Off the Digital Grid
I’ve been a shadow here of late. The Vespa has been on the road and the camera active, but motivation to write, process or share has been slight. A lot’s been going on and creative interests suffer when the universe seems to grow dark. At least that’s how it seems at times in my head.
The reality though is there have been a lot of sunny days to ride. And ride I have.
Symphony of Fragrance and Light
This time of year the world is alive with plants and flowers that treat the senses while riding through field and forest. The world seems to continuously change; dazzling sunlight one moment followed by cool, crisp shadows beneath a canopy of trees the next. The fragrance of honeysuckle gives way to Dame’s Rocket and then the striking, pungent odor of horse manure and fresh cut hay.
I swear I could tell where I am blindfolded — just by the aromas of the world.
Where’s Waldo?
I’ve paced thousands and thousands of steps lately in hospitals and medical facilities while my wife underwent a new round of medical adventures.
Beginning with a late night trip to the ER, through surgeries and eventual return home seven days later, she then learned on top of everything else the universe was blessing her with shingles.
It would be funny if it weren’t so damned sad.
On a positive note — Kim always feels bad going to the ER. Not in regard to her medical condition, but rather that she’s being a nuisance, or that what’s bothering her isn’t “serious enough” for the ER. While history has continually shown her otherwise, an encounter while entering the ER eased her mind a bit. A friend and his wife were exiting the facility. When we asked what was wrong she said he had a tick removed. He didn’t trust her to do it right.
I told Kim, “It’s ok that you’re here.”
Small Miracles
Without a doubt, riding is a strong, restorative medicine for me. Aside from the physical and psychological rush of feeling like a bird, the escape from stress and anxiety that can develop between my ears is a welcome treat while riding.
Standing alone to witness the simple scenes that comprise a life, regardless of what is happening, is nothing short of a small miracle.
Things not going well? Go for a ride.
Really.
Recognition of Simple Moments
It’s hard not to smile at a dog intently gazing at a bowl of cereal milk. My dog Junior has a way of softening moments and remind me that everything will be ok. For her part, Lily keeps me moving through her not so quiet insistence on playing ball.
Dogs.
Who would I be without them?
Country Roads
I’ve been riding a lot I suppose. Just no long adventures. Not even sure what that is anymore. But the rides have been more satisfying than I deserve.
I can’t imagine a life without a scooter or motorcycle.
Bright Horizons
On the road all things seem possible. Or perhaps a better description would be to say that on the road I find hope and faith that the world is a bright, good place.
Riding opens doors to let out the ghosts and bring light to the dark thoughts than arise when someone you love is suffering.
I wonder how many others find similar solace in the machines they ride?
Riding my motorcycle is the cheapest therapy. Like you, I can’t imagine a life without a motorcycle.
I’m grateful to be able to own and ride my Vespa. I do know however, that should circumstances change, there are other paths that would be beneficial to mind and spirit. I’ve been walking a lot more recently and it has similar results. But I never return home sweating after a scooter ride!
Just got back from a country lane ride and I agree with you.
I. Will also pray for Kim, then the only shingles will the ones on a roof.
Praise God x
Thank you David. Shingles do belong on the roof. Not on the body!
Lots and lots of “lox’s” (flowers) this year, but how the heck do you correctly spell “loxs”?
Phlox!
It’s Phlox flowers!
The flowers pictured are not phlox. Phlox and Dame’s Rocket look very similar but you can tell them apart by the number of flower petals. Phlox has five petals. Dame’s Rocket has four. Most of what you see along the roads in this area is Dame’s Rocket.
Now if you’re beginning to think I’m a botany expert — this information all came to me via my plant expert wife. I merely have to use Google to translate the Latin species names to something people actually identify with!
Ride. Rest. Repeat.
Doctor’s orders!
I’ve added “walk” to that prescription. The dogs enjoy it too.
Hey Steve, well once again your thoughts and posts reflect my thoughts 100 percent.I thought before finding your website I was the only one on earth that loves scooter life and felt sure this therapy only applied to me.Hope your wife gets better soon.Please continue those photos and adventures >I get lots of emails but when I get a new scooter in the sticks post I open and read at once .God bless u all and thanks from down Texas way..
Don Etheredge
Thank you for the kind words about the things I share on Scooter in the Sticks. It’s always nice to know that others experience things in a similar manner.
Kim is treading water right now as her medical team determines a course of action regarding her ongoing spinal infection. In the meantime we try and focus on the positive things in life.
Stay cool down in Texas!
Visits to the ER are never fun. Hope Kim is feeling better soon. As far as riding as therapy, maybe. If I need to go somewhere, I’m much more likely to take the Ural. Does that make it therapeutic?
I’ve become a lot more comfortable in the ER via frequent visits. A lot easier to stay calm once you understand there’s a method to the madness.
URAL as therapeutic? Never considered that possibility. I always consider the URAL a karmic punishment! *GRIN* . Dom’s reflections on his URAL experiences may have colored my thinking…
Wow, shingles…had it, hated it. So sorry, Kim! There are a lot of people out her thinking about you and wishing you well!
Thank you Noel. We both appreciate the positive energy coming this way.
ER sells stuff on the boob tube, never could understand Browns Bones is still on. Kim, hope all will be well soon. Steve, Peace of the mind is Peace on the gravel road.
Browns Bones? You mean Doan’s Bones??
I’ll pass on your thoughts to Kim. I think it’s time to get together again for breakfast. Have you gotten around to buying a scooter or motorcycle yet??
The thing about a scooter (in particular) is that the brain is just sufficiently engaged with the intrinsic activity of riding, leaving quite a lot of room for sort of semi-conscious thinking. I always found that, with my helmet on and journey under way, my head would go in the directions it needed to and I’d arrive home with my problems in perspective or with potential solutions. I’ve moved countries and haven’t managed to buy myself a new scooter yet but have driven long distances in my car, it’s just driving. All the best to your wife and her recovery.
Dame here thérapie on two well’s
My experience on the road parallels yours. The mind does seem to be free to solve problems in the background while I’m riding.
Another country? You were in Australia or some other distant land right? Hopefully your new locale will be supportive of riding in some manner.
Thanks for you kind wishes of recovery to Kim. We appreciate them.
I finally got the last of my three machines on the road last week. The scooter is great for local riding and I have the two bikes for distance. As someone noted I move into the thinking zone on longer rides pondering the human condition or determining how to solve a repair issue. On short rides I pay more attention to the world around me. Keep in mind that riding in a full face helmet with a windshield prevents smells from entering.
The full face helmet hasn’t hindered me from taking in the fragrances of spring. I do often have the visor open a crack so that helps.
I suppose my brain is working in much the same way as yours in regard to short or longer rides. Don’t know exactly where the line is between the two. Either way, my mind and spirit benefit from being out in the air on the Vespa.
Have fun and be safe on your three machines.
It’s good for my soûl to read you. Thank you. Daniel Longueuil Québec.
Thank you Daniel for your kind words regarding the things I write. I appreciate them.
My best wishes to Kim, I hope she feels better soon.
Thanks David. She keeps plugging away!
Hey Steve, why do i get email notification about each of your posts twice every time, usually few hours apart? Oh and what year is your Vespa again? Been looking for them on CL around…
Hello Josef.
Regarding the double emails. I checked the list in MailChimp to make sure you were not subscribed twice. You weren’t. A little research in the MailChimp support section indicates three reasons why you are getting double emails. I’ve dismissed the first — you have one subscription. The second is I sent two emails. Negative on that. I only scheduled one.
The last is a hiccup in your mailserver. A little research indicated that it is possible for GMAIL, Yahoo, and other email providers to generate duplicate emails.
If it is not happening all the time then it’s likely the email server on your end. If it is happening all the time the only solution I can think of is to unsubscribe and then subscribe again. Hopefully that won’t be necessary.
Regarding my Vespa… I have a 2006 Vespa GTS 250ie. That’s the first year they offered a fuel injected Vespa. I have a bit over 40K miles on it and it’s still running strong. The only mechanical failures I’ve had was a fuel pump, spark plug wire, and a melt through on a wiring harness link. All were reasonably simple fixes. Everything else was normal wear and tear items — tires, oil, filters, exhaust gaskets. It’s been a reliable machine. And fun to ride!
Thank you very much for your reply. I might resubscribe if it happens again. As much as i truly enjoy getting notifications about your posts, I’m am anal enough to hate them repeated 😉 also thank you about the info on your Vespa, i often wondered when they started with FI, but find modernvespa.com too chock-full of information. Thanks again, i hope you have a nice weekend and Kim feels better. Cheers!
Let me know if you get the double emails straightened out.
The Modern Vespa forum definitely is a great source of information. Not always easy to find it via a search but if you post a question it’s usually answered in short order. I’ve gotten people on the phone for direct guidance!
Have recently had way too much time spend in ERs so I can empathize. Sorry to hear that now Shingles is added to the medical trials to be endured by Kim….Martha and I hope things improve faster than predicted.
Fingers crossed that things do improve. The challenge now is patience…
Hey Steve, decided to wander over here and see what’s up…probably spurred by the excessive grousing on my more frequent stop (MV). Always refreshing to see your photos and reflections on riding and life. Sorry you and Kim are still dealing with rather intense medical stuff. Never had shingles, but nerve pain is nothing to sniff at. Hopefully the two of you can get down to a more boring -and less stressful- existence. In the meantime, keep up with the scooter therapy. Nothing wrong with walking, except for all that sweat ….and ticks.
I try and keep the grousing to a low roar here. Even though I’ve been visiting the Modern Vespa forum since it began back in 2005, I still feel like an outsider there. Most likely because I usually only post when I have a question and don’t participate much in the non-technical conversations.
Still having trouble with motivation to post. Was considering a piece this evening with images I made during a ride in early May but I waited too long. Now all I can think about is sleep.
Walking has been fun. Five days in a row now with over 15K steps. Good exercise I think and the dogs appreciate it too. And so far, no ticks!
Very enjoyable read, as usual. I ride for many of the same reasons you do, but can’t express my thoughts nearly as well as you can. My thoughts wander when the helmet’s on. The two guys I ride with the most now have intercoms and links to their cell phones, so they can listen to music and answer calls when underways. I’ve decided not to go this route, as I like giving my brain a chance to wander and process all of the sights and sounds my eyes and ears are taking in.
I hope your wife is feeling better soon, and that you can spend more time walking or riding than in hospitals.
When I look back at my early posts I was clearly in the “went here, did that” mode. It took awhile before I felt comfortable, or even considered, writing about what was going on in my head. The real trick though was practicing writing. After 1500 posts I’ve become a lot better at it!
I absolutely agree with you regarding music and cell phone use inside the helmet while riding. Seems to indicate to me a boredom or rejection of the best part of the ride. Of course we’re all different. What works for one may be a disaster for another.
Each morning I rise I have hope that Kim’s situation will improve. It’s so slow though. She’s a trooper in sticking with it.