Thanksgiving Leftover Traffic

Hillbilly Hall Connecticut Polar Bears, from left: Jim, Mac, Anonymous Ed, Captain, CT Blogger, Grumpy and Token2.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, Polar Bear Grand Tour, ride to Hopewell, NJ, November 27, 2016

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

My winter motorcycle compadres often remark on the crazy nature of our Sunday jaunts to nowhere New Jersey. Most riders put their bikes away for the winter: filled with fresh oil and Stabil-laced gasoline, tires on plywood bases, nourished by a steady drip of electrons from a low voltage battery tender.

We choose instead to plunge into Thanksgiving weekend traffic and other dubious adventures.

Temperatures were just over the freezing mark in the morning Sunday, but climbed to the upper forties for the ride home. It was just cool enough for me to wear my full electric suit. For years I polar beared with just an electric jacket and gloves. I'm glad to now also have electric pants and socks. All wired together and thermostatically controlled, the warmth makes for a wonderful sensation.

Why ride in winter?

For me it is a combination of positive joys. Prime among these is riding my motorcycle. I enjoy that so much, I was loathe to give it up all winter long. Then there is certainly the camaraderie. There is something special about having your friends bust your balls once and a while to keep perspective on life. It's also fun to get a few whacks in yourself, be honest! Then in some weird way, there's also the organization. Riding in the Polar Bear Grand Tour, instead of just doing a pick up ride now and then, adds purpose. You sign in, log your miles and earn patches and pins. In software circles they call it "gamification." Even if it is a silly sense of achievement, it is an achievement all the same.

I also enjoy riding well with others. Keeping a tight formation, good organization, managing traffic as we navigate our group of motorcycles down the road is a pleasure in itself. We rode quite well this past Sunday.

Captain, who is always willing to step up and lead a ride, also encourages full participation. Two Sundays ago he started in on Ed.  Captain thought it was about time Ed took a turn at the front of the pack and told him so. Ed joined us last year, is a good rider, and has quickly become a regular Connecticut Polar Bear.

So last Sunday, Captain pretty much tells Ed it is his turn to lead. Ed apparently did not take Captain seriously the week before. "I'm not ready," he said, "I mean, I don't know where we're going."

"How did you expect to get there?" Captain asked. "Just follow you guys," Ed answered.

But Ed did not falter. He ran out to his bike, powered up the GPS, found our destination and took the lead.

We all agreed he did a great job. He set his cruise control and kept a steady pace. Mac was his wing man and I've never seen Mac ride so tight. Usually he rubber bands and wavers side-to-side in his lane. Not last Sunday. Especially on the ride over where traffic was lighter, Mac was right in place behind Ed. We found out at lunch that Mac also has cruise control and liked the predictable pace.

Grumpy was a little loose in formation this last ride. He was third bike of seven. I was behind him. Grumpy opened up a pretty big gap now and again. I pressed up closer on Grumpy's flank, goading him back into place. My machinations had minimal effect. Grumpy leads a lot of rides. And if you fall back far enough in the pack, you become the defacto leader. I'm not sure what was on Grumpy's mind.

Ed noticed, as did most of us. And when Ed teased Grumpy about it at lunch, he found out Grumpy's nickname is earned, not given.

New guy Jim is looking to become a regular. He rode with us to Cape May, then joined us on this ride. He's signed up, a new Flight B Bear. Jim mentioned at lunch that he was out in North Dakota this past week. "What's in North Dakota that entices you there in winter," we asked. Turns out he was there protesting the oil pipeline. I think Jim will add an interesting element to our political spectrum.

One thing we all agree upon is the fun of riding motorcycles in winter. Well, at least I think we do. You can comment below why you are, or are not, riding with us from Connecticut to have lunch in neighboring states from October to April.

On the way home, we knew we were in for Thanksgiving traffic. An early start Sunday morning got us back on the highway midday. My GPS initially predicted I'd be home by 3:00 p.m. We speculated that we would be out ahead of the worst of the traffic. We were right, right up to the Connecticut border.

Even the Tappan Zee approach was not much worse than any given Sunday. But as soon as we exited I-287 we got slammed as only Connecticut can do. Half the group took for the Merritt Parkway. Ed likes I-95, so does Captain. Sandwiched between them I figured it was "six of one, half a dozen of t'other" and stayed with them. As we got to the end of I-287 the traffic came to a dead stop. Looking over the bridge to our right, we could see the same condition on I-95 approaching us for as far as we could see.

"Merritt?" Ed asked, as I pulled up next to him. "I don't know," I replied, "Maybe it will break up after Stamford." "Not that," Ed said with a nod over the south side of the bridge. "It's your call," I said, "I'll follow you." Ed decided to turn around and head back up 287 for the Merritt. We let Captain know, and the three of us were off.

Mostly the Merritt was moving. But traffic ground to a halt at each and every on-ramp. It was like trying to stuff just one more bite of turkey down your overfilled gullet. The parkway was not entirely stop-and-go. Here and there we clipped along. But of the extra hour-and-a-half it took us to get home, a full hour or more was claimed entirely by Connecticut traffic.

Remind me again, why do ride these rides in winter, on a holiday weekend?

Token2 and new guy Jim.

Ed prefers to remain anonymous, at least in showing his face.

Phone check upon arrival.

Hillbilly Hall between seasons in its decor.

How does Captain always manage to attract liberals?

Lunch, around the table from left: Captain, Token2, Grumpy with camera, Anonymous Ed and Mac.

Bob photo of the week.

Flight A leaders.

Flight B leaders.

See you next week!

Not Thankful for Traffic

Collegeville Connecticut Bears, from left: Mac, Fonz, Captain and Princess, back row; Chris & Pogy down front.

Motorcycle Polar Bear Blog, ride to Appalachian Brewing Co., Collegeville, Penn., November 29, 2015.

By: Chris Loynd

Well I knew we would hit post Thanksgiving Day holiday traffic. I even contemplated skipping the ride today because of it. But how often do you get to witness a coronation?

Once again I invoked our early departure program (EDP). I had several reasons. One, it's a long ride for us. Two, I recall slow service at our destination restaurant. And three, I knew we'd hit holiday traffic.

An 8:00 a.m. start isn't all that early, Google Maps said it would get us to our destination in three hours. When I spooled up the GPS, it predicted an arrival time of 10:45. I was worried my Connecticut Bears would be miffed at such an early arrival. But then I figured a stop along the way would easily eat up 15 or 20 minutes. So we're good. Right?

As I got ready for my artificially early start time, time got away from me. A few fits and starts and the next thing I know it's perilously close to 8:00 a.m. I know my guys wait for no one. So I pulled out Plan B. I jumped onto the interstate, rode one exit south and got off again to intercept my guys en route. It worked.

Sitting at the stop light, signaling a left turn down to the Dunkin' Donuts, I saw Fonz and Mac riding toward the Interstate, Fonz in the lead. I changed my signal from left to right and fell in as sweep. Behind me I noticed Captain in his car. Unfortunately, because I was late I missed any conversation at the Dunkin'. So I had no idea what was up with the Captain.

There was nothing to do for it but ride.

We saw Pogy off his bike as we rode by the Darien rest stop. Usually he's mounted with the engine running. So we rode slowly, deep into Stamford, before Pogy finally appeared on his Wing.

Any thoughts I had of letting him sweep instead of me were quickly dispelled as he powered past me and pulled in behind Mac.

Johanna was ready for us at the bus stop. With a green light brightly shining at the intersection, we barely offered her a downshift as rode by and entered the Hutchinson Parkway. Looks like she got a new helmet. Johanna usually favors a half helmet. This was a full face with serious bling, enough bling that I could see it at 60 plus miles per hour.

Still sweeping, I kept a weather eye for Jim. Two weeks ago, he was waiting for us on the shoulder of one of the parkways headed to the GW Bridge. Where was it? Before the Cross County? After? He never showed. At lunch we learned from Johanna that Jim lost a good friend of his. Our deepest sympathies, Jim.

Fonz led a good ride, right up to the part where he had to find our actual destination. He kept a steady speed on the turnpikes, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Mac credits his smoothness with his own tight riding this week.

You see everything sitting at the back of the pack. And this Sunday we looked really good.

Fonz threw us a few challenges, taking I-87 instead of the Saw Mill Parkway, the GW lower level instead of the upper, local lanes to the turnpike instead of express. We held formation through it all, even an aggressive idiot who tried every way she could to cut us off, cut in, cut back, cut up. Thankfully, she finally found her way to the left lane and we bobbed in her wake, intact.

Captain did not have as much luck. As we tooled along in the local lanes, I saw him come up even with us -- in the express lanes. I waved and he caught up eventually.

Fonz rode steady, true and without stops. Worries about arriving way too early crept back into my consciousness.

But as we got to our exit from the Pennsylvania Turnpike, he choked. It is admittedly confusing. There are three choices: I-476 north or south or Exit 333. We wanted that 333, but it came last. Fonz headed off for 476, faked south, cut over north. We stuck with him like glue, me dodging back and forth trying to clear which ever lane Fonz wanted.

We recovered just fine. Our only penalty was some stop-and-go riding through downtown Norristown, Penn. An added bonus: we ate up a bit of that too early arrival time I was worried about.

We lost Captain once again in the stop lights. As it turned out in the end, he arrived at our destination well before we did. That's because Fonz refused to turn onto Third Avenue, or Fourth, or Fifth. At an opportune stop light Pogy and I rode up and convinced Fonz to finally turn LEFT! But then he wanted to head away from our destination at the next stop sign. I moved up and offered my services. Our destination was just a few hundred yards down the street to the LEFT! Fortunately, Fonz followed my lead and we finally parked.

Captain took advantage of his earlier than us arrival and grabbed a table and some coffees. We got our order in by 11:00 a.m., then waited 45 minutes for our food to arrive.

It was delicious, if slow. Princess may have caused the delay by ordering something not on the voluminous menu: a BLT.

We motored home and really didn't hit much traffic until we hit the Tappan Zee. The approach from the GW Parkway was stop and go. And it was a few miles of clutch-in, clutch-out to get over the bridge and through the tolls. But then we cruised I-287.

Our home state of Connecticut delivered the real traffic penalty. It was horrible traffic, and an extra half-hour, double what it should have taken, to get up the Merritt Parkway. Stop-and-go, extreme rubber banding, crazy tailgaters, we got the full treatment.

Our leader was heck on the big roads, not so much on the small ones.

And the food wait begins . . . 

Captain makes the presentation.

Princess Johanna.

Bling helmet and bear, she's really trying.

Princess and her vassals?

CT Polar Bears pose for PB Photog Bernard Walsh.

Princess descends the staircase.

Princess and her dragon.

Princess selfie.

Princess at Chez GSP with her fellow CT Bears.