[enjoyLIFErides] Great Ride Today & Events Planned Details...

[Enjoyliferides at yunx.com]

I'm posting this in mass to the groups I normally post to...  Too tired to
do it the "right way" so...  Forgive me for the info below that might be out
of the norm...

Had a great ride today!  101 miles total.  Not too far, but just far enough
that it was really enjoyable!  Some of my favorite rides are in the rain or
REALLY cold weather because there is no doubt that anyone in a car is look
at you and saying, "What an idiot"...  BUT I have the assurance that they
see me and will not run me down!

Met MH at the West Orange D&D and chatted a bit.  Brand new guy to the Enjoy
Life list as of a few weeks ago and his first outing with me anyhow...  NICE
bike. Jealousy...  Jealousy.... Harassed some guy who was there from CT
about his new 2003 KLR650 purchase after his kid stared  and gawked at my
Vulcan.  Hope he finds some good riding partners.  He is a brand new rider
on a KLR riding in CT (worse drivers than NJ IMHO) and plans on using it for
commuting to and from work daily.  Headed out in light rain.  Ran into our
first closed road due to flooding.  Bypassed it to the North.

Went to New Providence D&D expecting to be there with MH alone.  GC - who is
one of my main riding partners stopped by in the cage to briefly say hello
but I was inside and he took off.  MH said he said something about "You guys
are real riders.  Not like me.  I'm a wimpy rain-fearing wannabe."   Very
loose translation of course.  <grin>

Off we went.  Rode some of the best roads in Morris and Somerset County.
Even took the roads through the great swamp near Myersville just to see if
they were passable - and indeed they were.  Quite passable actually.  Very
nice.  Passed Garden State Firework's facility in the "boondocks" and headed
towards Warren Township...  Eventually stopped for gas around 10:30 AM in
Watchung after braving some old farm roads and Johnson Drive - and all the
runoff debris in the road.  Johnson Drive in Watchung should be avoided at
all costs for a few days.  Realized the time and then simply ran up the
worst road in Somerset County (22) to 206 and met the southern club riders -
the Jersey Devil VROCers (JDC-VROC)- at the Walgreen's.  They told stories
of slaying huge puddles and flooding...  Some that swallowed cars!
...Sounds like they had about as much fun as we did!  Met some new faces
here too!  Hope to make some more JDC friends soon!

Finally, ran over to the Polar Bear meet at the Bradley Gardens Firehouse.
There were probably 50-75 people there with close to as many bikes.  Longest
distance traveled by bike was by a guy who came and regularly comes from New
Hampshire to the meets...  Also met Leo who is a 89 (?) year old rider from
North Jersey...  The hosting club's facility was literally under water so we
didn't get to see that...

Had the pancake breakfast rather than go to Clinton.  Probably a good choice
since I had found out that my waterproof pants were less than waterproof and
my knees were frozen...  :)  You won't often hear ME say I'm cold so save
this message as proof that it does indeed happen.  Just my knees mind you,
but they were cold.

Chatted with a few folks there including Bob who is the "leader" of the
Polar Bear freezites group.  Chatted with Jim who is helping us
with The Ride 2005 routes this year (N.J. Highlanders Motorcycle Club guy)
Saw my parents who rode there too - he on the Valk and she on the
Silverwing.  Really was hoping they would show up by car so I could say the
official "na na na na na na!" thing...  But alas, they proved me wrong.

Missed all of the regulars as always but had a great time.  Hope to see
everyone soon!

I'm going to post details tomorrow about a "special interest" ride for
anyone interested.  The Pastor of The Life Christian Church where I am a
youth leader (as many of you know from my efforts in The Ride, etc.) will be
a guest speaker at a men's breakfast in Catasauqua, PA this coming Saturday.
Catasauqua is right outside Allentown and I've gotten the okay to bring a
bunch of leather-clad guys along with me on bikes to this relatively
traditional church.  The Pastor there is an old friend of mine from around
15 years ago.  Been working on and off with him with youth stuff for a long
time...  Anyhow...  If you are interested, it should be a great morning. 
We've already got 2-3 bikes coming from NJ...  Also, on the way home, I plan 
on making that stop for my burger at the Clinton Station Diner.  I'm not 
dealing with this burger addiction another week without hope of actually 
getting one.  I almost drove out there tonight for a late snack but wanted 
to be awake at work tomorrow.  eMail me privately for details on the 
breakfast / meeting if you are interested.  I can send you the electronic 
version of the flyer or you can check it out and/or the website of the guest 
speaker - Terry Smith.  If you're offended by me inviting you, forgive me... 
It's just a friendly invite after all!

Just to make this message even longer...  We are also having a lunch at
Houlihan's this coming Sunday (4/10) to welcome a rider to our area while he
is here on business. If you're free, we would LOVE for you to join us!  Just
let me know so I can give a count to the restaurant.  Last time we opened
the doors for a group like this, 95 people showed up.  This time, I'm asking
that it be limited to those who ride or are with those who ride.  Let's give
this guy a biker's welcome to the area - even though he is only passing
through.  We have around 10 RSVPd already so it promises to be a decent
afternoon.  The Lunch starts at 2:00 PM.  I'll be there around 1:30 PM or so
making sure we have seats, etc.

See you on the (dry) roads soon!

Joe in Northern, NJ
V#8013 '86 VN750

Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/4zkw8
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Young Life?  eMail me!

Born once - Die twice.   Born twice - Die only once.  Your choice...