Do Expressway Miles Qualify as Riding?
Scooting along on a four-lane highway can rack up miles in a hurry as the world flies by at 70 miles per hour. I’ve found myself in this situation many times as I hurry from one point to another because I’ve become enslaved to a clock or calendar. But what of that Vespa mileage? Is it anything other than tedium because I’m robbed of experience save for keeping the scooter upright and in a straight line, especially when a tractor trailer rig blows by at breathtaking speed.
When rider discussions turn toward mileage, I often wonder about the quality of those miles and whether it’s just a big contest requiring a ruler…
The Slower the Road the Richer the Experience.
A photographer I know who has documented this country from vantage points on roads and byways once told me you see nothing over 35 miles per hour. And if by chance you do you’re going too fast to do anything about it. He’s not a rider but takes in the world from an SUV. While you could argue that the cage further insulates the driver from the world requiring even slower speeds to take things in but my own experience has been, scooter or cage, that you need to go slowly if you want to appreciate the details in the world and not just the outlandish sculpture of the American landscape.
Lying on a road isn’t something I suggest anyone do. But on this ride with my friend Paul, it represents the relative slowness of the road. No one pushing to go faster, no traffic pattern to conform to. Only my own decision on how fast to ride. I may pass fewer miles but I suspect I see and experience more.
Time Not Miles
Should someone be tallying annual miles ridden on their scooter or motorcycle I might suggest something more in line with an airliner — what’s the hour count on the machine. How many hours have you ridden? I’ve been on many 50 mile rides that have taken all day to complete. During that time I’ve seen more plants and trees, turtles and birds, eaten food with the wind in my face, turned my camera toward passing clouds, and generally felt the electricity of being alive. And I’ve flown as one can only do on two wheels.
Everyone’s interests, goals and needs are different. Some race across the country on the superslab just to spend a few days puttering along the quiet roads of some more exotic place. I’ll probably do that myself someday after I’ve experienced all there is to see here. I’ve only been exploring on two wheels for ten years so it may be awhile before I feel the need to travel to the next state.
But generally, 200 miles on an interstate highway? Or more? I’d rather have a sharp stick stuck in my eye…
I’ve looked at my odometer on my two bigger bikes and wondered how many of those were rides of quality. On my two scoots with lower mileage I seem to feel they all were…
I wonder how much of that difference is because on the bigger machines the choice of roads changes, speeds increase, and choices of destinations move farther away. And while the destination may be reached the journey itself is drained. I feel much like you — even the shortest little errand on the scooter seems like a great little ride.
I would even argue that 200 miles on the Interstate is like a sharp stick in th eye. I realize it every time I take the Mass Pike to Boston and back.
You know Frank — you’re the one who slowed me down on the road. One of your stops here you uttered that wisdom. As far as the Mass Pike goes, my limited experience suggests any miles on it is like a sharp stick stuck in the eye.
And congratulations Grandpa! Give my best to Libby and family.
I much prefer empty country roads to highways or urban areas, but I have always enjoyed speed.
Riding across the country last year found me riding 300+ mile days in less than five hours. And I loved every mile, and hour.
I appreciate the slow rides as well. My friend, Lostboater, is showing me that slowing down and even stopping to smell some roses can be fun. So old dogs can learn new tricks.
But get be on a hilly, curvy bit of smooth asphalt and I will quickly revert back to attacking every apex.
I suppose I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum Bill. This old dog hasn’t learned the high speed, attacking ever apex yet. When I see a curvy road ahead I’m more often moving along like the kiddie train at the amusement park. I suppose that’s not very macho…
Full confession though — I can ride fast if required. I’ve raced through traffic far faster than I should more than once to get somewhere because I was “late”. The Vespa is great at dodging and negotiating small openings. I seldom do it, especially as a case of the old mellows is setting in…
I understand both riding styles. I just like to go fast…Vespa fast.
Thank goodness I have the sense to stop there, with no interest in riding a sport bike or anything much faster. I have a Honda NC, but find myself riding that slower than I ride my scooters.
I simply love those little machines.
“Vespa fast”….one of my favorite activities is pushing a machine to its limits…fast on a small bike, dirt roads on a sportbike…pushing the envelope as it were.
Seduction of “The edge”
Old age, and painful experiences, have moved my edges. Lol.
Not yet the memories.
Yes, yes, I like this!
“…moved my edges…” YEP.
One thing I’ve learned over the years is there is no “right” scooter or motorcycle and no “right” way to ride. We all have our unique desires, needs and abilities to sort out and find what works. Not everyone learns or sorts in the same way so you can see a real range of experiences.
I’ve gone fast – real fast – and slow. I’ve been through 37 states on two wheels, so far, and I’ve enjoyed every mile. Every ride has made its own story of memories, sights, and experiences.
Sounds like a great experience all around. Stay safe and have a great time!
Thanks for your most interesting thoughts. My exploring started at age 35, and my bikes are getting smaller and lighter at around 220,000 miles and 32 years. Yes, I enjoy noticing the tallies, but it is for the memories, the new people, friends, the beauty, the food, the wonder filled experiences. Distance is showing itself on my physical side too, and just yesterday another friend’s heart attack reminds me of the importance of treasuring the slower journey and each opportunity. A twisty river road can bring the magic, the rhythm, a dip in the river on a hot day, lunch on a hillside. Riding along a quiet country road, I often find a smile on my face and contentment in my heart. One day it may well be a scooter.
You’ve painted the near perfect picture of what riding can offer. When it’s working, it is a lush, rich experience that leaves smiles and contentment in it’s wake. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences.
220,000 miles over thirty two years of living. What a gift…
Living in one of the largest urban areas of the country, riding on freeway a necessary evil, which can mean not only high speed but nerve wracking claustrophobic low speed. Most days I have chosen where I am going to ride purely on the amount of freeway riding. Because of the areas population mass you rarely get the feeling of solitude I have felt in other parts of the country I had ventured. The speed traveled even on less traveled road can often be set by the others using it. I have no problem waving others by to continue on my chosen pace.
One of the payoffs of the area I live is, it is home to what some consider a few of the great motorcycle roads. I will be honest that some times speed is just what is need to enhance my enjoyment that day. Quick-quick-slow-slow
I don’t get to urban areas as much as I used to. And seldom on two wheels. But I can appreciate the special challenges of traffic and speed and the need to utilize freeways to get where you want to be. My own experience is rather guarded and simple. All part of the luck of the draw we each find ourselves in.
I’ve not warmed to speed like many have. Even when I was young I had an aversion to going fast and not because I wanted to see things.
Anyways, thanks for sharing your experience with miles and riding.
I rather like the sensation of speed once in a while, which frequently brings me back to a quip Jay Leno made in one of his Garage videos in regard to one of his many vehicles, a Mazda MX-5/Miata: it’s not about going “fast”, but going swiftly. The Vespa, in my case the GTS, offers me a mild sensation of swiftness at 30mph, serious swiiftness at 50, and crazy-swiftness anywhere seriously north of that. (70mph feels like barnstorming, just safer.) But the secret to this bike is that it’s not just “okay” with just poking along – it’s totally cool with it. I don’t think too many of your contemporary hairy-chest machines would feel too easy to handle rolling along at, say, 25mph…in fact, I’d bet they’d feel like more than a handful at that speed than at 60-70. (A typical, top-heavy ADV would seem almost dangerous.)
The Vespa’s beauty, then, is in its utter absence of expectations placed upon the rider: plod it, cruise it, whip it…it’s all okay, and I totally dig it.
I agree — the GTS is swift. And quick. And nimble. You’re right about big machines and slow speeds — they can be a handful. Twenty-five miles per hour isn’t bad but drop below ten or five and do some manuevering — yikes. Definitely requires skill.
You’ve summed up the Vespa well.
Highway miles are hard on my rigs, even when you keep things at 55 mph…hence their presently being trailered when on overnight trips.
I always thought you were hard on those rigs Dom!
Steve, another great post, thanks very much! But I would be grateful to read some real tips about riding the Vespa on the highway when it does become necessary to do so. I have a friend who rides his at 55mph in the far right lane and just lets the cars pass him, but that seems like a good way to get run over. Yet at 70mph my GTS300 has very little “extra” left, in case of emergency. So what’s the solution? Just stay off the highway completely? Whatever advice you could offer would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Riding a GTS300 on the freeway at 70mph may not leave you with extra power to speed away from things but it does leave a remarkable level of maneuverability to dodge, evade and avoid trouble. Power is only one tool.
When I ride on Interstate 99 the traffic is often moving at speeds between 70 and 80 miles per hour. I cruise at 65 and don’t have trouble and regularly pass vehicles going slower. I’ve been on motorcycles at similar speeds with the ability to rocket to 100mph but that has never been a concern anymore than it is when I’m driving my little Honda Fit. What does concern me is how fast can I react, how fast can I stop, and how skilled will I be when I need to evade something.
For many, avoiding the freeway will be their first choice. I do. But not because I don’t belong there on the scooter or feel unsafe. I avoid it because it’s just such a bore…
Among my bikes and scooters in the garage I have a pair of 250 Hondas to supplement my 750 Kawasaki. A 250 Nighthawk or Rebel is just as capable of traveling at break neck speeds as it is doing 30 mph or less. I’ve done both.
A good rider can ride a fast bike slowly, and comfortably, if he chooses. I took the MSF Experienced Rider Course on a 650cc Kawasaki Twin fairly easily. The course included doing figure eights in “The Box”, a twenty by forty foot enclosure, several times. In my MUCH younger days I won a Field Event with a 600 pound machine. I’m not that nimble anymore as old age and neurological issues has run me over.
http://twowheeler.yolasite.com/index/the-trophy
No fun to have things run you over — especially neurologic ones. You’re right of course about bike size and riding slowly. It’s ultimately a decision and not anything intrinsic to the machine. As I get older the weight of what I’m riding becomes more and more important. Not that I could ride something heavier, but I like the lighter machine when I have to push it out of mud or snow…