It began during the COVID epidemic. Group rides departing from our local bike store ended, and three of us decided to keep cycling (socially distanced) on weekends, leaving from Watchung Plaza, a small shopping district nearby.

When the pandemic ended, others joined us and we became a regular group. We would gather in front of Local Coffee for an 8 a.m. start. One chilly morning, Boris decided to wait in the warm sun across the street, and we all joined him. But Boris had the audacity to rest one foot on the asphalt of the gas-station parking lot, whereupon the owner stormed out and accused us of impeding his customers.

This coincided with my plans to transfer our communications from text messaging to a WhatsApp group. I had been mulling over potential group names, but hadn’t hit on anything I liked. Then, at the end of this ride, when we were dispersing, Sue (one of our group) called out to us all, “Have a good weekend you hooligans!” Suddenly, it was obvious: We were the Watchung Plaza Hooligans, and have been so ever since.