Better Part of Valor

East Hampton "riders" CT Bears came by car. From left: Captain, CT Blogger, Grumpy, Jim and Connor.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour ride to East Hampton, NJ, February 12, 2017

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

Our Sunday freeze line hovered somewhere over New York City. To the south our New Jersey brother bears would experience only rain. North, at departure time in Connecticut, snow was falling and accumulating. Since it would rain only in Jersey we were sure the ride would not be cancelled. Our perfect attendance was at risk.

Riding looked pretty dicey, so Captain and I decided to drive, a fairly long drive, 150 miles and 2 1/2 hours one way. Grumpy came along even though he was not going for perfect attendance. Plus we picked up Jim and his son Connor driving in their own car, a Jeep, at the Darien rest stop on I-95. We convoyed across the parkways and over the GW Bridge. Captain led and Jim did a great job as sweep, clearing lanes and keeping pace.

It's a little nuts, we all admit, to drive to New Jersey for lunch in the snow, sleet and rain. All to sign a paper proving our consistent feasance.

Truth is, the Polar Bear Grand Tour is a great excuse to get together, tell stories, rip on each other, debate politics and get out of the house. It's better on a motorcycle. But we had a great time Sunday without the bikes all the same. Driving in a car together actually gave us much more time to talk. On our motorcycles we are isolated in our full-face helmets.

Our destination, O'Connor's American Bar and Grill, had a distinctly Irish theme, despite the "American" adjective in its name. This is a great destination, new to the Polar Bear Grand Tour schedule. Hopefully they will stick with us. Turnout this year was pretty light. It rained fairly steady most of the day. Good food, plenty of space, plenty of parking, easy to get to, O'Connor's has it all.

Connor and I enjoyed the shepherd's pie. It was excellent and almost, almost, more than I could eat. Captain had the chili and pronounced it spicy.

Because we came in a car, we received only a single point at sign in. So Captain and I still need one ride more for our 60-point pins. What a difference a week makes. The coming Sunday is forecast to be sunny and near 50 degrees.

Can't really see it in the rainy, blurry photo taken through the car window, but we were fascinated by this Polar Bear's ponytail. Either the ponytail is fake and stuck on or she drilled an appropriate hole in her helmet. We'll have to see if we can find her at another Polar Bear ride to find out.

CT Bears catch up with Quartermaster Gary Rosen outside the restaurant. Photo by: Bernie Walsh.

Racing Snow

Collegeville Connecticut Bears, from left: Grumpy, CT Blogger, Token2 and Captain.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Collegeville, Penn., December 11, 2016.

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

Season's first snow was forecast to fall this Sunday. We were all watching the "futurecast" closely Saturday night. Fortunately flakes were not predicted until late in the day. On Saturday night the weather prognosticators were suggesting a 7 p.m. snow start; Sunday morning they moved it up to 6. That was a weather window with which we could work.

However, early Sunday morning Token2 was looking at radar showing a snow swath over Philadelphia, closeby our destination, and wondering if he should ride. Dude! You're the one with the adventure touring motorcycle. The one who rode to the Arctic Circle.

Weathermen also promised us the first truly bearish Polar Bear ride of the season, forecasting temperatures in the low twenties in the morning and not much above freezing the whole day.

I broke out my Freeze-out onesie for the first time this season. I should have put on the hippo hands too. My Warm and Safe suit cranked more than enough heat for my body, right down to my toes. I never turned it up more than halfway. But the gloves struggled. Even at full heat my fingers were too cold. Hands fared better on the ride home. It's amazing what 10 extra degrees can do.

Gloves are tough. Make them too thick and they're no good for the motorcycle controls. They also need to be waterproof. Leather is preferred for protection, but is thick. Someone needs to design a glove with a thin, windproof and waterproof layer. I'd also like a longer gauntlet. My Warm and Safe gloves just barely cover my jacket sleeves. It is quickly annoying when you have even a tiny air leak up your sleeve at 20 degrees and 65 miles per hour. Some Polar Bear riders wrap the gap with duct tape.

In defense of Warm and Safe, my gloves are an older model. Their new "Ultimate Touring Gloves" look to have deeper gauntlets and double heating wires in the thumb. Maybe next season? My wife tries to understand, but my motorcycle gear collection baffles her. How many pairs of gloves does one man need?

Whether it was weather or whatever, we were down to the Connecticut Polar Bear core Sunday: Captain and Grumpy met me at the Dunkin' Donuts in Stratford, our weekly starting point. Captain told me about Token2's radar watching; they'd spoken earlier Sunday morning. "He said he may or may not be at the bus stop," Captain said.

Turned out Token2 strapped them on and was waiting for us.

I had the lead. Captain was sweep. Grumpy and Token2 tucked inside. We had a lot of ground to cover and a short weather window. With a small group of experienced riders, I turned up the wick. Grumpy was on me like glue. Captain was reading my mind, clearing lanes before I signaled. It was delightful.

Our destination was Appalachian Brewing Company in Collegeville, Penn., just north of Philadelphia. It is agonizingly close to 400 miles round trip. But we get only five points for the 380 mile ride. Not that we should complain. Most of our New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania Polar Bear brethren earn far fewer points on these rides. I've always said the Grand Tour is really not meant for us coming from Connecticut as we do. They graciously accept us all the same.

Starting out at 8:00 a.m., we figured to be in Collegeville well before the 11:30 sign-in. Last year an 8 a.m. start put us there at 8:20. With our tight group, a quick turnpike rest stop pee break and a bit of spirited riding, we hit town at 11:10 a.m.

Token2 was right. Light Pennsylvania flurries swirled around us as we searched for a spot of lunch.

Appalachian Brewing has notoriously slow service. So we hit a Friendly's a few miles off of the turnpike. We figured to polish off our repast and then ride into town to sign in and earn our points.

Friendly's lived up to its name and then some. Our waiter was friendly and accommodated us with a six seat table even though we were only four. Spare table top and chairs were piled with helmets, jackets and gear.

Captain had breakfast; Grumpy, Token2 and I had lunch. Food was tasty and fast. I went way off my diet with the fried clam strips, one of my all time favorites. Token2 and I upgraded to waffle fries. Yum! Everybody in the restaurant was friendly. Several folks struck up conversations with us. Four guys on motorcycles in winter were novel enough. Four guys from Connecticut doubly so. The nice lady in the booth next to us handed us a couple of $5 off coupons she had clipped from some circular somewhere. And our waiter cleverly split our ticket so we could take advantage of both. (Maybe that's supposed to be a secret? If someone from corporate is monitoring, rest assured we would have sat at two adjoining but not touching tables to get the deal!)

We were done in less than an hour, even took the group photo in the Friendly's parking lot. At Appalachian Brewing we didn't even take off our helmets, just strolled in, signed in, and were feet-up in five minutes.

Gas and go just before the Pennsylvania Turnpike on-ramp and we were hustling for home. We even skipped coffee in our stop at the top. Traffic was light, even across the Tappan Zee Bridge. As always, the worst congestion was in Connecticut. We rubber-banded a bit on the Merritt.

Even so, my ST was in the garage by 4:00 p.m.

I was sitting on the couch recovering, after exploding out of my multilayer riding gear and into comfortable jeans and sweatshirt, when my phone rang. It was Captain. "I'm driving behind a salt spreader," he said. He was in his car headed to Sue's place. "It's snowing!" The time was 5:20 p.m.

Grumpy got a new cell phone with wide-angle, multi-pixel camera and was showing me how it worked.

Polar Bear Grand Tour photographer Bernie Walsh. He took a group photo of us but it didn't make the page.

Bob photo of the week, next to Flight A Leader John.

Captain signs in with Flight B Leaders Jim and Joan.

Token2 signs in.

Grumpy signs in.

Quick turn stop at the top.

Outside my house at 5:20, that's snow!

Front of my house and a bit of holiday cheer!

A Tiny Taste of Polar

Connecticut Bears in Vineland, from left, Ed (slightly less shy than usual), CT Blogger, Grumpy and Captain.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Vineland, NJ, November 20, 2016

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

Saturday night my bike was parked outside. It usually resides in a garage, albeit an unheated one. Our Sunday ride was down to southern Jersey. It's three-and-a-half hours from Connecticut one way, but less than an hour from my folks home in Delaware. Mom and Dad always enjoy a visit, even a brief one. Mom treats me to my favorite foods. This time, fried chicken and chicken hearts, sweet rice and homemade coleslaw with apple pie a la mode dessert for dinner; scrapple and eggs with toast and homemade strawberry jelly for breakfast, if you're interested. (Thanks Mom! Hi Dad!)

Mom and Dad's Prius takes their garage. I parked my Honda ST1100 out front. When I arrived Saturday afternoon temperatures were in the balmy 70s. I wasn't wearing my electrics, but packed them all the same based upon the forecast. It was windy however, very windy in Wilmington, harbinger of dramatic change as it turned out.

While we were watching TV later that night it started raining. Remembering my Airhawk seat was strapped to the bike, I went out to retrieve it so I wouldn't have to start my ride Sunday on a wet seat. Imagine my surprise to find my cushion covered in snowy, slushy, stuff.

It truly was a dark and stormy night with heavy rains and snow squalls.

Morning dawned sunny, but cold, just above freezing. Winds were still gusting, which was fortunate in one way. Streets were blown dry after the overnight rain. And the wind didn't push my Honda and me around too, too much.

This Sunday was the first time I wasn't too hot. Previous rides of this year's Polar Bear season have been in the 60s and 70s. It's tough to decide which layers to wear. Once you commit to long johns under your riding pants, it is almost impossible to change your mind. The last ride of last season I was so dang hot I stripped the insulated lining from my riding pants, hopping around in a bathroom stall on the Garden State Parkway trying my darndest not to touch anything.

My ride over to Vineland from Wilmington was comfortable. I had my electric layers on, but dialed in the gloves only, about one-quarter power.

My timing was perfect. As I was waiting to make the next to last turn to our destination restaurant, I saw my Connecticut compatriots ride by. Ed was unmistakable in his safety yellogreen jacket. Despite the fact they were headed in a direction my GPS did not recommend, I made a right turn on red and fell in behind.

No sooner did I catch them, than Grumpy led the group into a parking lot. I assumed he just wanted to say hello. But his GPS was also telling him to go straight at the light I'd just jumped. He just missed the turn.

Ed opened up a space for me and together we turned up the road to DeThomasi's East Five Points Inn. Grumpy was lead, Ed as sweep, Captain and me in the middle. We arrived just before 11:30 sign-in.

Despite having just had a sumptuous breakfast, Five Points tempted me with a well-stocked buffet offering breakfast and lunch. I opted for lunch, mostly all Italian standards. The asparagus bisque was superior! Everything was tasty, in fact I was tasting the meatball for the rest of the day. Maybe Italian was not the best choice on top of Pennsylvania Dutch. There was a culture clash in my tummy.

Our ride back was pleasant. Grumpy took us back north on the more scenic route, through the Pine Barrens, then blueberry country, past Pic-A-Lilli and finally onto the prosaic New Jersey Turnpike at Fort Dix, Exit 7. We had only one wait for a one-lane bridge on Route 206. Even the Tappan Zee traffic was not so bad.

At the top of the Garden State Parkway we broke in two. Captain was late for an appointment and Ed joined him on a quick stop and run. Grumpy and I took time for a cup of coffee and caught up on each other's doings. I'm still looking for work. Grumpy is planning retirement in a few years from a place he's worked for more than 30.

We opted for the Merritt Parkway route home in Connecticut. Just that far from the warm embrace of Long Island Sound we had a little spritz, a bit of sprinkle, then snow flurries. No droplets of rain really, just mist. We didn't even think of rain gear. The threatened precipitation held off all day. Hey, sometimes you get lucky.

As the day slid into night, I turned up the thermostat on my electric clothes. Not to full blast, but I was enjoying warmth on both the suit and the gloves. The little bit of snow never laid on the pavement. It just provided a tiny taste of coming winter in the most pleasant sort of way.

Not everyone would agree.

Token2 did not ride with us this Sunday. He lives near Ridgefield, Connecticut, far from the warm embrace of Long Island Sound. He claims he was snowed in Sunday morning. Really? I mean he's in Ridgefield, not Vermont. He provides the account below. I did some fact checking on your behalf dear reader. You can see my screen grab from the weather almanac. Still, I cannot verify the photos Token2 provides are not Photoshopped. However he did miss a big points ride, and that may be verification enough for any Polar Bear.

Token2's Report:

Dear Chris:

Measurable snow fell overnight in Ridgefield, sufficient to prompt the town to plow (but not treat) the roads. With temperatures at 32F and snow still falling the 7.30am inspection of my long driveway and the local roads revealed snow and slush on top of leaves with larger debris in the roadway. Conditions did not meet my criteria for safe two wheel travel and with the early start time were unlikely to materially improve . With a heavy heart I called Captain to report my intention to bag the ride today. 

Captain is always supportive of riding decisions based on safety and risk assessment. However, as a coastal dweller it was impossible for the Captain to entirely cover his disbelief and while supportive suggested that my bona fides as a card carrying CT Bear might be under threat in this week’s blog. No-one who knows you could ever reasonably suggest that the CT Polar Bear Blog be retitled the LoyndBart news. Unfortunately, I remain mindful that we live in an era of abundant fake stories and an environment where if something is tweeted enough it must be truth. As a consequence I feel compelled to offer you photograph evidence of conditions, knowing your slogan to be “We report, you decide” that you will post this email and pictures.

It hurts to concede the point that my British upper lip may lack the stiffness of youth. In times past I would probably have ridden through the 4 miles of local roads to hit Route 35, which undoubtedly would have been safe, but I like to think I am wiser (others may differ on this point).

Hoping for better things next Sunday. In the meantime a Happy Thanksgiving to all.

I remain yours respectfully,

Token 2.

More photos from Vineland:

Arrival. Brisk with gusty winds.

Bob photo of the week!

Holiday dressing at Five Points.

Departure. Is it feeling colder?

Gourmet Run

Lago CT Polar Bears, from left: Fonz, newbie Ed, Mac, Token2, Captain, Grumpy, Princess, Bob and down front Pogy.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, ride to Lago, North Brunswick Township, NJ, January 17, 2016.

Editor's Note: Well my horrible head cold cleared enough to ride this Sunday, but a whale of a work duty seized first priority. At The Maritime Aquarium we have a life-size, inflatable, walk-in whale exhibit on loan from NOAA.

By: John Howard, a.k.a. Token2

Eight Bears inclusive of a first time cub (Ed, welcome) made the ride south to North Brunswick on a seasonably cold but gray day. The group opined that the return journey seemed colder, though the temperature gauge reported 38°F northbound making a lie of our impressions. That bested the low 30’s on the way south. Pogy who is known (but widely disrespected) for his worldly knowledge put it down to increasing moisture in the air. I believe he checked that by removing his woolly bobble hat for a brief moment in order to gain the benefit of more skin exposure. Fortunately the forecasted snow flurries/showers did not appear until we were all safely back in CT.

Capt. K took the lead with Mac in the rear. It was a joy to ride in staggered but well held formation, at least until the Meadowlands were reached. At that point I made a quick exit into the Lombardi services to attend to an emerging problem from a partially detached windshield spoiler. Being 7^th in line I waved to Mac to keep going, which he and they did. After attending to the issue the only way south is to join the eastern spur; I did a check swing into the Edison services to make sure the group were not waiting and continued on to Lago.

Capt reported the good start in the formation was lost as the NJ Turnpike straightened out, demanding less of the riders' attention to detail.

Arriving at Lago I was astonished to find that I was the first CT Bear on the lot. Huh? Perhaps they had waited on I95 on the section I had not traveled? Nah…Capt. was leading; pirate rules in effect (turns out he did not know I had dropped out). Just as I was checking my phone for messages  Capt. and gang appear from the opposite direction to the normal route. Still we were all on premises by 11 am, so Captain’s detour through North Brunswick, East Brunswick, Milltown (but fortunately not New Brunswick, eh) was but a trifle inconvenience. As is often the case it is an ‘ill wind that blows nobody any good’ and Pogy announced he arrived with 100.7 miles on the clock, 4 points! Woooo hooooo.

Lago sounds so much spiffier than the previous name of Sir John’s that the restaurant dropped a few years back. This year the evolution continued with a posh buffet replacing the a la carte menu that included a number customarily priced hot sandwiches. But, uh hummm..as we are from Connecticut we are deserving of a high society lunch once in a while. More so now we have omnipresent royalty in our ranks. We were treated to an omelet station, carving station with rib of beef, chilled shrimp and many other gourmet delights that reminded me of the feast we enjoy at Long Valley. Of course the price was set to match, high enough to stimulate a sharp intake of breath from some. Even as we yelped, Fonz sprang into action and dropped a money off coupon into the mix so our final tally was more palatable. Way to go Polar Rican!

After lunch we assembled in the parking lot where Grumpy began the process of setting up for the group shot. Clearly a little rust has accumulated during his absence over the first half of the season, it took several Mulligan’s before we saw evidence of the flash. Bob H., who joined the group shot  got into the spirit of things by heckling that he wondered if the group shot would be completed before we were at next week’s destination. It was all too much for Grumpy who blew a fuse. No, don’t get me wrong, it was the 15A one that fed his head and tail lights which he fixed at Montvale services. It is great to have you back Grumpy!

Fonz ponied up for the refreshments at the top, though as a result of a miscalculation we ended up one hot chocolate short;  Pogy voluntarily missed out. So Fonzie, if your MSF schedule this coming season has you working every rainy weekend you will know why. Anyway, the rest of us enjoyed the break.

Princess, we are all looking forward to a critics report on Jim’s performance in ‘…on the way to the Forum’  illustrated with many pictures including a worldwide exclusive a ‘up the toga’ shot. Don’t be bashful, those Romans were naughty fellows!

On that I had better end……

An addendum from Joanna Wojtowicz, a.k.a. HRH Princess:

We had a great ride today. Token2 didn't take any pictures but asked me to forward them to you. I posted all pictures in my Polar Bear rides album on FB. You can take any pictures you want for the blog.

Token2 joined me at the bus stop, at the Hutch and I-278. We had a short but meaningful conversation about current behavior of the stock market before Grumpy arrived ahead of the pack, seemed to have some odd scarf issues...we all just watched and tapped our fingers on the throttles as he was wrapping himself with it. Finally Fonz yelled "TODAY!" to which  Grumpy, as usually, showed a gloved finger.

Captain lead the way with couple of scenic town detours. We forgive him, everyone still remembers Montgomery. There hasn't been one ride, when someone didn't mention that.

Polar Bears present today: Captain, Fonz, new rider Ed (who rode actually pretty well, but of course, Pogy had to find something to point out and rightfully so!), Grumpy (as always grumpy), H.R.H. Princess, Pogy, Token2 and Mac.

Today's was the 13th ride of the Polar Bears Grand Tour season, and that takes us over to the number of remaining rides going down. Only 12 to go!!! Points are racking up!

After our hot chocolate stop at The Top, I went to see James in a toga!!! He was just great, as always. We have a very talented Bear in our group. It was the most hilarious play I've ever seen. "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" is the longest play's title I've ever seen too! I cried laughing! Literally!!!

I showed up without a ticket and got front row seat!!!! Lol... People there respect Royalty!  One kid, looking at my helmet,  said to me: "You're so rad!" I still have to Google that or check with Urban dictionary!!! LOL...

By the time the play was over, my bike was covered with an inch of snow... I knew I could handle it. Roads were wet, snow wasn't sticking. It was a good experience riding in that kind of weather, however, I wish not to do that again unless absolutely necessary! Lol

Made it home safe and took all possible precautions. I remembered, when you told me about patches of ice forming under the overpasses. I thank you for that, it stuck in my mind.  Did couple of U-turns myself, but all good and safe at the end of the day.

Today, I totally feel like a Polar Bear!