Not Much to Say, No Where Special to Go
The past week I’ve been wandering. Sometimes with purpose. Other times aimlessly. Each ride has been an exercise in following a whim, a feeling, going where ever the current takes me. Riding a Vespa scooter certainly makes it easy to embrace that sort of thing.
As many of you know, summer is not my favorite time to ride. Sunny days just look sort of plain. Boring. And they’re often hot. Mileage drops this time of year along with my posting frequency.
The Vespa scooter doesn’t shrink from sunshine or heat and would be happy to pound on down the road for weeks, months and years. Wandering around the rural roads near home, I realize my mind wanders as well.
All part of everyday exploring on the Vespa.
Sign to Ride
Since I retired people assume I’m riding more. I have, though not the big trips many imagine. Despite the signs on the road suggesting I get on the scooter and head out for a ride, I’ve been spending more time reading and writing.
The rides will come.
On Down the Road
Like I often do, I find myself riding down gravel roads. The Vespa takes them on like a champ, but lately, I find myself looking at dual sport motorcycles and wondering…
Sat on a BMW G650GS today at Kissell Motorsports along with an BMW F800 GS Adventure. The picture would look a little different. The riding experience would change.
Wouldn’t it?
Anyways, still kicking here in the sticks.
Or not.
Ride safe.
kenneth wilson says
Retirement. What a wonderful place to visit. Don’t set there to long, you might get stuck. I don’t mean get a job. Get or keep a purpose. There are plenty to chose from.
Last week I finished a scooter ride through the south with my brother who had retired 9 days before we started. The biggest comment from friends about the pictures was about the smile on his face in all the pictures.
http://2017scooterdiaries.blogspot.com/p/big-red-goes-to-farm.html
As long as you are smiling, your good.
Steve Williams says
Ken,
A friend told me the same thing at breakfast a few days ago — find a purpose lest the time fly by before you know it. I’m zeroing in on mine.
I read your post. That was quite a trip. And bed bugs! What a plus!! Geez. I almost won’t stay in a hotel anymore because of the things I’ve learned about them through my job. Had a woman working for me who’s previous job was growing bed bugs for a lab. Millions of them. She said her husband implored her each day to not bring any home.
Your brother does have a smile on his face. I hope to wear one as well!
Douglas Sandmeyer says
Hi Steve,
I have been wondering how retirement would impact your riding. I’ve found it difficult to just take off on a ride, guess I’ll have to work on that. I knew I could keep busy after retirement but two years on and I’m still busier than ever.
I have been looking at the adventure bikes as well, unfortunately we don’t have a BMW dealer near enough so I’m sitting on 650 V-Stroms and similar. Tried a 300 Versys but that felt buzzier than the GTS300 Vespa.
Keep on scooting.
Doug
Steve Williams says
So far I’m busier now than when I was working. In part, that business has led to me just lounging around the rest of the time. But I can see the busy-ness lessening.
I’ve looked at a couple of the 650 V-Stroms and they are not without interest.
The GTS300 Vespa is hard to beat.
Louie Vetter says
Your mind is adjusting to not HAVING to be at a certain place at a certain time. It takes a while to come to grips with it. Lean back, close your eyes and smile. The first days I was able to sit back and watch the masses toil to work in a snowstorm were mind boggling. I just sipped my coffee and smiled. It will come.
Steve Williams says
I’m learning to enjoy the luscious pleasure of a midday nap….
Thanks for the thoughts. I’ll be sipping tea and watching the masses as well.
dom chang says
You’re right, summer’s heat makes riding with ATGATT uncomfortable at best…still, the initial cooling off once one gets moving again….
The light of the midday sun is usually flat to my eyes, makes for boring pics and yet you make it work for you.
Steve Williams says
I’ve always struggled to get excited by the mid day light. At least in terms of photography. It’s something I need to embrace and practice more.
The heat — I almost don’t want to ride when things head toward 90. But like you say, once in motion it’s not so bad.
BWB (amateriat) says
As I type this, I’m on a NJ Transit train from Long Branch, NJ to NYC to give tech support to an artist client in SoHo. Since it’s going to thunderstorm up, well, a storm later in the day, I decided not to ride Melody to the station and hitched a ride from the wife this time out.
I’ve often tried to tease out that crucial difference between the freelance life and genuine retirement: the need to still generate income for a bit longer (I’m mere months away from being able to pull Social Security, but I’m going to try and hold off a few years for the usual reasons), but on the other hand, my schedule isn’t rigidly defined, and hasn’t been for years. I can go for as many as two to three days between gigs, and I like to think I can simply pack a bug-out bag, toss it on back of the Vespa, and take a mini-tour through a state or two. Hasn’t worked out so far, but I’m actively working on it now.
Which brings up another point: it actually takes more than a bit of actual work to get the fun stuff together. I think it’s a matter of age: when we were the proverbial young pups allegedly with all the time in the world, stuff like road trips seemed to come spontaneously, although if my Hindsight Cam is working passably well, I realize the trips I recall most fondly required at least a minimum of planning, which expanded exponentially with each additional person involved with said trip. Still, it seemed easier than it does now where, even in the absence of a clock to punch daily, there’s always various and tasks (forthwith VAST – yay, I got an acronym!) to be managed, and it’s rarely trivial.
Even the details of the getaway can get in the way. Example: I’m still plotting my trip to the Moto Hang, which requires a one-way, roughly 250-mile ride, meaning I’ll likely need to make the excursion an overnighter. Then there’s the ATGATT thing: I literally just scored two very different moto jackets off eBay, one locally. Won’t be able to check them out for several days, although I’m optimistic with my choices, particularly in regard to relative comfort in the current summer simmer we find ourselves in at the moment. Melody recently had her 3k checkup, and checked out just fine. And I need to take a few 100-150mi rides to get in the groove of longer excursions in the saddle; longest time I’ve had rolling so far is little under 110 miles, round-trip, which was just getting to my first road test months ago. Gotta do more.
Did get to ride just a bit this morning getting to a client in Asbury Park. But I’m missing riding right now…
Steve Williams says
VAST — I like that term. And you’re right, those activities are rarely trivial and absolutely eat away big chunks of time. In my own dreamworld there are no tasks or chores — just freedom. Not sure that exists. Or if it does, a person has to be selfish to claim it. Or alone.
Riding to the Moto Hang from your neck of the woods would be a long ride. Not impossible to do a round trip in a 24 hour period but why bother? An overnight excursion would be a better choice. It’s been awhile since I’ve ridden 250 miles in a day and I can tell you it can be a breeze or torture. If it’s the result of a goal free wander it’s pure joy. If I have to be somewhere and am just pushing the ride I hate it.
At the moment I’m stumped by retirement — should I clean the kitchen or run the sweeper in the livingroom? I wish there was a committee I could assign to study the choices…
Bryce Lee says
I know you record happenings in your moleskin book, however may I suggest you photograph and catalogue just for the fun of it all the little places you drive to, ..
Maybe it would form the basis for a future publication.???
Steve Williams says
You read my mind. Or Kim’s mind. She’s been suggesting such a project!
David Eakin says
If you are looking at augmenting your Vespa with a motorcycle, I would think a more “standard” street bike would suit best (less need for cleaning spokes/rims; easier to plug a tubeless tire by the side of the road than repairing one with a tube, etc.) than a more off-road oriented bike. Bikes that are larger in displacement than 250 cc or 360 lbs are really not good candidates for single-track riding. May I suggest either the Honda CB500X or NC700X, the Suzuki DL650 V-Strom, or the Kawasaki Versys 650. All well-regarded, comfortable, dependable, “middle weight” bikes that can still do some hard pack off-roading depending on tires fitted.
Steve Williams says
I confess a mindless, impractical desire for the dual sport/off road type of machine. Purely because of how they look. The reality of things — something like a V Strom 650 or the NC700X would be a better fit. If I got a Kawasaki KLR I would probably end up like the fellows that buy the BMW R1200 GS Adventure but never leave the pavement. Or Jeep owners who wouldn’t dare take their expensive machines off the beaten path.
And tires really do make a difference. Aggressive tires turn my GTS into an off road bike!
Steve Brooke says
I’m not certain your riding experience would change much Steve, your Vespa appears to be multi dimensional and often appears to end up in interesting places? Having owned a F650GS Single and an F800GS Twin I might remind you that unless you are considering either a late model G650GS with cast wheels or the F700GS variant with cast wheels you will have to carry tubes and or a patch kit to repair flats. Warning … Not for the faint hearted with the rear semi/radial tire. Were I going down this road again, and I have considered it (heaven forbid) I would opt for the cast wheels. I doubt that I would be riding either of these models in circumstances where the spoked wheels would be an advantage?
Steve Williams says
I’ve thought a lot about the spoked wheels and patching tires. As much as I like the looks of spoked wheels prudence would keep me in the tubeless tire realm with a patch kit. As you say, I’m not sure I will ever find myself in situations where I’m pushing so hard where I would need the spoked wheels. At best, I’m a slow, easy rider.
As far as adding a motorcycle to the garage, that’s a messy bit of business. Much of it is a purely childish desire to own one. I’ve wanted one my entire life — since I was a kid. There is no logic other than pure desire. Do I need one? No. As you say, the scooter will do pretty much anything I would do on a motorcycle. The experience would be different though. I’ve ridden enough motorcycles to realize my mind and body are in a different place. And it varies depending on the motorcycle. Riding a Triumph Thunderbird is completely different than exploring on a BMW F800GS.
Not sure where all of this will take me but it’s in my head.