Winter clings stubbornly to the day and the driveway. Moving the Vespa from garage to street remains a short adventure through ice and snow. With part of the day above freezing the frozen coating retreated. Still, I think the clairvoyance of the groundhog is in doubt. Seeing the Vespa reflected my my truck reminded me of the grimness of winter. At least in my mind. As Orin O’Neill suggests on his blog Scootin’ Old Skool, “Enough already.”
A ride would likely vanquish the gloomy thoughts.
Riding at 33F feels absolutely balmy after weeks and months of more frigid air. But even at this temperature the donning of riding gear can appear a near overwhelming obstacle. Woe to the rider who puts everything on only to realize they forgot to insert the wiring into their jacket for their electric gloves. More than once have I found myself grumbling over such an oversight, wires, ski mask, and decide to proceed without.
Always a mistake.
Mostly I meandered today relishing the complete disconnection from the world — just me, the Vespa, and a landscape indifferent to my presence. Without fail, a few miles and the gloom and cares evaporate. A thought passes of purchasing a Triumph. I remember something I have to do at work. My stomach growls. All is right in the world.
Standing in the middle of the field, looking at the scooter, thinking about longer rides, I wish the temperature would rise just a little. At 40F I can ride all day in luxurious comfort.
There are times when I walk as much as I ride, exploring streams and roadsides, just looking around, thinking of nothing.
Parked the Vespa on the bridge in the distance being careful to leave room for a manure spreader I passed a mile down the road. Nothing ruins a good ride faster than an unfortunate run in with a manure spreader.
Walmart parking lot. My first destination. The 3 Prints Project is still going but we’ve put film on hiatus for awhile, likely a gloom motivated decision, and are working exclusively in digital. Since I don’t have one of those fancy Epson 3880 Photo printers I have been sending my digital files to MPIX.com. They do good work, inexpensive, and fast. Not as good as a person could do making their own inkjet prints but I have no interest. Fine printing in the digital world is a bridge too far. At least today.
Anyways, I figured I would give Walmart a try. With four files on a USB jump drive I made a beeline to the photo center. Ten minutes later I walked out of the store with prints in hand, every bit as good as MPIX. Some more experimentation is in order.
No ride is complete without a stop somewhere for food. Or something. Cafe Lemont was on the way home so a cup of tea, an amazing cookie, and a small notebook is all it takes to keep me happy. At one point I look up and make a picture, drawn to the color, light and umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. I try and imagine Jack Riepe of Twisted Roads sitting here. Then I try to imagine world peace. Coming up empty on both counts I return to my writing.
Ran into a local physician and Ducati rider. He and his wife were enjoying the atmosphere though did not arrive on two wheels. His Streetfighter and her Monster are waiting for warmer days.
Toward the end of the ride, early afternoon, the thermometer hovering in the mid-30s and the sun trying to burn through the clouds made the Vespa sparkle for just a moment. Long enough for me to make a picture and smile at my good fortune to be on the road.
Thoughts turned towards home, an afternoon with Kim, a walk with Junior, dinner, and the finale of season eight of Project Runway courtesy of Netflix.
That doesn’t sound too macho. Maybe it explains the Vespa.
All Rights Reserved.
All Rights Reserved.
Steve, thanks for the shout-out. Had a rather interesting drive on I-5 today, a round trip to the new Vespa store in Lynnwood for rear brake pads for the GTS. And a Vespa Lynnwood t-shirt.
The temperature was somewhere just below freezing, and the warm front had arrived, which meant a very thin layer of snow on the pavement. Luckily, I know how to drive in such conditions, and the wackos from Vancouver apparently didn’t wish to risk auguring their BMW M3s into embankments.
The Weather Channel is forecasting overnight low temps at or below freezing, every day through March 7. Saying “enough already!” doesn’t seem to be working…
__Orin
Scootin’ (or is that Skatin’?) Old Skool
I feel rather bad encouraging you to ride in 33 degree weather. Do they take renminbi yet at Walmart?
Orin: First, I fixed the link to your site. Not sure what happened with that.
Temperatures still flirting with the freezing mark hear and with so much snow and wet areas still around you never know what might appear on the road. So you have to be careful. Can’t wait for spring to arrive…
Conchscooter: To ease your conscience I drove the truck into town this morning. I was kind of miffed that I had to pass up a good ride just to tend to your emotional state.
Not yet. They are waiting until final revisions of US paper currency is in place before they make the announcement.
You must spend a lot of time at the Walmart in Marathon.
Awww. Poor Riepe is like the Rodney Dangerfield of the ‘cycle bloggers. You do make world peace seem almost attainable by comparison, though! I can just see Jack firing up one of those big stogies in that room full of umbrellas!
– Joe at Scootin’ da Valley
Steve, really liked the first two shots….must try working the reflection of my motorcycles on a truck into a future posting.
dom
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Redleg’s Rides
Cafe Lemont looks pretty upscale. Nice light and color for sure, and probably cigar smoke would be considered an intrusion as well as pollution -:)
Keep working on that world peace, though … one ride at a time!
Walmart. Who’d have thought?
I have an Epson R1900. Is that half as good as the 3880?
Much has changed here, it has.
Dear Scooter In The Sticks (Steve):
I once worked for a company that thought highly of my editorial style, but thought my personal work ethic left a lot to be desired. So they hired a woman who had more degrees than a thermometer and more WASP pedigrees than the American Kennel Club to be my boss.
She was also stunningly beautiful.
She made it clear from the beginning that she thought I was something that should have been erradicated through vaccination. She absolutely hated me, except for the fact thst I could make her laugh and blush at the drop of a hat. Three years later I had my own company. She and I worked as a team. And I got to see her naked a lot.
I do real well in places with umbrella’s on the ceiling, especially when there’s a cookie I want in there.
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we’ve had quite a few days in the high 40’s and 50’s. The snow and ice are all but gone; and the city has already swept the streets free of gravel. The bad news is that I was taking a leak with absolute nonchalence when out with the dogs the other day, and my left hip popped and collapsed. I can barely make the stairs these days. This is casting a pall ove the riding season.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
Joe: Poor Riepe?? He’s living the high life of celebrity. He’s the Charlie Sheen of the moto-blogging world. He’s a warlock and high on the street drug Reep.
Dom: Thanks for the kind words about the pictures. Looking forward to seeing your reflection pictures.