Hillbilly Hall

Today's Polar Bear Grand Tour destination was Hillbilly Hall just up the road from my house.  My wife continued her tradition of putting out a message for Wayne as we ride by.  For several years she has just chosen to quote herself, but this year went for a whole new tactic.  With the detour forcing traffic onto Hart Ave and past her father's house, she chose to post a sign there poking fun at a guy who used the devices below to keep his knees warm in the winter.



We also made the video highlights on the Polar Bear website for the second week running.  The video captures first me, followed by Fletch, then Dennis, then Wayne, leaving Hillbilly Hall and heading north.

Polar Bear Season in Full Swing

Sundays in the winter means the Polar Bear Grand Tour.  Yesterday was our fourth weekend ride and the first one to the north; it felt like a Polar Bear ride yesterday as temperatures in Port Jervis didn't even get to 40 degrees.  Our group of four got captured by the official photographer on our way out starting at about 31 seconds into the video.

RIP Big Joe

Sadly this weekend one of my PFW bicycling buddies was tragicly killed doing what he loved, riding his bicycle on River Road in Washington Crossing PA.  Big Joe was a fun guy to ride with and always on his "A" game.  Laura did a great job capturing Joe's spirit in her eulogy to him on her blog.  The last time I rode with Joe we were sharing how much both of us enjoyed this years MS City to Shore.  Every time I ride to Belmar, I'll think of Joe, RIP.

PPP Wheel Sucker

I went to the Staten Island Bicycling Association Pumpkin Patch Pedal today.  It's not where you think, the ride actually starts at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, NJ.  I met up with a group of PFWer's there at 8 am and started out in what was a cool morning (about 47 degrees).  The ride headed south to New Eqypt and after making the turn there we felt the full force of the 20 MPH winds that had been blowing us south.  Pedaling into a 20 MPH headwind is no treat!

One of the bonuses of the PPP is that at the last stop they have pumpkin pie (or apple pie if you'd prefer) and it was very tasty.  Ron and I took off from the last stop into the wind and struggled to cut through.  Fortunately at the second intersection we spotted three tandems that were moving along at a very nice clip.  We rode up on the rear wheel of the last tandem and were "wheel suckers" all the way back to Thompson Park.  I did thank them for the pull...

Fantastic Weekend at 2010 MS City to Shore

The forecast for the weekend looked good; Saturday 84 degrees with significant wind but from the WNW; Sunday cool with wind from the ESE. So much for the accuracy of weather forecasts!

Saturday morning Team Squash met at 6:15 for our team photo and eight of us taking the 100-mile route pedaled off into the morning. It was comfortable, 68 degrees, but we soon discovered that the 16 MPH winds were not at our tail, but headwinds; that makes for a lot more work. As it warmed up my thermometer kept climbing reaching a high of 95 degrees. Despite the wind and heat we kept a blistering pace. The incentive that kept me going the last 20 miles was a cold beer waiting form me in a cooler at the finish.

Great day riding with good friends! Team Squash always has the largest and loudest cheering section at the finish line and this year it looked even larger; even Wayne and Penny were there (word is Wayne took notice of a tandem…).

Sunday morning it was a nice cool 62 degrees, perfect for cycling! The nine members of Team Squash that were riding today met for breakfast and then headed out of town for the 75-mile ride back. The route out of Ocean City has two bridges and after the second bridge, there were only four of us together. Again, the wind was in our faces but today only 10 MPH, the group of four kept going as we expected to keep a more rigorous pace to finish early.

Today the clouds kept the temperature down, my thermometer never got over 69 degrees, and we were able to work comfortably. As we neared the finish we caught a large peloton of very fast riders; we sucked onto the back of that pack and raced into the finish, exhilarating! Two miles from the finish we could feel drops of rain; but we finished dry (route on RidewithGPS).

Another great event; Team Squash raised over $27,000 and the event over $4.5 million for MS!  Thanks to all that supported me.

MS City to Shore

This weekend is the 2010 MS City to Shore and I'll be riding with Team Squash again this year.  Saturday we'll be taking the 100 mile route to Ocean City and then returning on Sunday via the 75 mile route.  I'll follow up next week with a story on the event.

Hybrid Weekend

Looks like the weather will be perfect for my planned hybrid weekend.  Saturday planning on a 100 mile bicycle ride to Belmar, NJ with PFW; and Sunday planning on riding the motorcycle to the AMA District II Corn Boil and pick up 2 points towards the Polar Bear Grand Tour.

Another Reason to love my Camelbak

I love my Camelbak! The reasons are many; it carries a significant amount of water, great on these hot summer days; it keeps the water cold, even on a 3 hour bicycle ride the water is cold to drink; it provides an area for storage, cell phone, wallet, IPod, banana, or anything else you’ll need on a bicycle ride and it’s comfortable to wear with the NVIS back ventilation system. Today I discovered a new reason to love my Camelbak.

Riding on Miller Road between Dayton and Cranbury, we approached a stop sign. It is a heavily wooded area and I should have known better, but I approached the stop sign at a high rate of speed. I was planning to scope out the road to the left (thinking it would be clear as we were on a back road) and make the turn maintaining my momentum. Looking left at the last minute I saw through the trees that there was indeed a vehicle coming from the left. Now normally approaching a stop sign, I would clip out of my pedals to prepare to stop; here I had to make an instantaneous decision to stop. Grabbing both brakes, I stopped at the end of Miller Road, but my feet were still clipped into the pedals. Having your feet still clipped in means you can’t put a leg out and so I fell to the left.


Not the first time I have not clipped out and stopped; it has actually happened a couple times before. You aren’t going fast, in fact you are not even moving forward, so you would think it’s a harmless fall. However, people’s instinct is to put out a hand, elbow or land on their side. All of those scenarios can mean road rash, broken collarbone, broken wrist and any number of injuries in addition to the embarrassment of falling down in front of the group of riders with you! Being an old hand at this now my instinct was to turn and land on my back. The Camelbak acted as a cushion between the road and my body, making for a relatively soft landing. My seat twisted on the post a bit (a quick turn aligned it back into position) but everything else on my bicycle and my body was pristine!


Thinking about it as we pedaled the last couple of miles back to Cranbury the Camelbak acted somewhat like an airbag, albeit already inflated. This is not a new concept. Several companies that make motorcycle racing suits have been experimenting with airbags built into their suits for years. Alpinestars and Dainese both sell leathers with airbag systems built in. There is a YouTube video of a test of the Dainese system from 2007.


One more reason to love my Camelbak.

Ramapo 500

The Ramapo 500 has become a summer staple for a large group of my motorcycling buddies.  This two day event is run by the Ramapo Motorcycle Club and as in the past, they again did an excellent job choosing a wonderful selection of beautiful roads (less traveled) and preparing great cue sheets.  This year they added an option of downloading the routes to GPS devices to assist in directions.  I took advantage and downloaded the routes to my Garmin Zumo 550 as did everyone else in my group with a GPS.  I lead the ride for our group and still had to read the written directions, but the GPS helped to eliminate second guessing turns.

The ride registration is cut off at 400 with a wide range of brands and types of motorcycles.  With everyting from sport bikes to touring bikes to cruisers, one of the "rules" is when a faster motorcycle or group comes up behind you, move to the right to let them pass.  Every year we seem to encounter some folks that fail to read this section!  More on that later...

We meet at the crack of dawn, well not exactly, but when the Brass Ring opens on Saturday morning.

The ride starts up in Rockland County New York and right after a hearty breakfast we race up north to begin our day.  Keeping a group of ten motorcycles together is challenging, particularly when you are riding with 400 others.  We keep in touch with communication between myself and others in the group via our CB radios, but sometimes, particularly in the mountains, we lose communication.  About mid-morning on Saturday we had been passing through other groups of slower riders and got too far in front of some of our own riders.

Here we are discussing where the hell the others could be after waiting over 15 minutes!

The club likes to throw at least one gravel or dirt road into the mix and that appeared on Saturday afternoon (Hell Hollow Road).  I saw it coming up on the directions and we were stuck behind one of those slow groups that didn't read the move over and let faster groups pass instruction.  I kept riding up to the sweeper in the group and trying to signal him to let us pass; he didn't get it.  We got to a fairly straight portion of road and I moved left and began to pass the group in front.  Just as I get past the leader of the slower group the pavement ran out and we were in gravel.  That made for some interesting passing behind me by the rest of our group.  The road was not paved, had lots of huge potholes and at one point was dirt only; but a blast none the less!

There is camping available at the half way point but our group "roughs it" at the Hampton Inn for the night.

All in all a great event and fun 2 days of riding!  Pictures courtesy of Joe Holden, thanks Joe!

The motorcycle goes back into the garage now as I need to resume my training for the 2010 MS City to Shore in September.  Again this year I'm riding on Team Squash with John Ball.  Check my MS City to Shore Website and maybe contribute to the cause.

The Red Mile

The trip was originally to watch the AMA Flat Track Series at the Red Mile in Lexington KY, but somehow the track and AMA couldn’t come to agreement and the event was taken off the schedule. Not to pass up an opportunity to explore new back roads the decision was made to make the trip anyway; we already had hotel reservations and Paul had laid out most of the route. So on Friday morning 5 of us met at the Shady Maple for breakfast and to start our ride to KY. Breakfast was good but the news outside wasn’t as one of our group discovered a tire issue that would prevent him from continuing; and then there were four.

So the four of us were off to our first nights destination, Charleston WV, the route was to speed to exit 296 in Virginia and Route 55 west. Immediately into the Appalachian Mountains the road was nice and twisty as we headed west towards Seneca Rocks Park in West Virginia. I sing the praises often of not only the beauty of West Virginia but the fabulous condition of the roads. Not only do they build great roads through mountains and valleys but they build them to last. When there is an issue they patch the road with such care and expertise it is amazing to me (being from the land of throw a couple shovels of back top at that hole and let the cars tamp it down); in WV they cut a square hole, patch it properly, tamp it level so you can’t tell any difference between the patch and the road and then seal it with tar. Not only are the roads nice but who ever teaches people to drive in WV should start a national school! Most of the drivers are competent and not only go at the speed limit, they aggressively drive through corners! So most times you don’t have to worry about being behind another vehicle, they are willing to go as fast as you are. Even the trucks are fast; we had a red Dodge Ram pull ahead of us this trip and I had to work to stay with him. My excuse will be he had intimate local knowledge of the turns and therefore was willing to attack them more aggressively than us. If you do happen upon a WV driver that isn’t willing to drive fast and hard they all seem to find the first place to pull over and allow you to pass, very courteous!

Forcing myself to identify my three favorite roads from this trip was hard as we enjoyed many beautiful, challenging, twisty strips of asphalt in both WV and KY. Perhaps it was my surprise that there were so many nice roads in KY that caused me to pick two of the three from there. In any case my three favorite roads from this trip:

1. Route 22 from Fernleaf to Williamstown KY – This road was much different than most of the roads we traveled on this trip. A ribbon of asphalt laid across some beautiful rolling hills of Kentucky. A challenger to the Tail of the Dragon for turns per mile and loaded with blind hill crests; this road was fun to drive! Amazingly the speed limit was 55 MPH and you had to be aggressive to get close to that speed with all the turns. I wanted to turn around and ride it again.

2. Route 32 from Louisa to Elliotville KY – More of a traditional mountain road that you would find in WV, Route 32 had it share of climbs and descents. Mixed in were tight twisty corners that you couldn’t see around, switchbacks that exercised your neck muscles to look where you wanted to drive and incredible scenery.

3. Highway 20 from Hines to Buckhannon WV – We rode over 100 miles on this road and it seemed to have a perfect rhythm that kept you energized and didn’t wear you out. Plenty of climbs, descents, tight turns, high speed sweepers and switchbacks were spaced between small towns and valley stretches that allowed you to rest prior to the next mountain challenge.

A fabulous trip!

New Jersey Velodrome?

Yesterday on the front page of the Courier News was an article Velodrome Visions about a local bicylist that is lobbying for a velodrome to be built on the GSA Depot site in Hillsborough.  It sure would be nice to have that so close by.  We'll see what happens...

Arctic Adventure

A fellow Polar Bear Grand Tour motorcycle rider, Tony A., is embarking on an epic journey this summer he is calling Artic Adventure; riding over 10,000 to Alaska and back.  Tony is riding to raise awareness and money for the South Dakota Coalition Against domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (SDCADVSA).  This past Thursday I attended the launch party in downtown Philadelphia.  Held at a Mac's Tavern on Market Street the place was hopping both inside and out when I arrived around 5:30pm.  I asked Tony if the place was always this busy and he informed this was their opening day!  They have a great selection of fine beers on tap.

There was a small cover charge that all went to support SDCADVSA and got you a wrist band for discounted drinks and food and some raffle tickets that you could place in bags that represented door prizes.  There were some great door prizes, gym memberships, gift certificates, concert tickets, spa treatments and much more; I was impressed.  There was also a 50/50 being sold.  Tony was able to raise around $3,000 at the launch but has set a goal to raise a dollar per mile he rides, if you'd like to contribute check out his website.

Ride with GPS

Alan, a British gentleman who rides with the Tuesday night Griggstown Grinders bicycle group, utilized this new site to post the rides; Ride with GPS .  It really is a great site for bicyclists and motorcyclists.  You can upload routes from your GPS device or create routes and then print cue sheets.  The elevation profile is the most accurate I've found showing elevation and degree of slope along the route.  IMHO it is far superior to other GPS sites.  And you don't have to own a GPS to utillize features of the site, you can create a route and print cue sheets.  They are running on a shoestring budget, so it may be slow during peak times.  Tell me what you think.

New York Five Boro Tour

This weekend started on a positive note. I went on a bicycle ride out of Cranbury on Saturday and on the way back 3 of us got caught up in a fast pace line at the front and after several miles realized we must have passed a turn as a wait at a stop sign yielded none of the other 20 something riders in our group. The Garmin mapping paid off as it led us back to Village Park; much earlier than the group too. After that fun and fast 45 mile bicycle ride I met with a motivated buyer to show him my 1996 HD Softail Custom. A good outcome, some green in my pocket and one less motorcycle in the garage.

Sunday was the New York City 5 Boro Tour and an alternate strategy from staying at a hotel in Manhattan last year. This year the plan was to take the Staten Island Ferry early and have the truck ready for a quick escape after the Tour. After checking with several club members that have years of experience with the Tour I realized that I had to take the 5 AM ferry; which means I had to leave the house at 3:30 AM. To get a good night sleep I needed to go to bed much earlier than usual. The fast bicycle ride and the 40 mile Softail ride (to deliver to the new owner) weren’t enough to get me to sleep early no matter how hard I shut my eyes. I have one witness to my staying up late as I responded to his text Saturday night after 10:30 PM.

Up earlier than expected on Sunday I arrived at the ferry parking lot and rode to the entrance of the ferry. Below you can see the ferry arriving from Manhattan and my position for getting on the boat (no one in front of me, lots to the sides).

Pictures from on the ferry, as you can see I was in the front and there were plenty of bicyclists behind me.

The picture below is our starting position. At the intersection of Church Street and Worth Street; this is the first block of riders that aren’t VIP’s (in the first two blocks in front of us).

The picture below is from Worth Street looking back towards Ground Zero and all the riders behind us.

The picture below is looking forward from Worth Street at the VIP riders in front of us. It’s early and the VIP’s get to arrive up until the 8 AM start and get slotted into their spot, so it fills up by the start.

At a little after 8 AM we started; walking our bicycles at first, we mounted by the starting banner and rode up 6th Avenue (The Avenue of the Americas). I was with a group from my bicycle club and had decided to stick with them and not “race” to the finish like I did last year. It seemed like a good decision up 6th Ave. as the traffic jam of cyclists hadn’t spread out and we encountered our first bottleneck as we entered Central Park. Slow pace through the park but the nice weather made the pace bearable. Out of the park we headed up to the Bronx, back across the 3rd Ave. Bridge and onto the FDR Drive. We climbed up to the Queensboro Bridge and crossed the East River. At the top of the bridge I stopped to take a picture but a marshal immediately instructed me to keep moving. I did manage to get a shot after we crossed Roosevelt Island but it wasn’t due to my stealth picture taking it was due to another bottleneck.

Up through Queens we stopped in the rest area at Astoria Park under the Triborough Bridge (picture below); refill with water, great snacks and back to riding.

We stopped at the Con Edison Learning Center rest area to meet one of our members that had gotten ahead of the group. Check out the spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline! The 5 Boro Tour offers views of New York City from many angles making it a fun and exciting ride.

In Brooklyn Kyle flatted (picture below) and we got two views we may not have seen without the stop to repair the flat tire. First a rider came past with a parrot on his shoulder; ironically I’d seen this same rider and bird partner last year in Brooklyn. Three minutes after the bicyclist with the parrot on his shoulder a man walked past us on the sidewalk with a pet rat on his shoulder! Only in NY.

After riding through some neat neighborhoods in Brooklyn we entered the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and then on to the Gowanus Expressway. On the Gowanus as we got close to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge there was a cool breeze blowing off the East River providing air conditioning to the 90 degree temperatures. I took an opportunity to stop and shoot the photo below of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Climbing up the lower deck of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge I stopped again to photograph the riders and walkers coming up the deck. And the view out of the bridge of NYC; last year this view was obscured by the rain and clouds; this year the view was spectacular but the 90 degree heat had some haze that the camera caught looking up towards Manhattan; now the speedy decent the bridge into Fort Wadsworth Park for the festival.

It took me 50% longer this year than last year. Last year it rained HARD and made the event epic. This year the weather was beautiful. I was very impressed with the quality and condition of the roads we used; after a tough winter the Department of Transportation must have worked hard to fill all the pot holes. I didn’t just imagine this; I was witness to the many fresh repairs I saw while riding in the event.

As I rode from Fort Wadsworth Park towards the SI parking lot I rode up to two of NYC finest on their Trek bicycles (example below). I overheard them talking about all the accidents they had seen today. Striking up a conversation with them, they said the city encourages as many of NYC Police to bike the 5 Boro Tour as possible to provide security and help with accidents and medical emergencies. I asked them if they thought there were more riders this year verses last year. They laughed and said there were at least twice as many riders this year due to the weather. They added that last year the Tour was pretty safe as only the hard core bicyclists come out in the bad weather.

Fun event!

NYC 5 Boro Tour Tomorrow

New York City's Five Boro Tour is tomorrow for 33,999 bicyclists and me!

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Cape May VFW - Sunday, April 11th

Sunday, April 11th is the last Polar Bear Grand Tour of the season.  We'll be heading back to the first stop of the season, the VFW in Cape May, NJ.  We'll be meeting at McDonalds for a prompt 9:15 am departure.

Bicycle Weekend

Was the weekend weather nice?  I'll say; Friday, Saturday and Sunday all in the seventies, beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine.  I took advantage of the weather and rode the bicycle all three days; 37 miles on Friday, 43 miles on Saturday and 42 miles on Sunday.  Saturday and Sunday were hard, fast rides and for so early in the spring my legs held up great.  On Saturday there was a pace line coming back to Cranbury; what started as 23 riders became 10 riders as people fell off the back.  I was one of only 5 that made it back first, not bad for an old man.  I'm happy that winter is gone and I can look forward to lots of bicycling.

No Polar Bear Grand Tour This Weekend

With the holiday weekend the Polar Bear Grand Tour does not have a ride this weekend.  I plan to take advantage of the beautiful weather and ride the bicycle.

Cannoli to Conversation; Ballet to Bicycles

This week while working a particularly slow open house a one of our customers in southeastern New Jersey, the highlight was a giant canola that one of the reps from Long Island brought for all to enjoy.

Between customers I spent some time talking with a friend who shares the love of riding motorcycles. The conversation darted between motorcycles and family and John shared that his oldest son was racing bicycles for the University of Pennsylvania. John’s son Sean was a professional ballet dancer; in fact he left high school early to join a professional ballet company. Some years later Sean met back up with a high school sweetheart and they got married and now both attend Penn. Sean joined the bicycle team 2 years ago. John said there was a race this weekend close to where I live and he was going to go watch Sean race on Saturday.

Later that night I did a little searching on the internet for the ECCC and also checked Velo News; on Velo News I found Sean had written a race report of an earlier ECCC race. The weekend race consisted of three events an individual time trial (ITT), a criterium (crit) and a road race. The ITT was being held at Mercer County Park on Saturday morning and conflicted with my plans for my own bicycle ride; the road race was being held on Sunday in Skillman and conflicted with my Polar Bear motorcycle ride; but the Crit was being held at Caldwalder Park and fit nicely into my schedule.

Saturday morning was cold and windy, at least when compared to last weekend; but I was able to bet 35 miles on the bicycle out of Cranbury. My oldest son Matt, visiting with his girlfriend Elizabeth from Alexandria, and I headed over to Caldwalder Park to meet John.

When we arrived a woman’s race was in progress, we found John and he introduced us to Sean. Sean’s race, the men’s A was the last race scheduled for the day. We settled in to watch the other races. The course was around a mile and with the topography you could only see a small portion of the track at any one spot. We stood near the start/finish line. During the last lap of the men’s B race there was an accident just down the hill (there was a hill leading up to the finish line). It was taking forever to clear the course and we walked down to see what happened. A rider, jockeying for position, was forced off course and hit a curb head on. The picture below, pardon my lame photographic skills, doesn’t really show the giant indentation on his front rim. The rider was ejected over the bars and hit a metal post head on. Fortunately after much initial pain he seemed to be ok but was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

The men’s’ A race started and Sean was mid-pack as he passed us each lap. About lap 3-4 we didn’t see Sean go by and work spread of an accident at the bottom of a downhill section. John rushed over to check out what had happened and returned shortly with news that Sean had indeed run into two riders that had fallen in front of him; he had crashed and had a flat tire. Sean quickly replaced the front wheel and rejoined the field. Rules allow riders to do this outside of the final 5 laps. As Sean circulated each lap, the race is 40 minutes; he seemed to just be riding along and smiled at us each lap. With 3 laps to go a rider broke away and seemed to be able to stay about 3 seconds in front of the pack behind him. They rang the bell for one lap to go, the lead rider was still in front and Sean was buried mid-pack. As we watched the pack come up the hill for the finish, the group had caught the lead rider and passed him; Sean was sprinting at the front and finished first by a wheel. What a finish! A guess that explosive strength required for ballet translates to explosive power to sprint to the finish of a bicycle race.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Pic-a-lilly Inn - Sunday, March 28th

Sunday a change in the Polar Bear Grand Tour schedule will take us to the Pic-a-lilly Inn in Shamong, NJ; a short ride down Route 541.  We'll meet at McDonald's on Lincoln Highway in Langhorne for a prompt 10:30 am departure.

Yesterday at Brian's HD there was a huge crowd!  The weather wasn't bad either.  A group of us took a nice ride I assembled utilizing many of my favorite motorcycling roads.  Of course one of those in the collection is Swamp Creek Road (below is a picture of the bridge you cross when entering Swamp Creek Road from the south), always a fun stretch of road.

The ride finished up on Route 519 in Hunterdon County, heading to Lambertville Trading Company.  I not sure what it is about 519 but I could ride up and down that road all day and not get bored.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Brian's HD - Sunday, March 21

No stinking rain and wind kept us from riding to the Chatterbox.  It was a supreme test of rain gear for the first half of the ride up to the Chatterbox; but we actually saw the sun for a bit on the way back.  Next week the Polar Bear Grand Tour visits Brian's Harley Davidson, so there won't be a ride from McDonald's to Brian's.  Planning on a ride from Brian's and will post the departure time late this week.

UPDATE: I'll be leaving on a 100 and some mile ride around noonish.

Friggin Hurricane!

We were out running some errands and on the way home almost every road was blocked due to downed trees.  We passed one home on Carter Road that had 4 giant white pines that had all fallen on to the house.  Trees, limbs and debris were everywhere.  We were hoping maybe we escaped the rath of the wind but as we pulled into the driveway below is what we saw.  Hopefully the roads will be passable tomorrow.  Don't forget to spring ahead on your clocks tonight!

Polar Bear Grand Tour - The Chatterbox - Sunday, March 14

Sunday we visited Long Valley Pub and Brewery on a magnificent spring day; the sky was clear, the sun was bright and temperatures were in the low 50's.  A great day for a motorcycle ride but we were saddled with a slug waiter for lunch.  The food was good and came quickly once we were able to order; but getting the waiter to take our order and getting him to give us the check took forever.  But it was worth the wait as the roads back were nice and twisty!

Next Sunday we'll head to Augusta NJ and The Chatterbox.  A group will meet at McDonalds on Lincoln Highway in Langhorne for a prompt 9:30 am departure.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Long Valley Pub and Brewery - Sunday, March 6th, 2010

I made it back to NJ yesterday and where did all that snow go?  Temperatures feel like spring is here and I'm ready to get back on the motorcycle.  Sunday the Polar Bear Grand Tour visits Long Valley Pub and Brewery; the pub has good food and the area has good roads.  A group will meet at the McDonalds on Lincoln Highway in Langhorne for a prompt 10 AM departure.  Hope to see you there.

Stuck in Florida (Part 2)

The weather forecast for today was for a "save it" day; clear, sunny and temperatures in the mid-60s. No way was I spending any time inside, I wanted to find something to do outdoors. I’m a big fan of racing and yesterday I noticed some racing people at breakfast. I asked what they were in town for and they said there was an ARCA race at Palm Beach International Raceway (the old Moroso Motor sports Park). Since I really wanted to ride a bicycle Saturday I wasn’t interested in the ARCA race. But last night I did check out their website and noticed in addition to the road course and drag strip they had added a kart track to the facility.

Years ago, probably in the early 90’s, I’d driven at Moroso in a Formula Ford at a Skip Barber Racing School. And for several years in the mid to late 90’s I had raced karts (yup that's me in the picture above). This idea is getting me excited! So off to the race track!

The facility just recently changed hands and they have leased the karting portion to MRP Motorsports. MRP is the importer for Birel karts (the last brand of kart chassis I raced) and owns a track in Michigan. I met Ron, an accomplished kart racer, and the manager of the karting facility. In addition to running club races at the track they also rent “fun karts” to the public. Ron showed me around the shop where in addition to about 30 fun karts they also had shifter karts (6 speed transmissions) and several categories of Rotax engined karts.

When I raced karts my Birel  frame was fitted with a Yamaha 100cc engine that produced about 15 HP. The Rotax engine produces about 32 HP. In a slightly over 100 pound kart frame that is a significant amount of additional power. OK, twist my arm; I want to try the Rotax kart.

I was introduced to Tim. Tim is helping the new owners get the operation started; he owns the Oakland Valley Race Park in Cuddleback, NY. I actually raced a couple times at Oakland Valley and enjoyed talking shop with Tim. Tim had the mechanics set up my kart, fit my seat and get it ready. Tim introduced me to Dan a Brazilian kart racer that works there and would be my racing partner. The track would allow groups of people in the fun karts out, or Tim (who was coaching some aspiring new kart racers aged 6-9 years old) out with his group and Dan and I would slot in between the groups and run 10 lap sessions. Dan would lead and I would follow him for part of the session and then I would lead and Dan would follow me, so we could analyze my lines and speed during the breaks.

The first session out and WOW this thing is FAST! Tremendous acceleration and according to Dan able to pull over 2 G’s in the corners; I was quickly reminded how physical this sport is. It’s a good thing they planned short 10 lap sessions because at the end of 10 laps I was ready for a drink of water and a rest.

With all the people there and the much needed rest periods between sessions I made a day of the kart racing. At the end of the day I was physically exhausted but had a smile that couldn’t be wiped off my face.

Work tomorrow and then fly back to NJ.

Trapped in Florida...

What a winter!  Another big snow, lots of wind to boot and where am I?  At the airport on Friday trying to fly back home for the weekend.  All the flights on Friday morning out of West Palm Beach had already been canceled but my 11:55 flight was still listed, albeit late.  Good news when I got to the gate, the aircraft was already there; no having to wait or chance it won't come due to weather. 

Ultimately my flight was cancelled too.  People were freaked out in line, complaining that they "had to get home" and this was unacceptable.  I always felt when the airline doesn't want to fly, what the heck I'm with them, let's not fly.  When this happens and many airports close it backs up the system everywhere, particularly because of the amount of air traffic in the northeast.  I could hear people in line on their cell phone making reservations on other airlines into the NY area later that day.  Another problem as these seats they are booking are duplicates of the reservation(s) they already have.  You could stay at the airport all day and standby on every flight but I'd rather get pins poked into my eyes.  I took the first confirmed seat available when I finally got through to the airline, which is Monday.

There are worse places to be stuck for the weekend.  Although people here are complaining about how "cold" it is!  Look at the weather here; it beats the hell out of snow and freezing!

Now I thought I had this snow thing beat.  Wayne and TJ both purchased snow blowers after the last storm and I figure it won't snow (at least not any significant amount) for at least 5 years.  Wrong!  Not only does it snow but Wayne is having so much fun blowing snow he's started a new club, SNOG the SNow blowers Owners Group.  He is trying to come up with activities for the snow blower in seasons other than winter!  Good luck.

So what to do this weekend?  I could rent a bike and ride north to Daytona as Bike Week opened on Friday. 

It sounds like a good idea until you think about the 180 mile ride and the best way to go is I-95.  You could ride along the coast, which is nice.  There are beautiful stretches of pristine beach on the way to Daytona.

It was a beautiful day on Saturday riding on my rented bike.  A little windy as you can hopefully see the wind sails of the wind surfers in the picture above.

OK I'm busted, my wife suggested renting a bicycle.  I've been bitching about how long it's been since I've been able to get out on my bicycle, due to the amount of snow along the edges of the roads.  This was a perfect opportunity to get in some major mileage in some beautiful weather.  I was able to get in over 50 miles of biking today.

Above is a picture of me and my bicycle having lunch in Delray Beach at a very nice sidewalk restaurant.  I got some nice comments from people walking past about how nice my bike was (just like if I were on a motorcycle in Daytona).

Hope to see everyone next week for the trip to Long Valley Pub and Brewery.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Firehouse Eatery - Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Last Sunday we had a beautiful day as we rode east to Bahr's Landing in Highlands NJ.  Our group was seated at several different tables, and those of us at the table I was seated at were served by the phantom waitress.  She greeted us, served our drinks, took our lunch order and then disappeared.  Once we eventually got our lunch we were unable to pay as our waitress was no where to be found (must have been fishing with our bill as bait in Sandy Hook Bay).

Sunday we visit Firehouse Eatery in Rahway, NJ.  One of my Polar Bear friends purchased a new snow blower last week after all the recent snow storms.  This would normally guarantee that there won't be any measurable snow for many years; yet the weatherman is now forecasting another storm this week.  So much for global warming...  Fortunately temperatures should be well above freezing after the storm and the sun is high in the sky helping to clear the roads of that nasty white stuff (the snow but not the salt).  I'm thinking since I washed my bike last Sunday, I must have negated the snow blower purchase jinx with the bike washing jinx.  Or is it spending the week in sunny Florida, I'm repaid by returning to a pile of white $hit in my driveway!

We'll meet on Sunday at McDonalds on Lincoln Highway in Langhorne for a prompt 10:15 am departure.  Please have a full gas tank and empty bladder upon arrival.  Watch this blog for any last minute changes.

UPDATE

Well the snow blower jinx didn't work and my flight back from Florida today was cancelled as the airports in the New York area were all shuttered due to snow and high winds.  So I'm telling everyone there's good news and bad news; my flight was cancelled and I'm stuck in Florida until Monday.  You Polar Bears are on your own Sunday and maybe I'll drive up to Daytona to check out Bike Week.  Hopefully I'll see you'all next week.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Bahr's Landing - Sunday, February 21st, 2010

This Sunday the Polar Bear Grand Tour visits Bahr's Landing in Highlands NJ.  A group will be meeting at McDonalds on Lincoln Highway in Langhorne PA for a prompt 10:00 AM departure.  Please come with a full gas tank and empty bladder.  Last Sunday the snow must have gotten the better of many of our normal group as only 4 of us made the Valentines Day trip up to Hooter's.  It was a nice sunny day and we traveled some decent roads, which were surprisingly clear of any snow and ice.  Remember to check here for any last minute changes.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Hooters Wayne NJ - Sunday, February 14th

This week the Polar Bear Grand Tour visits Hooters in Wayne, NJ.  This seems an appropriate destination for Valentine's Day! A group will meet at McDonalds on Lincoln Highway in Langhorne, PA for a prompt 9:30 AM departure.  Check this blog for last minute changes and updates.

A little too much snow...

No where near as much snow here as in Philadelphia and southern NJ, but enough.  I've got my driveway clear but the cloudy skys won't allow enough solar radiation to melt the final coating.  I might be able to slide out tomorow but there is no way I could ride the motorcycle back into the garage!  So I won't be able to make it to our meeting place tomorrow; let's hope next weeks weather is better.  Back to NASCAR qualifications...

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Sunday, February 7th - Landslide Saloon, Pattenburg, NJ

Last week the snow fractured the group as local roads in the Philadelphia area hampered the best efforts of some to make it to McDonalds on time.  Three of us rode up together and then Rob and Mike D. met us at The Exchange.  It was a beautiful afternoon (no rain!) and we took a nice ride through the NJ countryside back to LTC.

This week the Polar Bear Grand Tour visits Landslide Saloon in Pattenburg, NJ.  A group will meet at McDonalds on Lincoln Highway in Langhorne for a prompt 10:15 AM departure.  Full gas tank and empty bladder please.

Watch this blog for any last minute changes to the schedule due to weather or other circumstances.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - The Exchange - Sunday, January 31st

This Sunday the Polar Bear Grand Tour visits The Exchange in Rockaway, NJ. A group will meet at McDonalds on Lincoln Highway in Langhorne for a prompt 9:30am departure. The distance is about 70 miles up to The Exchange, so come with a full tank and empty bladder for the 2 hour ride up.

For any last minute changes check this blog for updates.

Schedule for the balance of the Polar Bear Grand Tour rides

Our group meets each Sunday to ride together to the destination of the Polar Bear Grand Tour. We meet at:

McDonalds
749 Lincoln Highway
Langhorne, PA

Check here for the departure time, posted each week by Thursday night; and last minute changes.

The following rides are left in the 2009-2010 season:

Jan 31 - The Exchange
Feb 7 - Landslide
Feb 14 - Hooter's
Feb 21 - Bahr's Landing
Feb 28 - Firehouse Eatery
Mar 7 - Long Valley Pub
Mar 14 - Chatter Box
Mar 21 - Brian's HD
Mar 28 - Flying Cloud Cafe Pic-A-Lili Inn
Apr 11 - Cape May VFW