed in rain gear, and ready to roll on his Harley. He wasn't dead set on riding either. He quickly changed clothes and drove his pickup down to the Dunkin' to go in the car with Captain and me. (Maybe we're all valuing our comfort a bit more these days.)
As it turned out, we left only five minutes later than our originally scheduled motorcycle departure.
On his drive down from Derby, Grumpy heard on the radio that I-95 was shut down in Westport for an accident. So I called Pogy, rerouting him to the Merritt Parkway for pick up.
If we had gone on the bikes we would not have known about the accident. We would have been sitting, dead stopped, on the Connecticut expressway, in the rain, with Pogy waiting at the rest stop, in the rain, wondering what the heck had become of us.
So we were lucky in that. But our luck didn't hold.
It rained steadily all the way over to our destination. All day, all the way there and back, we saw heavier and lighter periods of rain, never a thunderstorm, neither a respite.
Pogy originally lobbied for a route over the Tappan Zee Bridge (we all decided not to call it by its new, politically-motivated, name) to I-287 to Route 202. It saves us slogging over the all-too-familiar NJ Turnpike or Garden State Parkway. In a car it was even easier and Captain was amenable.
Captain's sophisticated Subaru GPS refused to recognize his voice, or Grumpy's or Pogy's when we tried to change her mind on I-287. She was refusing to go the way we wanted. Finally, I was able to use my "computer speak" to get through to her and she acquiesced to Route 202.
Over more than a decade of riding to Montgomeryville, I think we've probably covered just about every route and approach. The destination is positioned such that there are a variety of options, one even includes a scenic covered bridge. At one time or another we've ridden then all. Today we figured to work diagonally down Route 202 from the more westerly I-287 beltway.
Route 202 isn't too bad once you break free of the pharmaceutical suburbs. The initial stretch near I-287 is pocked with stoplights and shopping plazas with the attendant traffic. Further out it is less interrupted and more scenic. It is familiar to us for multiple Polar Bear destinations. We were recalling some of the now defunct destinations. What ever happened to the Knights of Columbus?
(We also passed NorthlandZ on 202, the world's largest model railroad layout. Once again I promised myself a trip to see it . . . someday.)
Somehow our GPS got a bit confused as we closed in on our destination. We did a bit of suburban dodging in Chalfonte, Penn., before coming out at the dealership. Still we arrived right at sign in, 11:30 as planned.
On motorcycles our communication with each other for the hours involved is relegated to hand signals. We get to talk at lunch and even more briefly at the occasional rest stop or coffee break. But in the car, whoo hoo!
We delight in making fun at each others' expense, and sometimes our own. With some 16 years of Polar Bear riding together, we have plenty of ammunition. There's also an interesting political dynamic. I am the token liberal in a cadre of Glen Beckian, Fox Newsian, Trump Loving, Army-Navy-Marine Veteran, conservatives.
Grumpy early on gave a very convincing, cinema verite, soliloquy of his general thoughts about other drivers. The rest of us agreed we probably do not want to know what Grumpy is thinking, maybe even saying, inside his helmet on our many motorcycle rides. A few insights learned: he does not appreciate drivers who wantonly touch their brake pedals, he dislikes aggressive drivers weaving in and out of traffic, he feels most people are not going fast enough -- especially in the passing lane, he doesn't like . . . well, let's just say he takes great umbrage at a whole panoply of driving indiscretions.
Grumpy's not-so-secret is that beneath his gruff and often animated exterior beats a truly generous heart. He saved me years ago on my first Daytona ride. He barely knew me yet shared his campsite with me and another rider when our only other choice was a camping "site" literally next to the sanitation dump tank. His home is refuge for family and others. But don't you dare call him a sweetheart.
Pogy regaled us once again with his stories of world travel. He was triggered by Grumpy's stories about his global work making sure we all can enjoy cable TV. Together they commiserated about dealing with international cultures in ways not for publication.
On a tangent, Captain shared stories from his property management days. I thought I’d heard all his stories by now — a danger with longtime friends — I was wrong! Captain has lots more juicy content.
Our drive back took the scenic route to cross the Delaware River at New Hope. Great plan but the bridge was out. Not the one over the Delaware. A smaller bridge cut off our pathway within site of New Hope. The only detour sign we saw pointed us directly toward the defunct bridge.
Captain's GPS knew only to run us in a big circle right back to the impassable bridge. So Grumpy and I got out our phones and started navigating via Google Maps. Able to see a larger scale, we headed back the way we came, made a big loop, and ended -- finally -- on I-78 eastbound.
We all agreed such navigation would have been miserable on motorcycles, in the rain. Even the turnaround at the bridge detour would have been daunting.
So when the drive was done and the day complete we all decided it was not such a bad idea after all to come in a car. We earned a mere one-point each on our Polar Bear schedules. Still we were dry and warm and entertained.
Next week looks to be dry but very cold, perfect weather for Polar Bear motorcycling. The destination is just 10 miles south of Montgomeryville, so it will be interesting to see what route our ride leader takes. Fortunately, we already know about the bad bridge for the ride back.
The world is clearly coming to an end..... CT Polar Bear Cagers. OUTRAGEOUS. ;-)
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