Polar Bear Ride - 2010
Polar Bear Ride: When crazy motorcycle riders put on layer
after layer of clothing, thick winter gloves, scarves, balaclavas, wool
socks, winter boots, insulated overalls or leathers and pray they can
swing their leg over the saddle to ride with their buds and extended
family to a restaurant for a meal… in the winter. Crazy you say?
I have to agree with you, but I wouldn’t miss our Polar Bear Ride for
anything other than an extreme family emergency… or snow and freezing
rain.
My riding club holds our ride on January 1st, every year. In GA,
the first of the year is generally mild, considering what Polar Bears
have to live in. This year was no different. We woke up to
temperatures in the low 30s but by the time we were ready for
“kickstands up”, it was in the mid 30s and the wind was beginning to
kick up some. I had gone with some friends a couple weeks before,
for the shake down ride and it was bitter cold, foggy and wet.
Needless to say, I was thrilled with the cloudless sky, higher temps.
I could deal with the wind. After all, riding a motorcycle at 50
mph has a way of lowering the temperature a good deal. The only
problem with dressing for winter riding is you get so bundled up if
feels like your muscles are beginning to atrophy. You can’t move
much accept for fingers to brake and clutch… and feet and legs to shift
and hold the bike up at a stop. Getting on and off the bike
requires great skill and balance. Of course, if you fall while
dismounting, I guess you’d just bounce back up. I won’t even
mention the need to empty full bladders thanks to all the hot coffee
consumed before the ride. Winter riding isn’t my favorite thing to
do. Not even close to the top.
2010 arrived and it promised to be a beautiful day. As I was
riding to our staging area, I saw several other riders heading to their
Polar Bear Rides. Some were with one of the local Motorcycle
Clubs, riding in their well choreographed formation, some were just a
bunch of friends getting together to celebrate the first day of the new
year. It was really good to see so many people on their bikes on
January 1, 2010. When I arrived at the staging area there were
already a good number of folks there. The excitement could be felt
even though the smiles were covered up with scarves. It was good
to be with “family” on this day. It’s worth all the uncomfortable
cloths and the frigid wind, just to be with these people.
We rode through the country on back roads, on our way to a country
cookin’ buffet for collards and blackeyed peas. On the way, we
passed by pastures full of cows who looked at us like we were crazy.
Kids heard the rumble of twenty five bikes coming and ran to watch us
pass by. Little arms waving and they were jumping for joy.
That’s what I felt like at that moment. I was thrilled to be on
that ride… on January 1, 2010. I was forth from the front, so when
I looked in my mirror all I could see were bikes behind me. I knew
every single rider on that ride and we were together on the first day of
the year. How awesome is that? That ride was my favorite
thing to be doing on that day. When we got to the restaurant, we
had a back room to ourselves and it was like a bunch of kids getting
together to laugh and play jokes on each other. The food was great
and we, of course, stuffed ourselves as we talked about the upcoming
year. Luckily, no politics came to the table so it was just pure
fun and hopeful wishes.
The couple hours we were all together flew by and it was time to head
back home. Even though I knew I’d see most of these people again
in just a few days, it was sad to be leaving them. People were
walking around shaking hands and hugging each other as if it would be
another year before we sat down to share a meal. One thing about
riding these therapeutic machines is that… people in ‘cages’ tend to not
see us quite often and when a bike meets one of those huge chunks of
metal, the outcome for the rider is generally not good. We all
know this and we value the time we spend together. So, even though
winter riding isn’t on my favorite things to do list… our Polar Bear
Ride is right up there on top. I get to spend a very special day
with ‘family’ that I put great value on. THAT’S what it’s all
about.
Elaine Morris
Dacula, GA
January 2010