Steve Williams, author of Scooter in the Sticks, with his Vespa GTS scooter.
Not every ride on a scooter or motorcycle is a good ride. Some rides are just too damn short. As the day drew to a close and the weather was beginning to look ominous I had a sudden desire to go for a ride. I can never be sure if it’s really a ride I’m after or just a chance to see the sky. Nothing eases pent up mental claustrophobia like standing in a field and watching the race through the sky. Or standing along the ocean and taking in the vastness of water and air.
So off I rode to the nearest promontory where I could take in a view and do it before the promised rain and thunder showers arrived. As I write I realize that the forecast was wrong, the radar was wrong, everything was wrong including my reading of the sky that whispered “Get the hell home”. The picture almost look tranquil but the wind was blowing hard on my balding head. Blew my gloves off the scooter though luckily not the helmet.
I should know better than to leave my helmet on the seat.
Vespa GTS scooter parked in a pasture under a heavy sky.
The ride this evening was too short, too rushed to offer any sort of release. Instead just a small sense of regret that I couldn’t stay longer and watch the world grow dark. At least the Vespa got me out.
Next ride will be different.
Steve your pictures are always so beautiful, they leap off the page and you almost feel like you’re standing there watching it unfold. I a guess a short ride is better than no ride?
Dar: I keep telling myself a short ride is better than no ride but tonight I wasn’t sure. Might have been better to stay home and do the laundry…
I think the addition of the sidecar has turned it into “functional transportation”. Or the vehicle used to get somewhere faster than walking. It gets used for everything from commuting to shopping and once and a while, a road trip. Rarely do I just take off to ride somewhere just to be on the bike.
RichardM: Most of my riding is clearly in the functional transportation category. And while those rides still can offer up the satisfaction of being on two wheels I clearly miss being able to wander on the Vespa.
Need to make some time to do that.
I’ll add to what RichardM started….a sidecar would also give you the wherewithal to say: “well, as long as it’s not a tornado, I can get home just fine; think I’ll stick around and watch the storm come in….”
Charlie6: The storm isn’t a problem for the Vespa, only my delicate temperament…
I believe that for seven years, the sum of my scootering existence, the satisfaction of any ride for me hasn’t come from the ride itself but from what was in me when I left the house.
-Joe
Steve:
Last Saturday I had no destination, except to snap a few photos. Mostly riding has a purpose, whether commuting or to do an errand, not specially for the joys of riding. Because of our traffic the joys of commuting have diminished to the point where I would rather drive and just use my bike for touring.
Just don’t leave your helmet upside down tethered to your manbag hook, IF IT RAINS
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Steve: You appear in the photograph to be ten feet tall, and your Vespa to be oh so very very small. So upon which or what did you place your photographic imaging device?
And which camera out of curiousity.
And yes I too have had those grumpy rides when everything is not so much wrong rather not right. Time to go talk to Junior who probably understands, then sit back and have a glass of wine with your wife and relax.
Great Pictures Steve. We had a bad storm here a week or so ago in upstate NY that blew my GTS right over. I was not a happy camper.
Beaut ‘selfie’ with your scoot, lovely image. Last week I was reunited with my bike so during the weekend, my partner and I went riding on our scooters. Terrible weather for riding but after 15 months separated from the scoots, it didn’t matter. Riding somehow completes the picture and makes the world big again.
Great pictures man, makes me feel like I’m there. Can’t wait to see more. Keep em coming!
Jackie
bob skoot: I learned the lesson early of not leaving my helmet upside down. Things like that stay with you.
I forget sometimes how nice it is here to not have so much traffic. There are always tradeoffs living in a more rural area but that’s one of the positives.
Bryce Lee: Can never trust a photo in that regard. I’m a giant in some pix and tiny in others. The truth is somewhere in between.
I use a Sirui T-025X Carbon Fiber Tripod with C-10X Ball Head — one that bob skoot highly recommended and despite the steep cost it is just a fantastic piece of gear and I use it often.
I’m shooting almost everything, including these pictures, with a Canon G15. Only slightly more expensive than the tripod by a hundred dollars.
Junior, Kim and I all know how to relax. Timing it to happen at the same time is the challenge!
John Connors: Love your photo on your Google+ account of the Vespa at the overlook with lightning in the sky. Was that real or constructed?
I want to make the picture someday but only if I’m not actually standing out in the open miles from shelter…
John Connors: I hate when my scooter falls over. Mostly it has been my fault — not paying attention to the softness of the ground but once the wind knocked it down and like you it didn’t make me smile…
Sandy Boyd: You are exactly right — riding makes the world big! Love that idea.
Hi Steve, just found your site, great blog and wonderful photos. Love the Vespa in the paddock.
Cheers
(Got my own web address correct on this one)
Thanks for the kind words John. You have some strong work on your site.