EEDP = Extra Early Departure Protocol

Connecticut Polar Bears in Shamong extra early, from left: Fat Mac, CT Blogger, Pogy, Captain and Anonymous Ed.

Polar Bear Motorcycle Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, Ride to Pic-A-Lilli Inn, Shamong, NJ, January 6, 2018.

By: Chris Loynd

Over time the Connecticut Polar Bears have changed in character. I first invited members of my HOG group to join me in 2002 when I discovered the Polar Bear Grand Tour. Most thought I was crazy. A few came on a ride or two. But over the years we picked up some regulars. Some of those regulars have now been with us for 14 or 15 years. In the early years I rode plenty of meets on my own, too.

Polar Bear Grand Tour rules state that, "All meets start at 11:30 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted in the directions." Back in the day, I would wait for things to warm up a bit before starting out. Many rides I would shoot for a noon or 12:30 p.m. arrival, you know, lunch time. I even remember one ride on my own in the early years where I arrived after the Grand Tour was gone. (I got bolloxed on my directions in those pre-GPS days.) Too late for sign in, I enjoyed a late lunch and headed home.

As we added riders over the years, I started losing out to tenants of democracy. By popular demand the objective evolved to arriving promptly at 11:30 a.m. for sign in. Departure times creeped closer and closer to dawn. On this ride I polled the members and they all voted for earlier departures.

As many of the regular Connecticut Bears became 15 years older than when we first started, some of us became less comfortable riding at night. So we started ratcheting the time even earlier, especially for some of the longer distance rides. I jokingly named it EDP, Early Departure Protocol. We would arrive in time to first eat lunch (brunch?) and then sign in for our Polar Bear points.

This year a faction of especially early riders split from the group. They advocate riding before dawn, arriving well ahead of 11:30 a.m. If the Polar Bear venue is closed, they find a diner nearby and have breakfast first. Their goal is to be fueled, fed and ready to beat for home immediately at sign in.

Sunday I appeased a request by the extra early faction. Fonz emailed me during the week to say he called our destination, the Pic-A-Lilli Inn and confirmed they would be open and serving at 10:00 a.m. So I set a departure time at an eye-opening 7:30 a.m. That's a half-hour earlier than the early departure time we've used the past two years.

I just barely made the 7:30 a.m. departure. Approaching our departure Dunkin', Anonymous Ed and Captain were already headed down Lordship Boulevard, Ed in the lead. I made a quick u-turn, thereby designating myself as sweep rider for the rest of the day. Pogy was waiting for us at the Darien Rest Stop on I-95 but instead of picking him up on the fly, Ed pulled in and handed the lead over to Pogy.

Temperatures were perfect for Polar Bear motorcycling. Mid-forties are warm enough to keep you from fighting cold but not so warm as to make you regret your layers of insulating underwear. There wasn't much sun at sunrise, we even rode though some patches of drizzle. Traffic was delightfully light. Pogy's throttle hand was steady and the four of us cruised along.

There was only one disappointment as we pulled into Pic-A-Lilli one-and-a-half hours before sign in. We were not the first to arrive. Two other riders snuck in just minutes ahead of us. I saw them go by as we were getting gas. Otherwise the parking lot was eerily empty.

I make note of actual ride times to each Polar Bear destination to help improve future departure times. For Shamong I recorded previous 8:00 departure times that had us arriving at 10:30 and 10:45 a.m. Our time was pretty consistent this past Sunday. A 7:30 a.m. departure put us at Pic-A-Lilli at 10:05 a.m. with a gas stop before we arrived.

Fortunately, the Pic-A-Lilli is one of our Polar Bear destinations that really does it right. Captain rattled the door at 10:05 a.m. finding it locked. But before he could get back and report his disappointment to our group, one of the Pic-A-Lilli staff opened the door, stuck her head out and shouted a hearty welcome! There was plenty of staff inside, ready to serve and happy to see us. Our coffee (and one tea) arrived promptly and our meals soon after we ordered.

Just after we ordered our extra early lunch, we had a surprise visit by Mac. His greeting was, "You guys couldn't wait 15 minutes?" Our extra early departure time had him tiptoeing across icy roads near his home in a more northernly part of Connecticut. At first he said he "called" the Captain to ask us to wait. Captain defensively pulled up his iPhone list of recent calls. Then Mac admitted he texted his request for us to wait. Captain doesn't text.

We found ourselves with time to kill before the Grand Tour started operations. I suggested a game of pool.

We were back on the road at 11:40 and I arrived at my home in Stratford a little after 2:00. That included a "stop at the top" but only a very brief one. Our traditional coffee at the Montvale rest area at the top of the Garden State Parkway is another casualty of the EDP riders. Once a second opportunity to tell big stories and make fun of one another, now we just empty our bladders and hit the road. (Two weeks ago Grumpy and I enjoyed a brief respite in Montvale to the consternation of our fellow riders.)

Weather for our ride back was brighter, broken clouds and sun splashes. As we departed Shamong the weather front was dropping on top of us. Wind whipped across the flat and open fields of southern Jersey. We were getting pushed around quite a bit; I especially felt it sitting up higher on my lighter ST 1100. As we rode north I noticed the snow fences were being prepared. They had the posts in the ground, but the fencing was still in rolls on the ground. The New Jersey turnpike and northern Garden State Parkway offered more wind protection, trees and buildings and such. Temperatures dropped throughout the day.  As we approached the Westchester hills we rode along the edge of a rain shower. We were treated to a short spritz and a rainbow on our port side.

One other advantage of EDP is that early traffic is often lighter than later on Sunday afternoons. We got through the Oranges on the Garden State Parkway without putting our feet down. The sign for the bridge promised just 20 minutes travel time to the Tappan Zee. As we rode I saw signs that the new bridge would be closed for an hour this coming Saturday. They're blowing up what's left of the old steel girder and concrete bridge.

Here's hoping they're on time. This coming Sunday we'll need the bridge on our Polar Bear ride home to our nutmeg state home if we go. As of this writing, there's a 40 percent chance of snow on Sunday. But I only believe the long term forecast if it's good. The destination is even farther than Pic-A-Lilli. I called the Captain after we finished our ride and asked about the departure time. He figures 7 a.m. is his early departure limit. The ride should be about three-and-a-half hours. That puts us there a mere hour ahead of sign in. The destination doesn't open until 11 a.m., but there's a diner right around the corner.

Special Note: fellow CT Polar Bear Token2 has departed on his long-discussed South American adventure ride. You can follow his blog "Going South on El Burro." Vaya con Dios Token! We look forward to seeing you at Cape May in October.

Pic-A-Lilly parking lot upon arrival.

Parking lot as we departed.

Next group to arrive in the dining room was about the time we were paying our check.

Driving Rain

Connecticut Polar Bears at The Cabin, Howell, NJ, from left: Pogy, Grumpy, Captain and Chris.
All-day rain and a fair distance had us in the car this Sunday.

Polar Bear Motorcycles Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, drive to The Cabin, Freehold, NJ, December 16, 2018

By: Chris Loynd, CT Blogger
Photos by: Grumpy; guest photo by PB Photographer Bernie Walsh

Our weatherman let us down. We ended up getting Sunday's promised forecast a day early on Saturday when it was of no use to us. As late as Friday, Saturday was supposed to have heavy, steady rain. Sunday was light and scattered showers in the morning and clearing in the afternoon. But on Saturday the pattern reversed.

The Connecticut Bears have the disadvantage of distance when weather is bad. It's one thing to ride in rain for an hour on local roads. It's quite another to ride interstates for three hours in rain. So Saturday afternoon we opted out of riding.

We had such fun a couple of weeks earlier we figured another ride in the car would be okay. Plus this Sunday's event is the toy drive for the children's hospital through the Valerie Fund. Since I knew we would now be going in a car -- and therefore storage was not the same issue as on a motorcycle -- I went a little crazy Saturday evening buying some extra toys. I also knew there would be fewer riders and therefore fewer toys.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Grand PooBah Bob Hartpence even sent a Saturday email offering two points for those who came in a car and donated a toy. The usual penalty for driving in a car is receiving just one point.

Point of order, by the way, we are allowed only two car rides for a single point each. So any future car rides this season will accrue no points at all for the CT Bears.

However what the distance takes away on rainy days it gives back far more on sunny ones. Our greater distance means we accrue more polar bear points on any given ride than our New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware based compatriots.

Sunday's weather was miserable. Fonz and Anonymous Ed contemplated riding, but I got a text from Fonz Sunday morning saying they decided discretion was the better part of valor.

Good choice guys. It rained steady, sometimes heavy, the whole day. We were all glad we went in the car.

Pogy's wife Kathy sent him out to the car with a plate of freshly-baked cookies when we picked him up in Norwalk.

Captain again offered his spacious Subaru and piloted it as we sat and joked and snacked on cookies.

Lunch at the cabin was very good. Pogy and I tried a crab and sherry soup that was reminiscent of the turtle soup we prize at Bahr's Landing, another Polar Bear destination. This time I did get my Philly Cheesesteak, as did Grumpy. Captain and Pogy both ordered a Lumberjack sandwich. Our waitress was attentive and happy to joke with us.

Our conversation was fun and funny and wide ranging. My tongue is swollen still from biting it for the last two hours of our ride as the conversation turned pointedly political. A liberal surrounded by conservatives, I mostly just listened.

Polar Bear Photographer Bernie Walsh caught the CT Bears upon arrival, from left: CT Blogger, Captain, Pogy, Grumpy and Barry Kirschner a representative from the Valerie Fund at the Children's Hospital where the toys headed to a Christmas party that afternoon.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Photographer Bernie Walsh.

Truly Polar

CT Bears in a frosty Waretown, from left: Captain, CT Blogger and Anonymous Ed.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Waretown, NJ, March 12, 2017

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

It was a truly polar ride this Sunday. Cold in the teens to start. Not much warmer on the way home.

We rode to Lighthouse Tavern in Waretown, NJ.

I might have been a bit more mindful if I knew this was my last ride of the season. But, life had other plans and starting my new business took over my time for riding this spring.

If you get a chance, check out my website for the new business: www.DigitalPizzaCT.com and like my business page on Facebook: @DigitalPizzaCT.

Meanwhile, the turnout was smallish. Anonymous Ed earned his gold rocker and a good time was had by all.

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.

Mea Pie

CT Bears at Hooters, back row, from left: CT Blogger, Captain, John J.,. Scott, Mac; front row from left: Grumpy, Pogy, Token2.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Wayne, NJ, February 26, 2017

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

Dear readers, at least once a season my fellow Connecticut Polar Bears suggest, sometimes strongly, the slings and arrows of this blog be also directed at its author. So every now and again I write a mea culpa and eat some humble pie. This week seems appropriate.

Fonz will be pleased to know his fellow bears rallied to his defense in his absence. Fonz was on vacation with his wife Dolly, riding rented Harleys from Las Vegas to California.

This Sunday I am accused of alternate facts and fake news. Token2 made an amazing confession at lunch. Pogy's back. Our favorite 100-year-old Polar Bear made an appearance. And we were at Hooters. Oh, and yes, I made a mess of those pre-Hooters twists and turns with which I challenged Fonz in last week's missive.

Wayne, N.J. is one of the Connecticut Bears' rare sub-one-hundred-mile rides. For most of us, Mac always being the mileage exception, our round trip distance won't break 200. We earn just three points. On the other hand, the variety of a short ride now and again is not all bad.

A leisurely 10 a.m. start time is rare for us. I even showed up to the departure point early . . . and that may have been a mistake. Usually I arrive just as my fellow riders are lining up read to go. But the later departure made me antsy. So I rode over with a whole 10 minutes to spare.

Much of that 10 minutes was spent poking holes in last week's blog. It was Token2 who actually blocked traffic when Anonymous Ed missed the turn at the fork. Grumpy was first to abdicate, not Fonz. Numerous other errors and omissions were pointed out to me by my critics. Then they accused me of fake news and alternate facts.

My reply is simple. I never made any such promises of facts and accuracy in the first place. I am not about to let the facts get in the way of a good narrative. And I'm pretty sure Fonz can take the criticism, however unfair.

When I hosted the blog on my website I offered this permanently placed disclaimer:

Please keep in mind I sometimes exaggerate here in an attempt at humor. I make no promises for the veracity of any statements. No warranty is expressed or implied. Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited. Past blog performance does not guarantee future blog results.

Read this blog with a very big grain of salt. (And discount anything Russ Curtis tells you by at least 30 percent!)

I do understand the righteous indignation of my fellow riders. Each of them has been victimized by me in this blog at one time or another, rarely even rightly so. This week, with me arriving early, they turned on me. The upshot was challenging me to lead the ride. Of course I said yes. Of course I regretted it.

Perhaps frustrated by the short mileage, Token2 rode all the way north to Stratford from his Ridgefield hinterlands only to ride south again as we headed for Jersey. Typically we pick him up somewhere near the intersection of I-287 and the Hutchinson Parkway.

So we were seven in number departing the Stratford Dunkin' Donuts.

Prescient of the danger, I studied the route and map this morning whilst breakfasting. As leader I suggested we take the parkways to the George Washington Bridge then proceed straight out Route 80. This was immediately met with a disgusted look by Grumpy, verbal protestations and his favorite hand gesture. Feeling the heat over the blog already, I gladly switched my route to Tappan Zee.

We picked up Pogy and Scott at the Darien rest stop and were now nine.

Pogy's back riding with us after missing most of the season for personal reasons. Pogy actually taught me to ride. Then we saw a lot of each other at the now defunct Bridgeport Harley-Davidson dealership. Pogy eventually talked me into becoming an instructor; now he and I teach motorcycle riding together for the Connecticut Rider Education Program. It took me years, literally, to talk him into giving the Polar Bear rides a chance. Now he's addicted.

Scott called me, as he always does, Sunday morning of the ride to tell me to look for him at the rest stop. Temperatures were about 20 degrees less than last week when Scott famously rode in a tee-shirt, fleece vest and windbreaker. This week, Scott told me he was going to break out his electric jacket. At Hooters I learned he dusted off his gear and suited up but then, when he started the bike and plugged in his jacket, the heat controller started smoking. Yikes! He toughed it out . . . without electrical warmth. Fortunately the ride home was a bit warmer still.

I would not have made it. On one ride some years ago Token2's electric gear thermostat quit working. Fortunately we were at Montgomeryville Cycle Center and he was able to buy another. Since that day, I keep a second thermostat packed on my bike . . . just in case.

Nine is an awkward number of bikes in line. Not quite enough machines to break into two independent groups, it is a heck of a long line to do things like change lanes and exit interstate highways.

John J. was sweep. I found out at lunch his nickname is "Scoop." Some of us choose our own nicknames, others have nicknames thrust upon them. He shall be Scoop from now on, at least in this humble blog.

Scoop did a great job blocking lanes. Anonymous Ed (who had his nickname thrust upon him) offered his services as a sort of middle sweep, holding a lane open so those trailing could come up and squeeze in. We had cars in our line here and there and one real jerk who rode up on the left at the approach to the Tappan Zee Bridge. Despite more than a mile of warnings punctuated by big flashing arrows that the left lane is disappearing, he still came shooting up on our left at the last minute.

I cut my guys short trying to get over for the exit from I-287 to Route 80. There was a bit of a scramble, but we exited with just one car in our midst. Route 80 was worse, always is. But that wasn't the worst of it. Next came that loopy Route 23 exit with which I challenged Fonz. Only this time, I was the one being challenged.

My decision making and navigation skills came up short.

Signs appeared too fast. GPS was trying to keep up. I slowed the line of bikes. Still, at the last minute, I chose wrong, putting us onto a "service road" rather than Route 23. Captain was holding back, but to his credit he stuck with me this time. Fortunately my Garmin figured it out pretty fast. We went only a short ways, looped up and over and back around and soon were on Route 23 headed south to our final destination. Curses! Foiled again!

Grumpy was thrilled. My unexpected detour tipped him over the 100 mile mark, just. He claimed his two mileage points while most of us got only one.

At lunch Pogy made a presentation to Token2. If you're a blog follower you will recall Token2 had a bit of trouble with his Moto Guzzi a couple of rides back. The upshot was he had to ride in the passenger seat of Grumpy's bike to get home. The next day Grumpy went back to the destination with his pickup truck to retrieve Token2's bike. This is the second time Grumpy has rescued Token2. Grumpy's heart is bigger than his nickname would have you believe.

I will let the photo do the talking. Token2 didn't just hold up his shirt for a photo, he put it on and promised to wear it with pride.

(For any blog reader unaware of biker lore, the passenger seat on a motorcycle is generally occupied by the rider's girlfriend, wife, female significant other. Some bikers use a derogatory name for females to describe that seat. My apologies to anyone offended. Sorry, Mom. It's not what I call it.)

Lunch at Hooters is always, well, a hoot. Token2 got a table for us and we expanded it still. He also secured the Hooters girl with the biggest, uh, enthusiasm in the place. Cierra did a great job. Scott asked what was good on the menu. Token2 replied, "Everything's fried, so that's a good start." Even so, he and Captain had salads. More in the spirit, Grumpy ordered fried pickles for the table to share.

Service was a bit slow. However Polar Bear Chairman Bob told us that would maybe change for next year. For all the years the Polar Bear Grand Tour has been coming to the Wayne, N.J. Hooters, this was the first year the store owner came to see what we were about. Previous years only the manager attended.

Once he understood the Polar Bear challenge, and perhaps the money to be made, he was receptive to Bob's suggestion they present a special, and limited, Polar Bear menu. We're easy. Limiting choices speeds the kitchen and I would guess makes their job a lot easier too. Many of our destinations now offer a special menu, which I've lauded in earlier blog posts. We'll see what Hooters decides next year.

We were pleased to see Leo Chlebinkow walk into Hooters. He was using a walker, but lucid and bright and the assembled bears treated him like a rock star, taking pictures with him, shaking his hand, talking to him. Leo looked like he was enjoying every minute. February 23 was Leo's 101st birthday. I shared a biography of Leo last year.  CLICK HERE to read, or reread his 100-year story, which involved motorcycles nearly from the beginning. Until just a few years ago, Leo was riding on a trike to our meets. Before that he was on two wheels well into his nineties. Today a friend brought him in a car.

Yes, yes he is.

Anonymous Ed remains . . . anonymous.

Guest Post from Scoop

Approaching home our group split in half on I-287. One set exited to the Merritt Parkway for the ride home through our home state. I led the second group up I-95. Our interstate ride was a bit congested, but apparently not nearly so exciting as the Merritt Parkway group's ride. Here is Scoop's report:

By John J., a.k.a. Scoop

I don’t know how the remainder of your ride went on Sunday from 287 to 95, but our ride back on the Hutch and Merritt Parkways was more a battle than a ride, at least as my view from the back.

 Let me start by saying “No one was injured during this skirmish”. That’s more like it, it was a “Skirmish” of sorts. Mac (Speedy) led, with Grumpy in the middle, I keeping Sweep position.

As we entered the Hutch we had to battle for position to get heading towards the Merritt, as usual, traffic was dense, so we found a spot in the left lane and wound up behind a Crossover doing 60 mph just because it could. Mac held lead just behind his rear bumper, until it pulled over to the right lane just before the rest area on the CT/NY line. As the Crossover pulled over, it decided to increase speed (as those kind of drivers so often do) but Mac drove us by at a goodly clip.

Traffic on the Merritt can be thick and clumpy on Sunday afternoons (as you well know) and Mac was soon on the back bumper of another slowpoke who was afraid of corners it seemed, as it would slow down to 55 mph at every curve on that beautifully curvy section we all know and love. This slowpoke finally pulled to the right lane and we got by it only to be plagued by the very same vehicle all the way to when I pulled off onto the Milford Connector! This a**hole was constantly trying to pass us on the right all the way home! We were doing as I said before a goodly clip in a lot of spots, but were hampered by the speed of the vehicle in front of Sir Speedy most of the time, and in those areas, the Crossover wanted to be in front of our little motorcycle train at any cost.

At one point the Crossover driver actually cut in between Mac and Grumpy, creating a space where there was none. This created an opportunity for Grumpy to have a rather lengthy conversation with the Crossover driver while riding alongside it! I think if Grumpy had had a grenade, or something of that nature, the Crossover would have crossed over into the other dimension of non-existence. I felt like I was watching a Chess match gone horribly wrong. Mac constantly protecting our position from an enemy charging up from our blind spot trying to steal our hard fought territory, adrenaline running high, gasoline fumes permeating the air as throttles open and close! Man! I though the ride down watching the end of a 9 bike train was exciting! That was nothing compared to this!

I hope your ride was less eventful. Anyway, we all (I assume) made it home in one piece, and I had a wonderful single malt Glenfiddich when I got home. So much for a leisure ride home!

Respect My Authoritay

Connecticut's Rockaway riders, from left: Grumpy, Captain, Token2, Fonz, CT Blogger, John J., Anonymous Ed and Scott.

Connecticut Polar Bears at lunch, from left, Anonymous Ed, Token2, Scott, John J., Captain, Fonz, CT Blogger and Grumpy. Photo by Grumpy using wide-angle mode on his new LG cell phone.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Rockaway, NJ, February 19, 2017

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

Mark Twain, longtime Connecticut resident, famously said, "If you don't like the weather in New England now, wait a few minutes." We weathered a wacky weather week. Last Sunday we were forced by snow to drive. This Sunday we were almost too warm, almost.

 In Connecticut some of our foot-deep snowfall lingered still a week-and-a-half later. What was left was decorative in places. It accented craggy rock faces and lightened shadowy forest floors. Admittedly we also saw side of the road snow banks black with dirt. Still, I thought snow added an appropriate winter look to what felt all of a spring day.

Even at daybreak our temperatures were above February's average daytime temperature. Due to our relatively close destination, we had a late start, 10:00 a.m. By then the temperature was near 50 degrees; on the ride home it climbed nearer 60. Our CT Polar Bears were changing out gloves and shedding layers.

Anonymous Ed took the lead. He was great on the highways. Once we exited, he struggled a bit. At lunch he said something about the GPS on his bike being different from the one he was used to in his car.

I give him a B+, four out of five stars. On the highway he was steady and reasonable and that counts for a lot. That right fork turnoff for Main Street in Rockaway is a bit tricky. Lucky for Ed I was riding in third position. Also lucky for Ed there was a connecting side street closeby, albeit down a wicked-steep hill.

Captain was riding second position and tried to signal Ed he was missing the turn. The turn once missed, Captain hesitated about whether or not to follow. Hey, you gotta stick with your ride leader, even if he leads you to the wrong destination. In third position I kept coming and urged, nearly pushed, Captain to follow his leader, rather than making the over-the-berm hard right turn he desired.

Fonz who was second to last in line, and therefore not the sweep, wanted to sweep still. Token2 as sweep is obligated to stay with any rider who falls out of line. So when Fonz ditched the rest of us, instead taking the correct right fork, Token2 had to follow.

As we descended the cliff, I mean sidestreet, we found Fonz doing his authoritarian thing and blocking the road to help us enter. Of course that did nothing for the closer lane of oncoming traffic. Fortunately that car driver took pity on us and blocked cars behind him to let us out all in a line.

Anonymous Ed did see the big "The Exchange" sign of our destination, but appeared challenged in making a split-second decision to park on the street in front or the parking lot in back. He went for the back and we followed, well some of us followed. Fonz went for the street and took a couple of our riders with him. Parking lot choices were slim; there is a wicked-steep hill built into the lot. Maybe a low-slung car would be able to park parallel and not roll over. I was taking no chances with my high center of gravity Honda ST.

After all the fork-of-the-road and parking confusion, you know what happened? We all found our Connecticut mates and a big booth and had lunch together, despite our bikes being scattered across two parking lots and the street.

The Exchange parking lots and street front were packed, but the restaurant and bar were not. Our theory was because it was such a beautiful day a lot of the more local Polar Bears rode to the destination early, signed-in, then went touring around in the unexpectedly warm February sunshine.

This is often one of the brutally cold rides on our schedule. Was it two years ago the temperature started in minuses and never went above five degrees on this run? Grand Tour Grand Pooh Bah Bob told us his outdoor thermometer said 52 degrees when he awoke at 5:00 a.m. Assuming the thermometer was broken, Bob booted up his computer to check the weather.

Scott rode in a windbreaker over a fleece vest. He's never cold. He said he was tempted to choose a tank top instead of the short sleeve tee shirt he was wearing as his base layer just to tease me. Me, I still wore my silks and electrics then actually turned up my electrics, just a little.

On the way home we decided to shoot over to the Garden State Parkway so we could enjoy our stop-at-the-top. Once again Captain tried to drive Anonymous Ed from the second position. Ed made a right turn right in front of a big sign that said go straight for I-80 East. I don't know if it was luck or lucidity but no sooner than we turned we picked up an I-80 East on-ramp.

There was still a bit of confusion getting to the Garden State Parkway. At one point our sweep shot to the front, partly to help Ed find the GSP and maybe also out of Fonz frustration. We called Fonz out at our stop-at-the-top and he admitted to being challenged in having the patience to wait for the sweep on lane changes. Maybe we make him sweep next week, or leader.

Any of us who have been at the front or the back of the pack can attest that it is not easy. I had one of the most disastrous leads with a confused and likely illegal loop at the foot (or was it head) of the Whitestone Bridge. I too blamed my GPS. I too was saved by my sweep.

So kudos to Anonymous Ed for stepping up for the lead. Study your maps and set your GPS Fonz, I hereby publicly challenge you to lead next week's ride to Hooters. There are some nasty turns on the local roads after you exit I-80. If you like, I can ask Captain if he'll ride second. And we will all respect your authority . . . at least for the duration of the ride there and back.

Bob pic of the week.

Renegade sweep and leader Fonz, left, with never-cold Scott, right. What you see on Scott is the totality of his warm gear.

Scary parking lot for motorcycles.

John J. climbs the hill.

Captain earned his 60-point pin.

Chris did too.

Flight B Leaders Rich and Joan.

Ski slope parking.

It was . . .

. . . and some did!