Unluck of the Irish

Connecticut Polar Bears waiting for lunch in Waretown, NJ, from left in back: Marco, Grumpy, CT Blogger, Captain. Down front: Fonz and Pogy.

Polar Bear Motorcycle Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Lighthouse Tavern, Waretown, NJ, February 23, 2020

By: Chris Loynd
Photos by: Grumpy, some by Fonz, last one by CT Blogger

Our ride Sunday was to an Irish pub covered in shamrocks. Their luck did not rub off on us.

On the way down, Anonymous Ed, who was leading, started looking down at his bike and slowing down and was clearly distracted. We made it off the exit for Waretown. In just a short bit he pulled into an empty parking lot. Most of us pulled in behind him. Captain stopped on the shoulder then impatiently shouted he'd go get us a table and was off.

Turns out Ed lost his shifter knuckle. He knew from Fonz, who had left half an hour earlier than our group, that there was a gas station just before the destination. So Ed power shifted his way there with Grumpy, Pogy and me following.

At the gas station Pogy came to the rescue with his fix-all kit. He produced zip ties and safety wire. We had Ed shifting his Harley in no time.

Meanwhile, we noticed Marco's bike parked around the side of the gas station. Marco wasn't there.

Lighthouse Tavern was walking distance from the gas station. However getting across the road was a challenge. There was a lot of traffic on the two lane highway.

We got across the road but scattered as we hit the parking lot. There's parking in front, alongside and in the back of the venue. Fonz was parked in front. Captain had already arrived and got one of the last spots there, Grumpy too. Ed led Pogy and me down the side then headed onto the gravel. Pogy and I balked and parked in the last macadam parking space on the side of the tavern.

Pogy was aboard his brand new GoldWing and wasn't ready to baptize it in stone chips. After we parked, he pointed out his new bike is already blood stained. He figured to practice removing the side panel plastics in his warm garage before needing to potentially do it on the side of a winter highway. Unfortunately it was more of a challenge than he expected and he ended up cutting his fingers and dripping on his bike.

Meanwhile, Ed just rumbled across the gravel and all the way around the back of the pub to park with Captain and Grumpy up front.

True to his mission, Captain had secured a table for us. But the mechanical issues ended up causing us to order lunch later than originally planned. We did get our order in just moments before the Bucks County Hogs who once again showed up in big numbers. The kitchen was a bit slow. After all, they got slammed with so many bears arriving at once. This has happened before at Lighthouse and is the reason we invoked EDP (Early Departure Protocol).

Meanwhile Fonz had already eaten and was ready to head back as soon as he signed in. Marco, who left extra early with Fonz told us what happened. He's not exactly sure, but was hearing rattling and having power issues that made him think his recently replaced driveshaft is still not right. At our destination, he was a bit more than 150 miles from home.

We had a lively discussion at lunch about motorcycle towing insurance and their allowances for miles and how many tows per month or year. Marco found out the hard way a couple of weeks ago that the New Jersey Garden State Parkway (GSP) has its own favored towing service. So Marco actually had to get two tows to get home, one to get him off the Parkway and a second one to haul him home. (New Jersey predatory politics at their finest.) That's why Ed didn't stop on the GSP when his shifter failed. He was determined to nurse the bike off the exit.

Fortunately, Marco was able to limp to the service station — off the GSP — and call his buddy. Marco and his pal went in together on a trailer some years ago. Fortunately his friend is really a good friend, Marco said like a brother, who was willing to spend the rest of his Sunday driving to New Jersey and back to Connecticut to rescue Marco.

Meanwhile our food arrived. Captain's consternation was only partially assuaged. Grumpy had to settle for lemonade because Lighthouse is a Pepsi establishment, no Coke. I told them we were sounding more and more like a bunch of grumpy old men. I wasn't in any hurry and my corned beef was delicious!

This week Polar Bear Grand Pooh-bah Bob Hartpence made a public plea for patience with our destinations.

As we headed home our advance scout, Fonz, called our group's ride leader Anonymous Ed to let him know the GSP was shut down for some reason. Police were diverting everyone to the George Washington Bridge. Ed pulled the group over and explained and Captain took the lead because he was more familiar with getting off the bridge and onto the parkways, thereby avoiding the dreaded and mendaciously monikered Cross Bronx Expressway. Nothing "express" about it. Just after crossing the GW Bridge headed north you have to be in the far right lane to dive onto the parkways.

On the approach on the NJ Turnpike we came upon an accident. That was some bit of slow moving congestion. Then we slogged through plenty of stop-and-go traffic to get to onto the bridge, our clutch hands cramping. We entered the bridge on the far left side where the Easy Pass Only lanes were. Then we blocked and moved and worked our group through solid traffic to the far right lane.

Captain and Pogy left the Hutchinson Parkway for I-287 and I-95. That left me in the lead with the rest of the group and we motored home without any additional drama. I heard later that Marco made it home okay too.

Polar Bear Photographer Bernie Walsh likes being in front of the camera too.

Fonz with breakfast and Marco waiting for a tow.

Captain ready to grab a table and put in his food order.

Pogy's new GoldWing drew a crowd of admirers.