Fog on the Mountain
Standing in the yard with the dogs this morning I could see fog on the mountain. The scooter moves toward it like a compass needle points north. I feel the draw. And I feel the pressure of responsibility to work, or take care of the incessant business of life. A friend suggests I abandon work and go for a ride.
While standing here making the photograph of the road disappearing into the fog I’me struck by how infrequent it is that I feel disconnected from responsibility, free from the thoughts that I need to be somewhere or do something. Riding goes to great lengths to help detach for awhile. I suspect many experience that riding freedom. But I wonder what true freedom feels like. Or even if it exists at all.
I had to revisit a piece I wrote for Motorcycle.com called Riding and the Taste of Freedom. See how my thinking changes. Or doesn’t.
Vespa on Dirt Roads
All the ice is gone along with most of the loose gravel. The Vespa can easily move along at 25mph which allows plenty of time for sightseeing and rubbernecking. A little throttle and the scooter runs at 35, then 45mph. Fast for little wheels on dirt. Especially when it’s periodically covered with a skim of muddy clay.
Switchback Riding
The muddy road is slippery. Almost as bad as snow in places. The street tires on the Vespa don’t help. It’s the second time I wonder out loud why I didn’t mount the winter tires this year.
Back to the sense of enslavement I can feel at times. I try and think of the last time I felt I didn’t need to be anywhere or do anything. It happens. But not often when I’m riding. What’s strange is often I don’t need to be anywhere or do anything. Yet there it is, imprinted on my brain. A conditioned response no doubt.
Can I be reconditioned after I retire?
Scooter in the Mountains
Riding is the best platform for thought I’ve found in life. The only thing that comes close is a hot shower. I do my best thinking during those times. The extremes of weather — fog and snow in my case — interrupt the process a bit by overloading the brain with visual distraction. A daydreamer by nature, I find my mind wandering from the supernatural to the heroic in these situations. The camera follows along creating stories in my head that I’m thankful don’t make it to the viewer.
The Vespa scooter isn’t the perfect machine for these roads. At least not the way I have it setup. The suspension is more than adequate but the tires are lacking. I’ve ridden a half dozen motorcycles through these mountains and appreciate their indifference to most any road surface or obstacle. I’m also painfully aware of their ponderous, lumbering nature compared to the scooter for almost any low speed or foot powered maneuver.
Perhaps I need to explore a dirt bike more akin to those I rode as a kid when 125 or 175cc was more power than a boy would ever need. The smallest dual sport bike I’ve ridden through here was the BMW F650 GS or the Kawasaki KLR. Both lovely to ride but heavy compared to the Vespa.
Odd what goes through my head while I’m riding. Or when I’m pounding out a post in the middle of the night. I’ll have to visit a palm reader to figure out what’s going on. Did that once before. A story for another time…
“Perhaps I need to explore a dirt bike more akin to those I rode as a kid when 125 or 175cc was more power than a boy would ever need.”
Perhaps the new BMW G310R. It’s the same price as a new 300 Vespa and world’s more versatile. Plus it’s not a tall and heavy DP machine.
I wanted to like the new BMW but geez, it’s not the most attractive motorcycle. I flit all over in terms of bikes. One day I want a Triumph Scrambler. The next, a vintage BMW airhead. And lately, I’ve had my eye on the Yamaha SR400.
Who knows…
Had a friends new scrambler in Daytona couple weeks ago.
Keep it on the list…but its no dual sport. Magic motor…good gearbox…and good ergos after some new bars and grips…
I’ve really enjoyed riding the Triumph Scrambler. Heavier than I would like but the things rides like a dream. And looks like one too. Unique look on the road…
SR400 has no electric start…old man…real throwback…
I wouldn’t have to drag my little lithium battery along in case the standard one dies…
Paul Simon did a song, well actually 2, on an album called “Maybe I Think too Much.” I know this all to well. Riding is one of those times I can kind of shut it off. Maybe it is just that I focusing on all the other things that one must when on 2 wheels that keeps my mind so occupied that I don’t fill it with work, worry, what ifs, or what could be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR-WAfxOEKY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR-WAfxOEKY
Maybe I do think too much…
… wondering if you shouldn’t have those winter tires mounted on their own rims. It would make the switch-over ‘easier’.
I should. I’ve just not found wheels on eBay at a price I want to pay.
I don’t think you will have any difficulty making your upcoming transition. Out for a walk Monday morning, trolling for espresso, I savoured the quiet in our normally much noisier neighbourhood. Most everyone was off at one thing or another and I was strolling along listening to the just setting up blackbirds. Exquisite. My mind tends to wander walking and riding. Yesterday I managed both, 120 miles on my DR650, the first longer ride of the year as our weather has thankfully let up. Having ridden some in your part of the world I would think a CRF250L, or something similar, would be a joy but the Vespa seems to work too. I have been giving the scooter thing a thought or two myself, who knows?
Trolling for espresso… that’s a nice image. Retirement will have me out doing things like you describe. I am looking forward to building that second life.
I have high hopes for you Steve, once you retire, that you’ll recondition your mind to the new freedoms….
Let’s hope so.
With your height, I would think that a dual-sport bike would be a natural fit. I would recommend you go to Best Line and try out the Kawasaki Versys-X 300 when it arrives (https://www.kawasaki.com/Products/2017-Versys-X-300-ABS). 300cc twin cylinder (smoother than a single), still has low weight, good ergos for a taller person, less than 400lbs.
Riding is often a meditation for me, clearing the fog in my mind. Initially retirement felt like an extended vacation, and for the next several months I was actively tackling my long ” to do list” around the house. So much I could finally accomplish here! My husband was already retired and had gone through the ” who am I now?” phase years before – already well practiced in his response of ” I’m a layabout” when asked. I noticed that he still “managed xxx miles ” of riding most days.
The stress and pace were greatly changed. I think it was about 6 months after I retired that I suddenly noticed that my head felt lighter, my neck muscles weren’t tight, as I sat reading… a novel ! A friend called to arrange a meeting and when I looked at the calendar I caught myself thinking that already having 1 item on a day meant it was busy – my calendar used to be booked every 1/2 hour…..
It took a bit of practice but I am learning my new role – now hesitant to make firm commitments in riding season – might need to leave for a longer ride and cancel!
Accomplishments have different meanings now. Time is often spent enjoying nature, walking, riding, friends and best of all sharing it with my husband – blackbirds setting up our wandering home.
The top photo is a little dark and its eerie to me. It’s not a happy(?) bright fog. Thank goodness I don’t have to explain it (no need to always explain art), it’s good enough just to say it’s what it is.
Fog, either in the distance as illustrated or between one’s ears. both cause consternation. Now as to riding on gravelled surfaces, that is different. Would suspect what you call “dirt” roads are more than likely gravelled surfaces; dirt is what you get under your fingernails, soil is what allows things to take root and grow.
Mind in this particular situation you can comfort yourself knowing those snow tires will be good for yet another year without wear, unlike the Vespa which lived in the local metal banger/auto body shop for a good portion of the winter being readied for the here and now.
And between thee and me, keep riding the Vespa. You need some many months to really know your financial status after retirement before spending money on a new or replacement set of wheels.
Steve,
I can’t wait to see what you do in retirement. I have been retired now, since March 21, for 5 months. It is so nice to do whatever I want with the unstructured time I have available to me each day. Can’t wait until it gets warmer so I can ride my Vespa more often.
Perhaps a TW200 would suit your needs for traveling gravel and mud coated back roads. It’s not fast or powerful, but it is good for puttering along smelling the roses.
No ABS or other rider aids, and likely has a lower top speed than your Vespa (freeways are right out), but they are fun little machines to explore with.
A neighbor and his wife both have them. They loved them at first and then as their riding prowess increased they wanted to go farther. And then came the speed complaints. I think those motorcycles are pretty cool.
You would get so bored if you had the right tool for the job. I am looking forward to retirement, a return to my shiftless youth, the open road, no obligations answerable to no one. True freedom, I’m ready. And this time I’ll do it on land not on a boat so that will be a ton easier.
Answerable to no one. I wonder all the time if that exists. Certainly you couldn’t be in any sort of meaningful relationship. At least not how I define it. Hence my pondering of the existence of true freedom. Sounds nice though.
On land — definitely easier.