Year of the Monkey

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you may be swept off to."
Bilbo Baggins

Year of the Monkey

posted 01/30/04
We all have traditions. Some good and some bad and there is no time like the winter holidays to bring them out. There is that crusty old ornament that was on the tree my Mom and Dad trimmed when I was a kid. The imprints of long gone pet's paws in clay that have been glazed and turned into ornaments. The stockings for the kids made by Grandma.

Some of the traditions are national. The Macy's parade in New York and the 2-hour long commercial Bon Macy's event that passes for Seattle's celebration of the coming season. It's fitting that it kicks off the commercial buying season with the annual count down of "shopping days" left. The town has its lights and the Singers their concert.

My family likes to light fireworks at New Years. With two boys and an overgrown boy in the family, my firefighter wife put her foot down to private 4th of July celebrations after I set the field on fire two years in a row. We compromised on New Years as the "gunpowder holiday" of choice!

This year we invited friends over and as usual, offered to furnish alcohol, firearms, and skyrockets. After all, we wanted to be good hosts this year we also decided to time it differently. There was a popular song last summer called "It's 5 O' Clock Somewhere". The theme was why wait for an arbitrary time? Celebrate when you want! Taking that as our example, we decided that there were many New Years to celebrate. We didn't have to wait for local midnight. We started at 6 p.m. and celebrated with Iceland.

By 9 p.m. it was time to celebrate with our son in New York. We fired the cannon and set off rockets and drank our toasts and them got ready to do it with Chicago an hour later. This was much better than waiting up until midnight with young kids getting sleepy and grumpy and it also gave folks who wanted a chance to go into town and party at the Fairgrounds.

By midnight, we were ready to turn in and get ready for the first real tradition of the New Year: the Polar Bear Ride! I don't know when or who started this but its been happening for many years now. At about 10 a.m. all the motorcyclists who want to ride meet at ET and sit around getting cold. This year there were 18 riders and 3 passengers. Past years have seen as many as 30 but it was right chilly this year. This is a rain or shine event though ice and snow might stop it as bikes and ice of any kind are not a good combination. The rainy ride quickly separates the real bikers from those who are only bike owners.

After 15 minutes somebody puts on his or her helmet. Someone else puts on a coat. Then a bike starts and soon we all are sitting there idling and wondering where we're going. This is a free form group that resists organization. No officers, no dues, no minutes. Most are members of an apocryphal group known as the Former Wooden Boat Owners Motorcycle Club Of San Juan Island. Membership is by declaration.

One year there was no clear consensus on where we were going and so about half the group got lost and wound up at a different destination. Of course it was their contention that the other half of the group was lost. We were all on the same island though so it didn't matter. This year I took a chance at offending the diehard anarchists by walking around and setting a first stop for the photo-op and we headed for South Beach. After that I figured we could all go our own way.

As we rode out of town we passed another January 1 ride tradition. The Island bicyclists were out in force and headed for Lime Kiln Lighthouse. We waved and pressed on. It was colder than I had anticipated but we motored along in a staggered line at a moderate pace. No hurry for this first leg. Surprisingly, some traditions were broken on this part of the ride. Jack who almost always signals for a left at Mullis and then never cancels his turn signal on the trip out remembered and we didn't have his flashing beacon to guide us. Denny who always takes the lead on his sport bike, hung back and let Jack lead. 36 degrees on a skinny sport bike will do that to you I guess.

At South beach, we all lined up for the Photo-op. It was a raw wind off the sound and no one wanted to linger and swap bike gossip. We saddled up and headed towards the Cattle Point turn around. This was faster for some of us. This is a world-class view with no cross roads and unlimited visibility. Scenery like this is always better with the extra oxygen that high speeds bring. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

We didn't linger but headed back out the West Side towards Roche and the only fresh donuts worth the ride. Some split off to go home. Others stopped to pump the bilges at the Lime Kiln restrooms. Eventually we made it to the café through various circuitous routes. This was the end. 2 hours of Island tradition for a small group. Others went for a Polar Bear dip and of course the bicycle group did its ride. Still others watched the Rose Parade and a Bowl game. Ah traditions.

I'm late getting this story written and China is marking one of its major traditions by celebrating their new year. Whether it's simply 2004 or the year of the Monkey, I hope you all had a good year and that we all have a better one to come. Global Brightening is underway and spring can't be far behind. Here's to warmer weather and more good rides.

The Old Squid

news @sanjuanislander.com

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