Noise and Chaos
After a week of a sore back, thoughts of retirement and looming deadlines at work, I was ready for some Vespa medicine. Something to slow down the neurons firing in my head. A ride on the scooter to soak up the crazy energy and let me savor the world.
Heading for a cup of tea I looked at my reflection in the window. Smiling, thanks to a little ride into town.
Scooter for the Urban Jungle
I can hardly invoke the term “urban” or pretend the towns I ride through are a “jungle”. Still, it’s what I encounter. The ribbons of asphalt encountered in the countryside make the jaunts through town seem hectic in comparison. The Vespa was designed with these sorts of places in mind and performs so well that I almost look forward to the times when I’m not looking for groundhogs and deer and instead grow wary of pedestrians and traffic lights. The Vespa medicine is so strong that I seldom find even a slight rise in heart rate amidst the traffic that has others voicing their displeasure with horns and hand signals.
Riding soothes the beast.
Euphoria in the Mist
God I love riding in the mist, navigating under a murky sky in a thin drizzle. All riders have a description in their head of ideal riding conditions. My own lean toward cold, dark and wet. An unexplained thrill runs through my body that I can only attribute to some internal fantasy at work transforming an ordinary experience on the road into something just short of magical. There’s a romance in the ride that sparks a physical reaction that’s hard to describe.
The effect of the Vespa medicine is enhanced.
Unexceptional Riding
Seldom see a motorcycle at the grocery store. Nothing adventurous, heroic or ego-building in collecting supplies. The scooter seems to yield more easily to utilitarian tasks. Or so I believe — it’s something magical about the Vespa and has little to do with the rider. Whatever is at work, a ride to the grocery store can be as thrilling as a ride through the Quehanna Wilderness area.
I’m powerless over my Vespa and my life has become unmanageable. Vespa medicine has unlooked for side effects.
Home Again, Home Again Jiggety-Jig
From home to market and back again — living a nursery rhyme on a scooter, an aging man swept up in mechanical magic that propels an ordinary experience into something more, an undeniable craving to be flying along the road with the cares and concerns of life burned away leaving a simple thrill at being alive in the world.
Amazing what a little Vespa medicine can do.
Off for a few weeks Steve, to Singapore & Sumatra. Maybe say Hello to a few ‘rangers. (That’s a hard “g”). I’d just love to see them try to ride a Vespa. They would need ape-hanger handle bars.
Expect you to be retired when I return.
A new adventure ahead to write about.
Unless you’re staying away until next June I’ll still have my nose to the wheel when you get back. May take a little adventure though..
Have fun in Singapore and Sumatra. Sounds pretty exotic from where I sit…
I had a meeting downtown yesterday. I had to wear a suit and tie which is now unfamiliar territory for me.
I chose the Vespa over the car. Siri promised a 30 minute trip, provided I stuck to expressways. I emptied the topcase and that is where the suit jacket rode and where I stashed my riding jacket on arrival.
Walking from the parking garage to the 30th floor meeting in a glass tower carrying my helmet earned me some quizzical stares.
Riding was very therapeutic and erased any psychic damage the suit may have caused. Worth every head-scratching look I got along the way.
I can stand the suit. It’s the shoes that kill me. Still, I understand the psychic damage. For a long time my job requirements were no dress code, no regular hours. The Vespa is a proper antidote to that stuff gone wrong.
Right now, I feel as if i’m falling in love all over again with the Vespa. Your comments remind me why.
Hi! A new rider here. Got my Vespa two months ago. Your blog sums up the reasons I ride so well! Thanks for sharing your thoughts .
Great post Steve. I see myself in you and where you are in life. Keep riding… you give me inspiration.
Steve, another fab post! You may have touched on this many times in the past,but for those of us out of that loop,could you explain what you do at Penn.
Thanks.
” I love riding in the mist, navigating under a murky sky in a thin drizzle.”
I did this on Saturday for a hundred and fifty miles on a Honda Rebel with windscreen. I was achy from the chill and needed several minutes to loosen up. My favorite riding is in hot, humid weather where the wind adds cooling and the sun brightens the scenery. At my age cold makes me sore, heat loosens up my joints.
Everyone is different.
Steve, you wrote: Walking from the parking garage to the 30th floor meeting in a glass tower carrying my helmet earned me some quizzical stares. — those weren’t quizzical, they were stares of jealousy and envy.
Riding used to calm the beast within me, nowadays, not so much.
Show me that I’m everywhere/And get me home for tea.
Ah, a Vespa parked at a Wegmans – just like Melody, I’m not surprised yours is the only one parked in that lot. If I had five bucks for every time someone came up to me to talk about the bike as I was packing bags of groceries in the pet carrier, I’d already have the crash bars and flyscreen I’m trying to save up for. 😉
As I’ve said before, I can’t think of a single chore or errand that hasn’t been made less onerous when it’s involved hopping on Melody to “git ‘er done.” The Vespa almost seems to dare you not to lighten up just a bit, whatever bit of a momentary funk you might find yourself in. It’s not the cure for everything, but it seems to cover a lot of ground, literally and figuratively.
Chores and errands are largely enjoyable if I can ride. I’m trying to think of something that’s still a drag but I can’t at the moment.
Rain tomorrow. Ride still makes sense.