Easy Journey

Vineland, NJ, 5-Points, CT Polar Bears, from left: Captain, Grumpy and Pogy.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to DeThomasi's East 5 Points Inn, Vineland, NJ, November 18, 2018.

Report by: Pogy
Photos by: Grumpy

Morning started off at 37 Degrees – Departure was at 0800 from Stratford so I left for the pickup point at the same time – When I got picked up at 0820, there was Grumpy and the Captain – So it was a  party of 3 to Vineland, New Jersey. Chris called the night before and said that he had a slight fall and he would not be able to join up and we didn’t hear from Mac or the Fonz

Grumpy took lead with the Captain as tail gunner – I made up the sandwich !  The ride down was without incident and very little traffic to speak of –we got off of the NJT at exit 7 - we arrived just a little after 1100 – the buffet was already set up so we enjoyed the spread and back on the road by 1145 – we had to stop briefly because grumpy had a red light on his instrument cluster -  MOM (Motorcycle Owners Manual) said it was a head light issue – so we moved out

Didn’t have the opportunity to ask Grumpy on the way back but we had a GPS glitch or a human error glitch – took the wrong path of travel and ended up about 25 miles out in the wrong direction – ended up getting on the NJTNPK at exit 3 – But no worries – it was a nice road and a clear day and again – not to much traffic to speak of 

As always – thanks for the ride and the comradery 

See you next week – destination – The Hillbilly Hall

Season Opener 2018-2019

First ride of the 2018-2019 season. From left: Mac, CT Blogger, Captain, Grumpy and Pogy down front.

Polar Bear Motorcycle Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Cape May, NJ, October 28, 2018.

By: Chris Loynd, aka CT Blogger
Photos by: John Bowlan, aka Grumpy

I'm back, at least for some of the rides this season. Starting a new business, Digital Pizza, took my full attention last season. Fortunately it is more stable now and I have some wonderful clients. I will forever regret missing that anniversary patch, especially since my first Polar Bear patch was for the Polar Bear's 25th anniversary, 2002-2003. When I earn this season's patch I'll leave a space for the missing rocker to always remember my missing season.

Life sometimes trumps motorcycling. It's a shame. It happens. The only red rocker on my Polar Bear vest was for the 2008-2009 season when, in the great recession, I closed my 17-year business and joined The Maritime Aquarium.

Motorcycling also helps life go better. It was good catching up with my fellow Grand Tour staffers. Grand Poohbah Bob was too busy registering riders to do more than say hello. I was pleased to see Flight A Leader Pat Bachota there; John Bachota passed away just a week-and-a-half ago. Walter posted a nice memoriam of photos and videos on the Grand Tour site. And I trust being among her fellow Polar Bears offered Pat something valuable.

Riding from Stratford, Conn. to Cape May, N.J. for lunch is as crazy as it's ever been.

Fortunately for us the nor'easter rain storm came through Saturday. Sunday morning was dreary, damp and cold. Most of the day remained overcast and blustery. We rode in and out of a few patches of sun. I was wishing I had an extra layer. Captain said he felt the cold. He rides without electrics, always has. Me, I've gone to the full suit from Warm & Safe heated clothing. But even with electrically heated clothes, you have to figure the proper riding layers on top. My mix of electrics and insulation was a bit off. To keep my body, especially legs, warm enough I overcooked the tops of my feet.

I was joined by what has become the Connecticut Polar Bear stalwarts for the last several years: Captain, Grumpy, Pogy and Mac. At Cape May we met up, briefly, with two of our other regulars, the Polar Rican and Anonymous Ed. They were joined by Mike on a Trike. Mike is one of Fonz's Connecticut Rider Education Program, ConnREP, students.

Fonz led his separate group down earlier in the day. They went for breakfast first then sign-in so they could get back home earlier Sunday. The rest of us rode to sign-in first then enjoyed lunch. We were still able to get back before sundown. We will be especially challenged to repeat the feat this coming Sunday, though. The ride is longer, Lewes, Del., and the clock is sooner as we "fall back" an hour that morning.

Other ConnREP students have join us for Polar Bears before. The most successful of these was Token2. He's since moved to Virginia and we may not see him on too many rides anymore. Last year though, he rode up from Virginia to meet the CT Bears in Cape May.

Also from ConnREP is Thumper. Paul is still on the email list and hopefully we'll see him on a ride or two this season.

On Sunday morning I forgot how long it takes to get dressed for a Polar Bear ride. I called Captain 10 minutes before our departure time and told him I was running late but on my way. I guess the guys missed me because they waited. In years' past they would have left without me.

As I arrived they were already lined up ready to go. Captain waived me to the front. He was worried about his Goldwing's charging system and wanted me to take the lead in case he had to drop out. Fortunately, his bike was fine the whole way down and back.

I was on my restored Harley-Davidson Heritage Springer. It underwent a frame-off restoration, largely because winter riding corrosion ate the bike. The trouble all started when highway crews switched from sodium to calcium chloride. Sunday the Harley ran fine, spit some oil but I think it's because the tank is overfull. And a little oil always looks like a whole lot of oil once it spreads. Captain, my wingman, said my spray assured his Honda plastics won't rust.

Part of the Harley restoration was a change in the handlebars. I now have wider beach bars. This was the first 400+ mile day I've done on the new configuration and I have to say I felt those wider bars between my shoulder blades Sunday night, maybe more so Monday morning. But the bars look cool!

It was great catching up with my riding buddies. However it may be that I missed something last year or perhaps I'm just getting more sensitive. Our CT Bears always enjoyed busting each others' chops like we're in high school. But it seemed to me the level of snark increased. Maybe we're all just getting grumpier in our old age.

I was over cautious on my gas stops. I have a whole new tank on my Harley and the gauge must be off. It was showing dead empty at 120 miles. I'm used to getting 160 to 180 on a tank, easy. When I filled the tank it took only 3 1/2 gallons of what I assume is a standard 5-gallon capacity. I'll confirm that very important assumption with my builder before next Sunday! I'm not sure if the gauge can be recalibrated. Meanwhile I'm confident riding by the odometer, although it is hard to ignore that flashing warning light.

My restoration bike no longer has stock pipes and the replacement exhaust may be hurting gas mileage. I'll continue to be conservative, but may stretch it a bit more on the Lewes ride this Sunday. I have my siphon with me just in case. Pogy and Captain have Goldwings with bigger tanks and spare fuel to share. Of course if I do run out of gas, I'll never hear the end of it. They ragged on me for being late Sunday morning like a pack of wolves on fresh kill. And yes, I'll get up extra early this coming Sunday, 7:00 a.m. departure.

Upon arrival at Cape May with my fully-restored 2002 Harley, 150,000+ miles on the clock.

Captain.

Pogy.

Mac.

Pogy checking in with Joan, Flight B Leader.

Quartermasters Gary and Alex have new shirts for this season.

Flight A Leaders included Pat, center.

Grand Tour Grand Master Bob registering this season's Bears.

Longest Day of Our Season

Connecticut Polar Bears in Lewes, from left, CT Blogger, Thumper, Token2, Captain (Ed behind him) and Grumpy.
Fonz was out filling his gas tank while we took the group photo.
Normally we'd have a Pogy down front and center. Missed you buddy!

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Lewes, Del., Sunday, November 6, 2016.

By: Chris Loynd

A 12-hour day and 560-plus mile ride is a darn good touring day during summer season. Okay, Princess, can we at least say it's respectable? (If you don't know, Joanna's a long distance rider.)

Our guys started at 7 a.m. and, with a much needed stop at the top I pulled into the garage at 7 p.m.

I say "our guys" because I cheated. Investing a few extra miles in toto, I rode to my Mom and Dad's house on Saturday. That saved me about a quarter the time and distance on Sunday. It also bought me a two hour later start time and thereby scrapple and blueberry pancakes, with wild Alaskan blueberries hand picked by my sister. Thanks Gretchen!

My Alaskan sister Gretchen says "Adventure is always out there."

So I missed the ride down from Connecticut. If you read last week's blog, I kept my promise and arrived in Lewes about 20 minutes early. I sat on the curb with my camera awaiting my compatriots in order to grab an action photo.

Arrival in Lewes from a 7 a.m. start with Grumpy in the lead.

Back of the pack with Token and Captain. Other bikes behind aren't our group.

Fonz also rode, but like me not with our group on the way down. He just missed them at the start and never caught up. He arrived just after the main group but still in plenty of time for lunch.

We enjoyed a tasty, if a tad expensive, lunch at Irish Eyes Pub along the water. I continued my morning's culinary extravagance with a soft shell crab sandwich and homemade potato chips.

Thumper was along for this ride. He started riding with us last season. We call him Thumper because he's riding a single cylinder motorcycle. Now a sophomore he should know better, but he made two newbie mistakes Sunday.

At lunch he mentioned the election just two days before it was to happen, and with Captain sitting directly across the table no less. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to see MSNBC and FOX News playing simultaneously just feet apart, well we got a bitter taste at lunch Sunday.

I once carried the liberal mantle with my mostly conservative Connecticut Polar Bear buddies. Thumper makes me look like a birther, truther, prepper, tea-party, faithful follower of brother John Birch.

Still, we ride together because we enjoy riding together. Joys of the Polar Bear Grand Tour trump, um, supersede, our personal and political viewpoints. That doesn't mean we aren't free to express them. You are who you are and all are welcome to ride with us.

However, we are less tolerant of riding mistakes.

So when Thumper, wing man (wing person?) to Grumpy, tapped his helmet and led all the rest of the bikes off the exit, leaving leader Grumpy to ride on alone, well, that called for a talking to. Thumper thought Grumpy saw his signal. And in Thumper's defense, Grumpy had just changed lanes to the right. But it turned out that was for traffic, and not because he saw Thumper's signal.

Thumper was running out of gas, so he had to fill up sooner than we'd all agreed when we started out for home back in Lewes. His experience with his bike's fuel range was based upon 60 mph. The speed limits are mostly at 65, and Grumpy took a bit of liberty too. Thumper's little one cylinder was stroking pretty hard; his gas mileage suffered mightily.

Grumpy was doubly aggrieved. Last Sunday he was sweep. When the rain came, Captain led us under a bridge to gear-up. Grumpy thought it looked too crowded there and so rode to the next overpass. We just assumed he'd decided to ride straight home without us, as his nickname would sometimes profess. So we blew right by him in the rain, leaving him no choice but to ride home alone anyway.

This Sunday I tried sending him a text to meet us at the first rest stop after the Delaware Memorial Bridge. But he didn't see it. Surreptitiously, we finally caught up with him at the stop at the top of the Garden State Parkway. He was walking out as we were walking in.

Amazingly, Grumpy was gracious. We all had a good chuckle and Thumper apologized sincerely. New to group riding, he misunderstood communications protocol. Admittedly, it is hard to understand each other in full face helmets at 60 mph.

Thumper learned his lesson. Communications while riding takes time, so you build in lots of lead time. And you must get confirmation.

So when Token2, who had taken over the lead with me as wing man, promised to make one more gas stop along the Garden State Parkway, and then blew by all of them, I looked for his signal when we saw the two-miles-ahead sign for the last rest stop. He offered none. Nor did he tap his helmet at the one-mile sign. So I rode up alongside him and confirmed with a tap of my helmet, receiving a nod back of his.

We topped off our tanks at the pumps and gathered in the parking lot. Since Token2 would be exiting just after the Tappan Zee and I would be taking the lead, I asked Thumper if he had enough gas to get home to Norwalk. He answered yes, perhaps a bit insulted at first, then got the joke.

See you next week! That ride should be doable on any two tanks of gas. Hope you can join us Thumper. Otherwise I'll have to hold up the banner of reason in a country gone mad. Stratford departure 9:30 a.m.

Thumper on his single cylinder BMW. (Photo by Bernie Walsh.)

Thumper isn't the only one riding Polar Bears on one cylinder. (Photo by Bernie Walsh.)

Liberal wing of the CT Polar Bears, Chris and Paul.

Captain and Token holding down our table while the rest sign-in.

Ed, Fonz and Captain waiting for food.

Flight B leaders, Joan and Jim.

Flight A leaders Pat and John.

Grumpy's ride log.

"Outdoor" dining, closed in for winter.

Suiting up for the ride home.

Lovely Lewes and the light ship museum. Maybe a summer trip?

Grumpy Unleashed

Schaefferstown riders from the CT Polar Bears, from left: Mac, Grumpy, Token2, Captain and Princess.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, ride to Franklin House Tavern, Schaefferstown, Penn., January 31, 2016.

Editor's Note: The Chocolate Expo claimed my Sunday for this ride. It was a 12+ hour day but very worthwhile. The Maritime Aquarium where I work put up its best ever, one-day, attendance: 7,937. You can see photos from the day in the Aquarium's blog post. As I catch up the blog on Thursday, February 4, snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow. But it looks to clear in time and I am really looking forward to getting on the bike. Meanwhile, Token2 shares this accounting of what I missed. (And John, Mennonites drive cars, Amish drive buggies. Coming from Lancaster County, I can't help but offer this single correction.) Chris Loynd.

By John Howard, a.k.a. Token2

An 8am start was set to accommodate the 200+ miles to the destination in Schaefferstown, PA. It was a gray start to the day with temperatures near freezing. As the day  progressed the weather improved considerably, treating us to mostly sunny skies and milder temperatures that hit 60°F on the way home. A far cry from the prior weekend’s snow blanket.

The ride got off to a bit of an odd start. Firstly, Joanna was a no show at the Westchester pick-up point until the exact moment Capt appeared who was riding solo coming off the 287 ramp, which in of itself was unexpected. Gesticulating maniacally suggested we needed to make haste for some reason.  Princess made a quick left turn from the traffic light intersection (oh, the light was green…I must have been mistaken) as I fumbled to get my bike started. As we joined the interstate another four members of the group could be seen ahead. Clearly an egregious break to the recent pick up protocol had been cooked up at the Dunkin Donuts in Stratford. Anyway, the three of us coalesced behind Paul (aka Thumper), Mac, new Ed with Grumpy in the lead. The  usually present Pogy hung out his ‘gone fishin’ sign this week.

Seeing Thumper in the formation suggested rather big ambitions for such a long, mostly interstate ride on a 400cc single. However, he peeled off at Elmsford and it seemed that perhaps second thoughts had emerged. It was later revealed that was Paul’s plan all along, a relatively short run to check out his heated clothing set up. Wise choice Thumper, as you left Grumpy opened up. Grumpy later indicated he had set a moderate pace until Paul’s scheduled exit, lucky lad.

Tank filling and bladder emptying took place just east of the NJ/PA line, at which point Ed revealed his plan for the day, which was to turn around and head back home in time to celebrate his mother or mother-in-law’s 90^th birthday (I forget which). Now to some that would seem a pointless use of the morning. But wait, that is the point. It is the ride not the destination that draws us together. So while the majority of us got Bear points for today, Ed got brownie points from his SO, assuming he made it home in time (in the dog house otherwise).

Anyway, returning to Grumpy unleashed, he set a robust, vigorous pace. Mac later suggested that the speed may have reinjured his recently repaired left shoulder rotator cuff  due to the forces exerted when he stuck his arm out to indicate a lane change. For sure if we had the misfortune to come across a Statie the pace would have stretched the officer’s sense of humor.

After several years absence your author had claimed the sweep position. It seems that given the relatively clear roads I ended up lollygagging along at times. Capt made note of it to me at lunch ‘I thought Mac was sweep at times’ which was rather unfair to Mac, but pointedly sharp and correctly so to yours truly. I promised to try harder on the way home; I hope I succeeded as I wish to avoid further punishment and tongue lashing. Which reminds me, I need to check the CTPB rules, somewhere in there I thought Capt was not allowed to dish out abuse, only receive it.

At the fuel stop Grumpy advised me that he would use exit 17 (rather than the customary 13) and approach the destination from the east. Sounded good, which is no doubt why he did a quick turn right and came off at exit 19. That confused everyone, most presuming him lost. So we got back on I78 and exited two miles further on. Capt almost went rogue presuming that Grumpy was lost but in the end made the exit. On the ramp Capt restarted frenzied gesticulations,  apparently he was not in the know on Grumpy’s plan.  As I write this report Capt’s hand and arm signals remind me of the semaphore crab, a critter native to Australia. The analogy is best clarified by the Australian Museum “The word 'semaphore' means a type of signalling apparatus with moving arms or flags, and refers to the males' habit of standing by their burrows and signalling to other crabs by waving their claws up and down. Exactly what they are signalling is unclear.”  Clear now?

Grumpy was disconcertingly contrite about the exit 19 misstep. It is to be hoped that as Grumpy continues his recovery he will knock this touchy feely stuff off and return to the man we know is under there! Anyway, missteps…hey, we have all had ‘em!

The ride along PA419 was delightful. Red barns, stone houses and fields with a thick covering of snow reflecting the sun under a clear blue sky. What could be better? The staff at Franklin House said they received a record 31 inches of snow the prior weekend. It was stacked everywhere.

The Franklin staff did a nice job as usually. Quickly seated, fast service, good food. Deserving of the big tip that was left.

As we were getting seated and attending to our phones up pops a text from Fonz, who it turns out was late for the group start. His tardiness was good news for the group but bad news for Fonz who reported having clutch failure and being stuck roadside on West I78. For the reasons noted above Fonz would have needed nitro fuel to catch us and perhaps the clutch failure is another sequelae of Grumpy unleashed…. that is overreach I hear you say (OK, you are right). Offers of assistance were made but none accepted, hopefully he will relay his misadventure as an addendum to the blog. (I received a text from Fonz at 10.56pm Sunday saying he had made it home.)

We left  Schaefferstown via the normal 501 route and  passed a number of Mennonite buggies on the way to I78. Princess greeted them with a royal wave, I did not see any return the gesture. That being the case Mennonites should be added to the long list of groups that don’t wave to Harley riders. The journey home was uneventful and fast. One stop in NJ for gas and comfort, but no stop at the top. Grumpy had to nap before work and Capt had to work before napping. Alas, that means no Montvale group selfie this week from the Princess….oh, the horror!

See you all next week.

P.S. Chris…please put the inflatable whale away, stop shoveling snow or gorging on chocolate and get on that ST1100. For the first time in ages Harleys outnumbered imports on this ride.

300 Miles in Daylight

Shamong Bears, from left, Jim, Captain, Joanna, Pogy, Chris and Mac.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, ride to Pic-A-Lilli Inn, Shamong, NJ, Sunday, November 15, 2015.

By: Chris Loynd

"One of the great things about getting older is you get up earlier," Jeremy Clarkson, former host of "Top Gear" on BBC.

Barnsider Tavern went out of business. So our destination shifted to the popular Pic-A-Lilli Inn in Shamong, New Jersey. (You couldn't make those names up if you tried.) I say popular because the Polar Bear Grand Tour visits there at least once but also for the end of season blow out. Polar Bear Grand Poohbah Bob admitted the Pic-A-Lilli is close to his home. So it certainly is a popular destination with the man in charge.

Far for us! Which is not all bad. At just over 150 miles one way, we pick up five big Polar Bear points. The Barnsider in Sugar Loaf, N.Y. is just 100 miles one way, four points. Doesn't sound like much, until you ride. Then you get points fever, leading to patch fever, leading to bonus pin fever, leading to perfect attendance dementia, leading to Captain.

Starting as three bikes we smoothly added three more as we cruised toward our destination. Pogy joined up at Darien. Joanna was ready at the bus stop, we never even had to stop for the traffic light. And Jim just appeared, right there on the parkway, powering up the shoulder to smoothly take his place in the pack.

Mac's peripatetic riding style was a bit frustrating for your leader, me. There are times when you try to speed the group up or slow it down to fit in and out of gaps in traffic. But when your second rider has a three to four mile lag time, it's a bit of a challenge. When I made a wisecrack at the stop at the top, I included Pogy who was behind Mac. He took great umbrage. And when Mac dropped further back in the pack for the last leg home I couldn't get Pogy unglued from my wing. He was in perfect position the whole way.

We got to Pic-A-Lilli early. Good thing too, the joint was jumpin' by the time we finished lunch. People were packed-in and waiting for our table.

Food and service were good. At lunch Jim shared some good stories about his multiple Harley dealer experience. Captain maybe found a wizard to help cure his Road King gremlins. And poor Joanna was embarrassed by our waitress. You could tell the waitress knew it was the wrong thing to ask a fellow female sitting at a table full of motorcycle guys.

We reaped the reward of starting early by leaving early. That left us enough time for coffee at the top, traffic over the Tappan Zee, and still got Pogy home just before the 4:40 sunset.

Truly a rose among thorns.

Bears at Chez GSP, Dunkin' stop at the top of the Garden State.

Jim checks the Dunkin' cup for holiday political correctness.

Pogy takes his wingman status seriously.