Polar Bear Grand Tour to Old Bridge, NJ on Nov. 14, 2010

Check out pictures and videos of the third motorcycle run of the Polar Bear Grand Tour season to Old Bridge, NJ on November 14, 2010.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Lewes, DE 11/7/2010

Check out pictures and videos of the second motorcycle run of the Polar Bear Grand Tour season to Lewes, DE on November 7, 2010.

Polar Bear Grand Tour to the CABIN 12/12/2010

Check out pictures and videos of the seventh motorcycle run of the Polar Bear Grand Tour season to the CABIN on December 12, 2010. We brought toys for the Children's Hospital.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Run to Schoch's Harley-Davidson on Dec.19, 2010

Check out pictures and videos of the eighth motorcycle run of the Polar Bear Grand Tour season to Schoch's Harley-Davidson on December 19, 2010.

Polar Bear Grand Tour to Port Jervis, NY on Nov. 21, 2010

Check out pictures and videos of the fourth motorcycle run of the Polar Bear Grand Tour season to Port Jervis, NY on November 21, 2010.

Motorcycles, Medical Problems and Christmas

I've always worn a full face helmet when riding my motorcycle. Of course, living in New Jersey kinda forces you to have this mindset since it's the law here. The only time it gets to me is when I have medical conditions that don't allow me to put the helmet on in the first place.

The first time that happened was when I had a basal cell carcinoma on my right ear that required mohs surgery to remove it. That was a major deal for me that took months to heal. I had to forego riding all that time.

Now, I found out that I have two more basal cell carcinomas, one on my forehead and one behind my left ear. All this occurring during the prime Polar Bear Grand Tour riding season. I happen to run their Web site and I go to all the runs to take pictures for the site. Needless to say, I will probably go another two months without being able to put the helmet on again. Worse than that is that the healing of the one on my forehead is slow with a big black scab that is quite unsightly in public. And, of course, I have so many functions to go to and I have no way to hide the healing. I'm either embarrassed when people see me or find myself constantly trying to explain the medical problems. I seem to be cursed to have all these maladies so prominent on my head and also unable to hide them with a helmet or even to ride my trike. I guess all those years toiling in the sun while I worked in the corn fields nearly 50 years ago have finally come back to haunt me.

Now I find out that after the surgery on the left ear that the pathologist's final report indicates that they may not have got all of it and I have to undergo radiation -- perhaps as many as 20 visits. Turns out that one of the members of my Gold Wing chapter heads a team at my hospital that does the treatments. At least I have someone in my corner.

All this is going on right now but still the Polar Bear pictures have to be taken and I need to be at the runs. I do have a couple of backups who can take pictures and they have come in handy in the past. But, I like to go to the runs as much as I can. This week the run was to Snydersville, PA to Schoch's Harley-Davidson and I was determined to go.

Turns out that many family events were also going on this weekend. On Saturday, we drove to our son's home for a combined birthday party and tree trimming party. I heard that there would be about 10 little kids there to celebrate the second birthday of my granddaughter. I think it was actually closer to 20 kids. After that we drove farther north to my other son's home where we ended up babysitting for the other five of our grandchildren (all under 10) and then staying overnight. The next day, we had breakfast, said our good-byes to all the kids and grand kids and headed down route 80 to Snydersville, PA for the Polar Bear run.

It was a day that was overcast, cold, and threatening rain or snow. We were in the car so we didn't much care. When we arrived, there was a smattering of bikes in the parking lot. As I walked around the parking lot with my camera, I didn't notice as many bikes coming in. Apparently, the threat of bad weather had reduced the attendance. Maybe we got 100 bikes. Normal would have been 400-500. Anyway, I did get some pictures and three videos. Check out the Polar Bear Grand Tour - Schoch's Harley-Davidson/Buell Run for pictures and captions.

After the run, we drove home and had a couple of hours of free time before we had to attend our Gold Wing Chapter's Holiday party. It was fun as usual but I did have the usual set of medical questions. At least I was with friends. I spoke with the member who heads the radiation team at the hospital and he offered me his personal help. That was very comforting and appreciated.

I also had to part company with my 1994 Chrysler today. It's been sitting in my driveway most of the time for the last two years since I bought my new Honda Accord. It was time to use it as a donation to one of my favorite charities, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I had arranged with JDRF.org for the auto donation and the big flatbed arrived this afternoon to cart it away. The end of an era. Getting to be too many of those recently. At least I won't have to worry about hitting it every time I back my car out and I also won't have to move it so I can get my motorcycle trikes out of the garage.

I guess I'm a rambling man today but that's what's been happening. The calendar is almost completely filled with events for the next month. My wife is having physical therapy while I'm going to be busy with radiation treatments. Christmas is coming and I haven't been out doing much shopping or even leaf raking. I was told that retirement meant I would be busier than when I was working. I'm getting that in spades.

Polar Bear Sunday Meets Super Bowl Sunday

Almost everyone is thinking about Super Bowl Sunday which is today. The game is scheduled to start in about one hour and 20 minutes. I don't have much planned for the big game. Jane has some snacks in the freezer and the usual assortment of dips and chips. I'm just about thawed out from taking my Polar Bear Sunday ride. That's my excitement for the day.

It was about 15 degrees out this morning and the weather people were saying that the wind chill would be near zero. Of course that's at walking speed. I was scheduled to ride my 2000 Honda Gold Wing Motor Trike 65 miles to Rockaway, New Jersey at 65 mph speeds. God only knows what the wind chill figures out to be under those conditions but I was about to find out.

I have an electric vest, electric gloves, and electric socks to keep me warm on severe winter rides. I haven't worn the electric socks for maybe 10 years and I was thinking seriously about wearing them for the ride this morning, that is until I tried to get my boots on.

I wanted to wear two pairs of socks with the electric ones on the outside. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my boots on. So, I settled for a pair of ski socks followed by a pair of regular socks -- that left room for my foot to fit in the boot. However, I know that my feet are always the coldest on a trip of this kind so I was a bit worried.

My attire for the trip was: tee shirt, turtleneck, long silk leggings, jeans, ski-type overalls and bib, jacket lining, electric vest, outer Kilimanjaro jacket, double socks, leather boots, glove silks, electric gloves, balaclava, and full-face helmet. Oh, and I wear foam earplugs to reduce riding and wind noise.

I started out at 9:30 a.m. and rode a mile to the gas station that was on the way. People do look at you like you're crazy when they are all snug in their cages and you're exposed to the elements on a motorcycle. I'm used to it since I've been riding every winter for the last 15 years. I wasn't sure what route I was going to take. I had programmed my GPS with the address of the destination just so I'd have the companionship of that GPS voice telling me "Off Route!" every time I'd make a turn she didn't like. Also, I am wont to get lost at times and she has saved my hide more than once.

After I had ridden nearly 10 miles, I began to realize that I was still very cold at high speeds, especially my feet. If I kept going to the Parkway and Interstate, most of the trip would be at 70 mph. I decided to slow things down and take a more direct route that would hit the state highways and back roads and quite a few traffic lights. That meant I would be slowing down and stopping at times and warming up. That's what I did. Unfortunately, the GPS voice was really talking incessantly now as I continued to reject her suggestions for turns.

The trip went well except for the coldness in my feet. When I got to the destination, I took a few quick pictures and then hurried inside to sign-in and warm up. I spent maybe 20 minutes trying to get my feet to realize that it was now warm. They weren't cooperating but I had to get back on the road to make the 65 mile trip back. I went outside and took more pictures and finally got all my protective gear on, started up the trike, and pressed the GPS "Home" button.

When I got home, I turned on the gas fireplace, made myself a hot chocolate, and settled down to warm up my feet while I watched Super Bowl preliminaries and sipped my drink. When I felt almost normal, I processed the pictures I took today and updated the Polar Bear Grand Tour site. Here are the pictures. I hope you all appreciate the sacrifices I make to bring these pictures to you. Now the Super Bowl Sunday game is only 25 minutes away. I've almost forgotten my Polar Bear Sunday ... until next week when I have to travel 70 miles to the next run. Maybe it'll be spring by then.

Polar Bears, Bunnies, and Bikes Meet at the Chatterbox

The Polar Bear Grand Tour is winding down. Only three more events this season.

Last Sunday, the ride was to the Chatterbox, a circular restaurant at the intersection of Routes 206 and 15 in Augusta, New Jersey. Easter Sunday would be next weekend so no Polar Bear run would be made next week. That didn't keep the Easter Bunny away from the Chatterbox.

One never knows what to expect at an event like this. The weather had turned a bit cold and rainy and kept the attendance down. Those who did come found good food, an educational display in the center of the restaurant, and a bunny rabbit walking around and handing out candy. The display was the actual car used by the Pixar animators in making the movie, Cars. It was for the character "The King" (Richard Petty). I caught all of this in pictures and videos.

Take a look and listen to pictures and videos from the Chatterbox.

Polar Bear Grand Tour - Port Jervis, NY Ride

Last weekend, the Polar Bear Grand Tour ride was to Port Jervis, NY. I was feeling a little under the weather so I opted to take the car instead. After this ride I drove to a special Thanksgiving party held by my GWRRA NJ-F (F-Troop) chapter at Old Man Rafferty's in Hillsborough, NJ.

I encountered few bikes on the road to Port Jervis as I passed through three states (NJ, PA, and NY) to get there. However, when I arrived, the parking lot was filled with bikes whose riders were waiting for the flight leaders to show up with the sign-in books.

Usually, I'm riding Jane's white trike in memory of her but the trike was in the shop getting two new U-joints installed. I plan to have it on the road for the run to Hopewell, NJ on November 23rd.

'07-'08 Polar Bear Grand Tour - Lewes, DE

Yesterday (Sunday) was the second run in the Polar Bear Grand Tour season. The motorcycle run was to Lewes, DE, the destination farthest south of all our runs. Since this is a long run, many riders choose to come down on Saturday and stay for the night. There was a large coastal storm sweeping up the east coast on Saturday. The storm had high winds but was located off-shore. Some riders normally staying overnight chose to cancel their Saturday plans and make the complete round-trip on Sunday. I was in that group.

Jane and I rode our trikes with some new Polar Bear riders from our local Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) Chapter NJ-F group. The run started at 8 a.m. with six bikes in the group and ended for us at 6 p.m. in the dark on the first day that Eastern Standard Time (EST) became effective for the winter. All our communication was via CB radio and our lead and drag riders kept the group together with a minimum of difficulties.

Pictures and descriptions for the Lewes run are located on the Polar Bear Grand Tour Web site. Take a look. The picture, above, shows a bike that was at Lewes and has many special features including footpegs made out of old pistons.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Meets the Winter Head-on

A winter storm was approaching the PA, NJ, NY region this morning. Since I was still unable to put a helmet on owing to my two recent surgeries and I also had two of my grandchildren spending Saturday and Sunday with us, I was not going to the Polar Bear Grand Tour run to Montgomeryville, PA.

I had already made arrangements with my backup, Bill, to take pictures at the run. When I got up today, there was a quarter inch of snow on the ground in NJ and the temperature was about 36 degrees. It felt good not going out and attempting to travel the 60 some miles to Montgomeryville. But, I knew that many Polar Bears would be making the trek so I looked forward to receiving the download from Bill later this evening to see just what it looked like over there.

Bill tells me that eight bikes showed up and two were sidecar rigs. The rest were cars, trucks, and SUVs carrying other Polar Bears. See for yourself by viewing Bill's pictures and reading my captions. Check out the pictures from the Montgomeryville, PA run.

Super Bowl Sunday on a Motorcycle Trike

I'm thankful that I have at least one day a week during the New Jersey winter when I can take a ride on my motorcycle. Of course, my motorcycle is now a motorcycle trike and that ride is to one of the destinations on the Polar Bear Grand Tour.

I look forward to these rides since I take all the pictures and videos to update the Web site each week. I created that Web site myself back in 1996 when the Internet was new. This is my twelfth year of updating the site and I've taken, processed, and published over 6000 pictures of Polar Bear activities. In recent years I've begun publishing short videos each week as well.

The ride last Sunday was to the Exchange, a restaurant in Rockaway, NJ. Now it just so happens that my son lives less than five miles from there in Boonton. Jane and I thought that it might be nice to add an overnight visit to our son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren to precede the Polar Bear sign-in. So we rode up on Saturday afternoon.

It was a 75 mile ride to our son's house. He lives in a wooded, secluded area north of Route 80. We pulled up to the front door, blew the weak Gold Wing horns and out popped three male grandkids all under the age of 10. Of course, we were dressed in our finest black apparel with heated vests and gloves and Nolan flip-up full-face helmets. The helmet colors matched the color of the trikes. We pretty much looked like a cross between Darth Vader and the Frankenstein monster to Jordan, Jayson, and Ian but our voices gave us away as they shouted in unison, "Hi Grandma and Poppy. Can we go for a ride?"

"Later," I said. We had promised them that we would take each of them for a short ride up and down their extensive driveway sometime before we left. But right now, we were too tired for that.

Our other son also came up with his wife and our granddaughter, Andi Jaye, 2. We were also going to kinda celebrate a milestone birthday of mine. Andi would not be getting a motorcycle ride.

We pulled the trikes over into their 3-car garage and left them for the night.

We had a great visit with the family and a good night's sleep.

The next day we planned to ride to the Polar Bear destination at Rockaway starting out at 10:45 a.m. We got all the gear on and I backed my trike out of the garage to try to program my GPS with the destination. Now, it was only five miles away over a simple course but I wanted to try to setup the route anyway. First off, I couldn't get a satellite signal in the isolated area surrounded by trees. Then when I tried to enter the address of the Exchange, it accepted the town and the street number, but it balked on the street name and proceeded to freeze up. I tried it again and got the same result. I rebooted the GPS and got the same result. Even the map would just sit there and jiggle back and forth. All the usual GPS controls also stopped working. After five minutes of this, Jane was on my case so I just forgot about the GPS and rode over to the destination with no problem getting there.

When I arrived, the GPS was still not working. One of my buddies suggested I pull out the internal card and reinsert it. That did nothing. It still wouldn't work.

We signed-in and I took my usual pictures and videos. After about an hour, we decided to call it a day and got back on the trikes and headed back to our son's house. I almost missed a turn going back because the way going was different from the way coming back. Don't you hate that?

By the time we got back to our son's house, the GPS had mysteriously started working again. (And it worked flawlessly all the way home too.) I felt like my trike had just spent a few hours in the Boonton Triangle. Strange things seem to happen in those woods.

As we pulled up to our son's house we expected to find the three grandsons all lined up for the motorcycle rides, but no one was there. I went into the house still with full gear on and yelled for the kids. They were not ready to go at all. So we sat there waiting for all to be ready and for them to find their helmets.

The 10-year-old was ready first and took a seat behind his grandma for an extended trip down the third-of-a-mile driveway and back.

The six-year-old wanted to ride with me on my red trike. I had to make sure he was firmly seated and holding onto the side handles next to the pillion seat. I cautioned him before every turn what I was going to do and to "hang on tight." He did. Near the end of the loop, I blew the horn twice and then dropped him at the front door.

Then I took the four-year-old on my trike. He's a tiny guy with a wide smile. I took him on the same route and blew the horn twice as I had for his bro. Kids like to be treated equally.

After that, we had lunch and then departed for home about 3 p.m. The trip was speedy and uneventful. We listened to the Super Bowl pre-game show on the trike's radio as we each rode home. As usual, Jane and I communicated with each other over the CB.

We pulled into our garage about 4:30 p.m., unloaded the trikes, phoned the kids that we had arrived safely and awaited the Super Bowl XLII game between the NY Giants and the New England Patriots. We all know how that came out. It was the perfect end to a perfect riding day.

Take a look at the pictures and videos taken on the Polar Bear run to Rockaway, NJ on Super Bowl XLII Sunday.

Motorcycle pictures courtesy of Steven M. Kern.

2007-2008 Polar Bear Grand Tour - Cape May, NJ

Here are some pictures from the first riding event of the Polar Bear Grand Tour for the 2007-2008 season, the run to Cape May, NJ on October 28, 2007. This event was just before Halloween and some rode down in costume.

Take a look at all the pictures I took, including two short videos.

My riding group encountered a very bad accident on the Garden State Parkway on the way down to Cape May. I believe it was just before the Toms River toll plaza. Traffic was halted in both directions of the Parkway while rescue helicopters landed and transported the injured. We were within 100 yards of the accident and many people got out of their cars and off their motorcycles to observe. I took a few pictures of that too.

Daytona Bike Week -Videos and Information

I was at another Polar Bear Grand Tour run yesterday to the Firehouse Eatery in Rahway, NJ. I ran into two riders who were set to start down to Daytona Bike Week after the ride. One of these riders was the third owner of my wife's 1990 Honda PC-800. He had attached a gigantic trailer to the PC (see picture). See my article, Daytona, for more information about this rally.

This morning I saw a link from OrlandoSentinel.com that had a story and some videos from Daytona Bike Week. It had short videos about 1) accessories for disabled riders, 2) an airbrush artist, 3) the Spyder Roadster trike, and 4) a 125-mile setup by a Harley dealer to let you see the sights in central Florida. Take a look.

There have also been reports of deaths at the the rally. That's not unusual considering the huge number of bikes concentrated in a small area. Rallies, especially Daytona, are meant for motorcyclists to gather on their bikes, look at and talk about bikes, buy accessories and chrome, eat good food, check out the scenery, and have a good time in the sun. I pray that the rally continues to fulfill these objectives with no more accidents. Be Safe.

Polar Bear Motorcycle Run to Hooters

On Sunday, I made one long run via car to attend a GWRRA Chapter NJ-H meeting near North Plainfield, NJ. I used to live up there when I first got married so it was nice to see the area again with all its changes. After the meeting we headed farther north to Wayne, NJ so I could take pictures at the Hooters destination for the Polar Bear Grand Tour.

It was a cold day and the turnout wasn't that great, maybe 100 bikes spread over a couple of hours. I still got a good set of pictures including the requisite pose of our Chairman, Bob, with two Hooters girls. Bob does enjoy that.

We have seven more runs before the end of the season.

Meanwhile, I continue to work on the new Motorcycle Views site. That's the subject of my next blog entry.

Two Motorcycle Worlds

This week finds me somewhat between two motorcycle worlds. A few days ago I received the new riding schedule for the 2007-2008 Polar Bear Grand Tour. It’s my job to convert this schedule into something readable on the Polar Bear Grand Tour Web site. Then when the season starts, I take pictures at each run and post them on the site. The season doesn’t start until October 28th, the last Sunday in October. However, over 500 participants will be looking for the new schedule shortly so it’s important that not a lot of time goes by before it’s posted. Unfortunately my wife and I were scheduled to attend a state rally here in NJ for the GWRRA (Gold Wing Road Riders Association) so all work on the schedule stopped.

As I’m thinking about winter riding again with the Polar Bears, I see many riders in the north starting to think about slowing down their riding and putting their bikes away. Of course, most riders will prolong this until riding just gets too cold. The Polar Bears see no benefit in putting their bikes away and so don heavy protective clothing, most opting for electrically heated vests, gloves, pants, and even socks as the temperatures drop into the 40s, 30s, 20s, and lower.

Meanwhile, the GWRRA rally turns out to be a pretty late rally falling this year on September 6-8. That’s after Labor Day so people have stopped thinking about vacations and are now concentrating on school and jobs. That means it’s hard to attract people to attend. Next year, this rally will be held in early August.

The GWRRA gathering we attended was small and most of the participants knew each other. Although the organization is divided into chapters located across the state and nation and even internationally, there is considerable interaction of members among chapters. That makes many GWRRA gatherings seem like family reunions to outsiders. That’s what outsiders have remarked after seeing so much hugging and kissing going on as member couples run into each other at functions. Often it’s difficult to go from point A to point B without getting stopped by other couples for lengthy conversations. After one conversation ends you almost immediately run into another couple which starts another conversation. And so it goes.

Of course, historically, GWRRA tends to attract husband and wife riding couples who ride two-up on the same motorcycle. Lately, however, in the last five or six years, I’ve seen a steady increase in the number of women riding their own bikes. Thus, where ten years ago, almost no GWRRA women rode their own bikes but instead chose to ride pillion, now many GWRRA couples have two bikes, a Gold Wing for the husband and a separate bike (not necessarily a Gold Wing) for the wife. The couple concept remains except one bike has been replaced by two in some cases.

There has also been an increase in the number of riders preferring to ride motorcycle trikes. Again, within GWRRA the Gold Wing motorcycle is the basis for the trike with the rear wheel removed and replaced by two automotive wheels and an automotive rear end. The trike part has extra trunk space needed since the normal saddlebags have been removed. Again, in keeping with the need in some cases for both the husband and wife to ride their own motorcycle, some couples have opted to ride individual trikes. Such is the case for my wife and me.

At these small GWRRA gatherings, the standard rally activities occur such as seminars, bike contests, people games, bike games, organized tours, self-guided tours, vendor sales, light parade, entertainment, and awards dinners. There’s plenty of time for socializing, admiring bikes, and eating too. The gathering we attended was heavy on ice cream, birthday and anniversary cakes, laughter, fun, eating, and picture taking. There wasn’t much drinking except for soda, tea, and coffee. That may be the reason that you won’t find many underweight Wingers. Along with all this socializing, the Wingers are very safety conscious taking skill improvement courses all the time to learn how to be safe on the road.

I’m not giving away any inside stories here. If you want to participate in all this fun, you’ll have to join your local GWRRA chapter and go to a rally on your own. However, what happens at GWRRA gatherings can be pretty tame. It’s certainly family oriented. I saw quite a few children who attended with their parents and even two girls who appeared to be about 9-10 years old who won youngest passengers arriving on a motorcycle.

Now, I’m back from the rally and need to get back working on that Polar Bear schedule. Of course, all 500 of us Polar Bears are continually having to explain to outsiders that we don’t go in the water on New Year’s Day. That’s those “other” Polar Bears.

Polar Bear picture by Walter Kern. Cake picture courtesy of Barbara Malone.

Got any comments about your own motorcycle gatherings? Post them below.

Pics of the Week and Polar Bear Pics

Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Web site. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery.

If you'd like to see your bike as Pic of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike. Note that this week we only have a Woman of the Week. That means that there are no new men's pictures in the gallery. Please submit a picture of you and your bike.

I was out on a Polar Bear Grand Tour run today and I took pictures. I got carried away this time. You be the judge.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Visits the Hillbilly Hall

I awoke this morning to a 29 degree temperature on the thermometer outside my kitchen window. That was at 7:30 a.m. At 8 a.m. Jane and I were inside the local Old Country Buffet to have breakfast and participate in our Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) NJ Chapter F meeting. We are the treasurers of that group. Today we weren't on motorcycles. I couldn't put on a helmet because I've just had two surgeries to remove basal cell carcinomas, one at the top of my forehead at the hairline and the other just behind the top of my left ear. Wearing a helmet is impossible until healing takes place. That's why today was a series of motorcycle adventures without motorcycles.

After the chapter meeting we drove to Hopewell, NJ for the fifth run of the Polar Bear Grand Tour. History was not kind to Hopewell. It was in Hopewell in 1932 that the Lindbergh kidnapping case occurred. In fact, Lindbergh's mansion is just a few miles from the Hillybilly Hall where the Polar Bear Grand Tour met today.

It was a perfect winter day. Clear skies and brisk temperatures greeted the riders as a seemingly endless stream of motorcycles rode into Hopewell. I got there early today and recorded in pictures and videos what I saw. Take a look.

Polar Bear Grand Tour Visits Lake Hopatcong, NJ

This was one of those iffy Polar Bear days. The temperature was near 40 degrees for most of the state of New Jersey but it lowered to near freezing or below at the higher elevations. Since our members come from all over the state and even Connecticut there was a good chance that some would find ice on the roads. That turned out to be true. Members of my own GWRRA Chapter NJ-F had traveled to North Jersey very early in the morning to attend another chapter's meeting before they rode to the Lake Hopatcong area for the Polar Bear Grand Tour. They encountered two icy parking lots and it was touch-and-go whether they would keep their bikes upright. They vowed never again to ride so early in the winter mornings.

This destination was the Wearhouse Grill. My GPS performed flawlessly to guide us right to the door. We arrived early and stood around until the flight leaders had setup to sign-in the riders. They had a special menu just for the Polar Bear Grand Tour. I especially liked the hot apple pie a la mode served in a glass mug.

Here are pictures and videos from this winter day run.

Polar Bear Grand Tour in the Pine Barrens

Another rainy day! This is supposed to be the Polar Bear season. Even though it's now officially winter, it continues to be more like spring with 58 degree temperatures.

This was our first run to the Sweetwater Casino. It's located in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in the middle of nowhere right next to the Mullica River. The place is big enough to hold the Polar Bears when we show up in force. They even have motorcycle parking up front on concrete -- this works fine except when the Polar Bears show up.

Here are pictures and videos from this rainy run.