Embracing the Morning Commute
A quick post, a nod to commuting on the Vespa scooter, a recognition of the transformation from transportation to a flying freedom.
First, a confession. I don’t commute every day. Some days I shrink at the thought of riding to work. It could be the weather but more often it’s a state of mind mired with indolence and too many excuses to ready body and mind for the gift of riding. I know. It makes no sense.
But more times than not, I do ride to work. And one thing is always the same. When I am geared up and ready to go, walking toward the scooter in the morning light, I feel the thrill. It’s the same excitement from childhood as the prospect of doing something I’ve dreamt of doing. How great is that? A little ride on a two-wheeled machine can provide an old man such pleasure.
And one more confession. There are obsessive days where I lust for a ride. I care little about the weather and any mental misgivings are long swept away by a selfish drive to experience the thrill of riding. It accounts for sub-zero rides in winter or inappropriately late arrivals at work as I roll off a 5o mile detour. Again, what a damn amazing gift for an old man.
I think about riding when I wake. I think about it when I’m going to sleep. An addiction? Perhaps. But my life has not become unmanageable.
Yet.
Who knows what the next commute will bring. And what of the longer rides to come? The real rides. The rides of dreams.
What will they bring an old man with a scooter?
I get those same feelings. Ride on.
Riding on is the best medicine.
Ooooh, “the rides of dreams.” I may have to borrow that phrase.
There really is an element of thrill in riding a motorcycle. And it’s not always obvious. Yes, the speed is thrilling, but there are so many other things, like the feeling of it all. Temperature fluctuations. Smells (both good and made). Maneuverability. Being in the environment instead of just moving through it.
I can’t imagine not having that escape in my life. And I plan on riding as long as I possibly can.
The more I ride the more I learn about it — technically, and as an experience. It’s like peeling an onion. There are layers and layers…
The moment I start gearing up, my heart rate increases noticeably, mental checklists are invoked, and a strict sequence of actions is followed….once the ignition turns over the engine, a calm descends and vigilance ramps way up….
Exactly!
For me, it’s always been thus. First on the bicycle, which, with the exception of an unexplainable seven-year gap, has been a lifelong activity, to a short-but-thrilling stint with off-road motorcycling, to a return to the motorized world a year and a half ago, after a 40-year absence. Pedaling is still fun, mind you, but the Vespa…it’s simply not fair to compare the two, as they’re palpably different. Commuting – that amount which I actually do, based on my freelance schedule – is jolly-good fun, even in slightly-questionable weather. Errand-running is fun; as I mentioned before in another thread, rather than rolling my eyes every time Sig. Other makes a shopping request, I sometimes come up with excuses to hop on and run off to get something…and dutifully remind her of how much better mileage Melody gets than Harriet (pet name for her Honda CR-V). My sole frustration has been my not having gotten out for a long, pure pleasure ride, which I wanted to get a few of under my belt before I venture into your territory for the Moto Hang. The rides will happen, though.
I think non-riding significant others have a really hard time understanding the attraction of what must be a kind of mechanized death machine to many. Explanations don’t help, or at least can’t penetrate a lifetime of scary stories about motorcycles. Exactly how something that’ akin to a lawn tractor can provide pure pleasure just doesn’t make sense at all.
Alas, the burden of a rider in a committed relationship with an unbeliever…
I have to say there are days when I feel like this, the pull of the ride, the insatiable appetite for riding and then there are a few mornings where I think “Nope not going to happen” and I succumb to the car.
I long for the days when I am doing a “ride of my dreams” and for me it is not always some big epic long ride, but it can be a short zip out to the country, enough for me to get immersed into leaning into the curve, smelling the sweetness of blossoms, the tang of wood smoke from spring burning and the earthy soil. As I write this I am sitting at my computer and I am dreaming of my last rip, I can feel the sun on my shoulders, feel the calm zen-like state that comes over and the utterly pure peace.
The thing that riding has done for me has been to unearth my sense of adventure and wanderlust, I want to explore and take pictures.
Wonderfully written Dar!
“Nope, not going to happen.” I hate those days and I love those days. I’ll admit it — there can be something approaching hedonistic pleasure in a car if your mind is in the right place. The luxe feel of modern vehicles is nothing like a ride in my dad’s 1958 Dodge Pickup truck.
But a car has never (yet) igniting the sense of adventure and wanderlust you’ve pointed out. The Vespa does — almost every ride!
You’re description of the ride experience is sublime. The tang of woodsmoke — those words instantly had me on a ride. Great stuff.
My car is a 1998 Ford contour – I have dubbed it the Millennium Falcon, because it truly is a junker and there is absolutely nothing inspiring about my car or luxurious, in fact I find it depressing when I drive it. It is purely a utilitarian thing for me and I think it will never ignite a sense of adventure to take a trip. I am in the process of trying to find a vehicle that gives me a little more. I have a VW Westfalia, which I love driving, but it is too tall for the parkade at my work.
I think I will just keep dreaming of my last ride.
Ahhh, a Westfalia…. I dream of them though the prices have gone through the roof.
I took my drivers test in a 1970 Volkswagen Campmobile. It had all the Westfalia gear — popup top, attached tent. It proceeded the versions that had the nice built in stove and refrigerator. We used a Coleman stove and had a built in icebox. Would love to get another one.
Our oldest vehicle now, a 2003 Honda Odyssey van, is nothing like the Campmobile. It’s a luxurious thing.
Maybe when I retire I can start dreaming of rides yet to be…
Steve – I rarely commute only because of the hellacious morning and evening traffic. Worked only half a day today so I DID ride Isabella. Beautiful morning 66 degrees, I left early to beat the traffic. Lunch time ride home – 80 degrees, sunny and it took me much longer to get home! Imagine that. 🙂
Sounds like the perfect day to escape work for a midday ride. I didn’t do enough of that.
How do you explain those longer than necessary rides home?
I explain it simply as: I took a motorcycle’s route home. Not being a rider my wife doesn’t get it but knows me. I can “run up to the hardware store” and neglect to tell her it’s one 28 miles away and not the one 3 miles from the house. 🙂
Exactly. Kim, I think, has come to understand the idea of riding routes being slightly different than driving routes!
I am always a little disappointed when I don’t get to commute on the scoot.
I suppose we need disappointment and sadness to appreciate happiness and joy…
Mike – Don’t you think though on those days there might be a grander reason why you aren’t on the scooter/bike? I sometimes think there are reasons that I can’t explain that put me in my car and when I do ride the bike it makes it a sweeter more pleasurable experience .
Dar – good point. Perhaps the car commutes, makes me appreciate the ones on the bike? I’ll ponder that one – while on the bike! 🙂
If working life has its challenges, so does retirement. Adjusting takes time. I am just as busy now as I was before. Oddly, due to many circumstances, I seem to have less ‘me’ time, and that’s one of the challenges. Not commuting means riding less, and that’s another. The really good news is that it’s not like jumping out of a plane, it’s more like turning a corner. When you tally up the puts and takes, it’s definitely a win.
I’m ready to turn the corner. The passing of time has speeded up this past week. Probably because there is so much to do. Once I realize it just won’t all get done before I retire the speed will change again.
Wait till you can just ride, not associated with a commute.
I recommend it highly. 🙂
I am looking forward to the change. Trying to imagine riding without a schedule.