New Year's Day Polar Bear "P"

That "P" in New Year's Day Polar Bear "P" could be deceiving. It could stand for puke, pee, poo, or pulverize.

 

Thankfully, it doesn't stand for any of those awful "p" words.

 

Originally, the "P" stood for Plunge.

It was our plan to ride from Yorba Linda Regional Park to Huntington Beach to take part in the Surf City Splash.

 

We did the ride last January 1 with some friends and we saw a lot of people taking the plunge. We thought it looked like a fabulous way to start the New Year. Thus, the combination of the ride and participating in the Plunge.

I posted the ride as an event on facebook.

People were in and people were out.

Some said yes to the ride, but no to the plunge.

 

January 1st came and at 8 a.m. the group for The DeCarlo 2nd Annual Polar Bear Pedal/Plunge was assembled.

 

 

We did the ride.

Like how I got Polar and Pedal together?

Some of the regular Tuesday/Thursday night ride gang and some new riders!

 

Some people started the ride knowing they were NOT going to take the "P"lunge. Who could blame them? It was cold and then it got colder. Orietta (orange jacket) was prepared, but after she coughed several times I told her she could NOT "P"lunge.

 

The lifeguards ready to save any freezing "plunger."

 

 

We had one person in our group who was "p"repared.

 

How far does a person have to go in for it to be considered an official "PLUNGE"?

That was far enough.

She was our sacrificial "plunger."

Thank you LeAnna for "plunging" right into the Pacific Ocean and representing us.

 



 

Here's the rest of us  Pedalers/non-Polar bears standing on the Huntington Beach Pier cheering LeAnna on and thinking, "Hurry up, we want pancakes!"

 

We were then disappointed when the $5-all-you-can-eat-pancake breakfast was closed by the time we got to it.

The website said 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

"Uhm, where's the pancake breakfast?" I asked a lady sitting at the official HBSplash table.

"Oh, it's closed. It only went to 11," she said.

I looked at my watch - 10:20.

I guess beach time is different from IE (Inland Empire) time.

I showed her my watch.

She just shrugged.

 

We click-clicked in our bike shoes on over to the Sugar Shack for a great breakfast.

 

We sat in the back off the alley.

 

What Robert had for breakfast.

 

I had bacon and eggs, a short stack of pancakes and fruit. I did not feel one ounce of guilt - I had already burned 857 calories riding the one way. (1837 round-trip - the last miles were WINDY!!!!).

 

So get out your 2014 calendar and ink in The DeCarlo 3rd Annual Polar Bear Pedal/Plunge Ride.

Ready to ride at 7 a.m.

You'll have to pedal, but the plunge is optional.

 

(P.S. We already are working on having someone there with a car that has the heater running and all our towels and parkas in it so we can get dried off and warmed up before we eat pancakes and pedal home.)

 

Happy New Year!

Train-n-Tri