The morning brought central Pennsylvania’s dreaded “wintry mix” — a combination of rain, sleet, snow and freezing rain in a constantly changing mix. During my walk with Junior the road surface changed from dry to wet to the amalgam in the above photo. Definitely not the kind of weather I venture out into on the Vespa and certainly not on Aleta’s relatively pristine Yamaha Vino.
Running errands had the tires continually spinning on the Honda Fit with the traction control and ABS lights flashing repeatedly. Traffic was light to non-existent as those not wishing to succumb to any Darwinian adjustments stayed home by the fire.
My last errand brought me to Rite-Aid Pharmacy and to my surprise there was a dripping, Bintelli Sprint 49cc scooter parked on the sidewalk. “Cool” was my first thought while wondering who inside would claim ownership. A closer look revealed a handicapped license plate which led second thoughts of courage or insanity.
Inside the owner was approaching, bright red 3/4 helmet on and one of those frightening, demonic skull masks covering the lower part of the face. An eclectic combination of a big, hooded parka, blaze orange vest, camouflage gloves, jeans, and black boots hinted that the rider used their scooter for utilitarian transport with little thought about the style and convention of the riding fashionista companies that consume a lot of us. The jury was still out on courage or insanity.
After an initial comment, “Quite a day to be on a scooter,” a conversation ensued that was both intriguing and frightening. Allow me to begin…
It was a dark and icy day. All the riders were home snug in their caves. But one rider was on the road, using his scooter to retrieve required medications, and take care of a friend’s dog. He had already ridden twelve miles in the icy mess and had displayed the soaking wet pants from knees down due to the constant out-rigging of his boots to stay upright. I know the technique and it’s tedious and tiring. At this point I was leaning towards the courageous side of courage or insanity.
But there was the matter of the handicapped plate. The rider shared his conversion from four-wheels to two which hinted at financial need. The scooter was his daily transportation. He also related the incredulity he faces when people try and balance a handicap with a two-wheeled scooter. Listening I was saying to myself “emotional or mental handicap of some sort,” though the conversation did not reveal any hints of this. Then the facts emerged.
Nerve damage affecting both arms to the point they could not reliably be used unless a surgical intervention took place. Current status has several vertebrate fused and a titanium plate and rod keeping the neck together. “Nerves are like bare wires,” made me cringe as he discussed how sudden jerks and movements could impair movement or cause permanent damage. I’m now moving towards the insanity side of the courage or insanity balance.
And then he becomes quiet for a moment and says, “I want to live my life.”
The statement hangs in the air like a slowly fading smoke ring until I reply, “I understand.”
And then he went outside and was gone. When I left a few minutes later I could see his single track across the parking lot with his boot marks dragging along side.
And I’m still wondering now if it’s courage or insanity.
“I want to live my life.”
I guess I wouldn’t say insanity. I can completely understand the statement.
When you ride at -25F you can’t refer to much as insane can you?
Courage. We do what we do to survive.
I live with a disabled woman, I see the pain that she sometimes has to go through to do what you and I barely ever think about. She wants nothing more than to live a simple “normal” life.
I don’t think we can really appreciate the beauty of a simple life until it becomes a struggle to have it. Health challenges of all kinds can really shake things up that way. I hope your partner finds “normal” as often as possible.
Holy smokes what a story. I would say that person had guts.
Brent
I wish I had more time to talk with him. I didn’t want to pry or seem judgmental so I mostly listened. And I wish I had taken a couple pictures. I’ll have to keep my eye out for him.
Wow! I love to ride as much as the next guy, but risking paralysis and permanent damage on ice? Give the man an ‘A’ for Guts.
Scary to think about…
Wow!
Courage? Insanity? No… Necessity. But maybe not only economical necessity (or not at all)…
So weighted, so pregnant is “I want to live my life.”
It can be a concession, a cry, a plea… It can be an unconditional demand.
“I just want to live my life.”
“I just want to live, already.”
“Dammit, I just want to LIVE!”
Necessity, as many of us know, is seldom defined solely by physical, mental, or economical limitations. It’s often what one must do to feel alive, or to get as close to that as possible.
Thank you, Steve, for sharing this. It is an incredible story and was an awesome encounter you had. This is life, dammit! This is life. It is not perfect (whatever the hell that is). It rarely is tidy. It is raw and it is messy, and that can be beautiful.
I suppose the “I want to live my life” is what stuck with me after the encounter. Riding in the snow on a scooter might be a novel activity but nothing more. But the thing that drove this person was strong.
Your thoughts that life is neither perfect or tidy is good to remember. Seems a lot of us try to make things perfect and tidy…
A fantastic story, thanks for sharing.
I don’t often come across situations like this and thought it was worth sharing. Glad you found value in it.
Just found your entertaining blog, I’m researching the scooter issue to use as transportation when I am RVing full time and not wanting the expense and hassle of towing a car or using my class c mh as my only mode of transport . Being retired and I’ll admit 62, having not ridden a motorcycle since sometime in the last century, I’m wondering, as my kids are, am I crazy.
I’ll be camp hosting, so mostly rural back road riding, but still I’m questioning my true ability to really take on this option.
Thanks for much of your incite and I’ll be reading more as the winter days move on.
Happy New Year…
Well, 62 isn’t too old to start riding a scooter and I can see great advantages to it over using the motorhome to run to the grocery store.
If I were in your shoes I would answer a couple questions before pursuing the scooter as your camp transportation option:
1. Are you willing to enroll in a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (or equivalent) training class? There is no substitute for this in my mind. Builds good habits, teaches you how to exist on the road. Driving a car or having ridden decades earlier doesn’t count for much.
2. Are the locations I plan to ride good for a scooter? Weather, roads, traffic, etc. With over 40K scooter miles under my belt in all kinds of locations and weather this wouldn’t be an issue. But if you are just starting out and plan to park your RV near Washington, DC, NYC, anywhere with heavily traffic roads I would think twice. But if it’s rural backroads, dirt, gravel, then I would not blink at having a scooter.
3. Am I willing to assume risk? This is the one that bothers your kids and fuels your own misgivings. Let’s be honest — you can get hurt on a scooter. Accidents are just worse on two-wheels. That said, I firmly believe that the risk can be managed to a level where I’m comfortable with the trade off from air-bagged car to exposed scooter. You need to think hard about this.
If you answer all the questions affirmatively then I would not hesitate putting a scooter rack on the back of the RV. Not only will it manage your errands and chores but it will be a lot more fun that a car.
Hope this helps.