My day started at 2:30 am... hockey clinic in NYC at 4am... got home from it around 7:15, showered, ate breakfast, and got ready to go riding...

I started out yesterday leaving my place around 8 or 8:30 am, intending to scout out the NY run I've previously done to see if there's any surprise construction, or somesuch. I was a getting low on gas, as I got on the GSP heading north, so I switched to reserve, even though I didn't need it just yet, and stopped at the Cheesequake service area. After fueling, I got back on the parkway. Coming up next to me is a guy on an FZR600, kinda waving to me to talk to him. Sure, I figure. We stop at the toll barrier, pay our tolls, and find out we're both heading toward High Point State Park, but he's meeting up with people at Action Yamaha in Metuchen. So I tag along, saying to myself that if this turns into another adventure like the one with the "Squids from Hell," I'll just branch off and let them go.

After hitting a few on/off ramps, we drop by another house along the way to pick up someone else. Here is where we finally introduce ourselves. He starts, "What's your name?" "Joe." "Heh... Joe. (points to the house) Joe." "We going to hit critical mass of Joes?" :-) Anyway, after a couple of phone calls to see if yet another person will be joining us (no, not another Joe... 3 was the quota for the day). So we leave Joe's house to go meet up with Kenny at his place. (To keep things a little clearer, I'll have to start giving last initials to keep the Joes straight... The one I met on the GSP is Joe D., and the one we picked up is Joe N.) Since it's going to take a bit for Kenny to get ready, Joe D. heads over to Action Yamaha to meet up with the other guys and bring them back, leaving Joe N. (YZF600), Kenny (GSXR750), and me. They come back... Joe D. with Jason (Ninja 900), Jay (race-prepped FZR400 with only a tail light... plus a few, uh, other things which make this bike not street legal...), and Rob (?) (Seca II). After a few introductions, we leave, heading south on US 1 to get gas for those who need it, then head off to where we're going.

We go further south on US 1, being passed by some real asshole in a Supra who can only be described, from the way he was weaving in and out of traffic and how fast he was going, as "bear bait." Anyway, eventually we turn off US 1 onto some other road, take it up to NJ 27, then follow NJ 27 to 518... 518 into Mercer county... then to NJ 31 to 579 (there were some real slow shits in front of us, and I knew that 579 and 518 intersected) and back to 518. We followed 518 to its end, took NJ 179 into Ringoes, stopped for a short break, then got back on 579 and took it to 604. We were originally going to head back down 179 and meander our way onto 519, but I pulled out my northern NJ roads map, and we saw the route without having to backtrack. Well, 604 turned out to be lots of fun... :-) It ended at 519, and then we just followed 519 north from there all the way up. After passing US 22, Joe D., Jason, Jay, and Rob headed back home because Jason wanted to go to work by 3pm, and Joe D. had some stuff to do at his house. Didn't get reasons why the others left. So Joe N., Kenny, and I continue up 519.

We followed 519 all the way up to NJ 23, then went into High Point. We were going to go into the park, but when we saw the entry fee ($7 for a car, $2 for a moto, and $1 for a moped), we opted not to do so. Now it's my turn to lead, because they haven't been up to Port Jervis... back to NJ 23 north... :-) Stop at the McD's just south of the NY border for lunch, and then we go into PJ to go up to Hawk's Nest on NY 97. We get up to Pond Eddy, turn around, and head back.

After getting back to NJ 23, we just follow it south to I-287, and take I-287 back to US 1, hit those on/off ramps ( :-) ), and then go back to Kenny's place. From here, after a short break, we go our merry ways.

These guys are squidly, but not like the Squids from Hell. They don't take off at unreasonable speeds (mostly :-) ), and they do wait to be sure people who fall behind catch up. I've got phone numbers, and I'll be in touch with them. Turns out that Joe D. lives in the northern part of Tinton Falls. Everyone else seems to live in the Edison/Metuchen area.

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