I’ve struggled to share with people the experience I feel while riding a Vespa scooter. The video below is an attempt at presenting the emotional energy of riding as I do.
I fully realize that different riders will have different experiences. Speed and following the perfect line along a winding road may be the pinnacle of experience for one while a leisurely wandering rings the bell for another.
This video reflects my experience. The thrill of riding a Vespa.
I have to confess a level of reluctance in posting this video. All of them in fact. I’ve become comfortable over the years writing about my experiences, how I feel, and what I think. But putting my voice to the writing has changed things. It feels more exposed and open. More personal perhaps. Maybe revealing more than I intend.
So bear with me as I experiment technically and emotionally.
I hope each of you is surviving whatever unique demands the COVID-19 pandemic has placed upon you. Be safe. Be smart. So you can ride another day.
Great video 👍👍
Thanks Kyle. I’m enjoying the challenge of working with the moving pictures!
Wow. That brought a smile to my face Steve. Beautiful images and words. Perfect. Thank you.
Thank you Shane for your kind words. I felt after a couple videos of a somber tone fueled by the pandemic I would attempt something a little more upbeat. At least as upbeat as my personality allows. Glad to know it made you smile.
Well… didn’t that gives the eyes a bit of a wash.
So very lovely, Steve.
Thank you.
I’m just trying to return the favor to you Terry. Each day when I saw your Instagram post I said “Wow, how are you seeing all this?” Now that you are taking an e-cation I’ll have to find some other way to generate the wow.
I hope all is well in Nova Scotia and you’re finding time to do some riding and swing the camera.
Steve, for me this is an academy award winner. Not to worry about your voice. To me, it sounds like and says the words my inter-brain is thinking. You just do it so much more dramatically in real life. Thank you for this. It will be an all time favorite and when any one questions why I ride I will just send them to you.
Thanks for your supportive words Ken. I’ve kind of given up trying to explain to non-riders why I ride. But gathering the thoughts into a video might make it easier.
Not sure where to go next with video. Something to let percolate in my head for awhile…
Ever the contrarian, I will brave the opinion that, IMHO, the narration and music creates a mood of sentimentality for which I do not have a taste. When you write, you allow me to insert myself, with my imagination and experiences, into your words. You share with me an outline, and I am left to fill in the larger space in between. You have a great eye for visual composition, and I do love when you post pictures with your words. But for me, the words alone have always been enough, and I have reveled in what they do to my own imagination, especially when I ride myself. As you may have guessed by now, I am a lover of language and words and good writing. I’ve never really taken to mass media; I watch very little TV and seldom go to the movies. Your words are good and rich, and they work for me in ways the videos cannot. Please do not take this as a criticism of your videos, as they are well-done and clearly evidence your talent with images and composition. They’re just – like asparagus – not for me.
I appreciate your feedback Tom. I clearly understand the sentimentality of the piece. When searching for music I was surprised how difficult it was to find something positive without being overwhelming and low key enough to not strum those sentimental heartstrings. I considered for a time not using music at all and just my voice. It would have clearly sounded less sentimental but I remain largely horrified at the sound of my own voice.
The videos in general are part of a test. A test for myself to consider a role they may or may not have in providing a tool for me to share. Writing and photography are more comfortable canvases for me. And I agree with your assertion that they leave a larger space for the reader to live. A video is like someone leading you along.
Never worry about sharing what you think or feel. I was raised in a creative landscape professionally by two critical art directors who taught me the value of criticism. It’s a gift for someone to articulate their response to work. I thank you for giving yours here.
There will be many more written pieces to come. Have a half dozen simmering now on the page.
Very nice Steve. I liked it!
Thanks Rusty.
I hope you and the family are doing well in these strange times. Have you switched from ships to scooters yet?
Nice work Steve. This is an extremely demanding mode of expression but so rich and powerful.
It may be my imagination but I think I recognized some of that scenery, some of those curves, from our ride, too long ago.
The photographs are eloquent, and stunning.
As for the joy of riding, I finally ventured out briefly to go and pay a visit to my friend Ed and deliver a little gift that may mean as much to me as to him. We are both coffee people. I had forgotten the feeling of the bike moving under me, how it manages curves in the road, lane changes, with a gymnast’s ease and flourish. Truly a source of joy.
Your video gave me an idea I plan to follow your lead.
I finally got a model of my red GTS.
My black GTS that you know has gone on to a new owner. I still have a model of that bike though and it sits on a small Ikea shelf unit. The photo you did of me and my bike on that overlook with the twisty mountain road as a backdrop I printed in black and white and use it as a backdrop on the shelf for the model black GTS.
Now I need one as a backdrop for the red GTS and as soon as I saw your leap for joy, I realized that is the perfect pose for me and the red GTS. Remains to be seen if I can muster the required level of athletic prowess. Time will tell. Thanks Steve, the inspiration it is much appreciated.
I had to watch the video again with our ride in mind and sadly, not a single image was drawn from the areas we rode together. The image of the scooter in the fog next to the river was closest by 10 miles or so. All the others were made East and South of here while we rode North.
It’s easy to understand why you felt the scenes look familiar. Central Pennsylvania’s winding roads are stunning almost everywhere. To the North though is wilderness. At least how those of us living in the East describe it. I’m certain images from that ride will appear in some future video.
As you say, it doesn’t take long getting back on the road to feel the joy. Often I sit here at home pining to be flying through the world on the scooter. Circumstances beyond the pandemic, beyond my control, keep me near home right now. That will change.
That leap for joy would no doubt send me to the Emergency Room. I made the photo but Paul Ruby was the leader. I have a collection of images of him leaping but that one was by far the best. And a collection of him laying on the road too. Perhaps more fodder for videos though I probably shouldn’t encourage that sort of behavior.
Thanks for your kind words of encouragement David. And thank YOU for inspiring me to make a video in the first place. Your sharing of process and content pushed me to make one.
Vespa marketing should use that clip if that wouldn’t sell tons of scoots I don’t know what would..Excellent piece Steve, 5 stars#!!!!!! Thanks 🏁
It’s funny, aside from about 13 years ago when I won first place in the MotoBloggers International blogging competition (beating out several corporate blogs I might add) I have never heard a whisper from Piaggio or Vespa. Considering I’ve collected a vast array of positive Vespa content, you would think they might have noticed. I realize though I am far from their market persona on any level. I’m old, I’m not hip, I don’t wear flashy clothes, and I ride far afield of the metro audience they seem to pursue. I’ve always felt there is a submarket, especially for those men and women growing dissatisfied with their motorcycles but still want two-wheeled adventure.
Probably not though.
Thanks for the 5 Star rating Don. I do appreciate it.
Hi Steve,
With every post, your words are wonderful and thought provoking, your photographs are so beautiful, and your videos are very moving. This video is one of my favorite videos of all time. It touched my soul. Thank you!
~~Kenster (for Maryann too!)
Thank you Ken. I’m enjoying the second look at the photographs required to make a video. It’s almost like riding again.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you or Maryann. I seem to remember running into you at Wegmans. And Maryann even farther back at Meyer Dairy where she was a familiar face with her books.
I’m going to assume you retired, maybe taking the buyout like I did, and have abandoned professional croquet for a scooter. Did I get that right??
Yes, I retired from PSU back in 2011 but no buyout for me. And I also retired from croquet. But unfortunately no Scooter for me. So I live vicariously through you!
Maryann also loved loved your video. She has very fond memories of working with you on various projects back when you were both working for PSU. You are one of her favorite people.
I look forward to the next time I run into you! Meanwhile I will get my fill of good MoJo via your excellent posts!
Say hello to Maryann for me. I still remember the great times working with her on “A Day in the Life of State College.”
I’ll endeavor to provide more MoJo!
Steve, you have a very good voice for this kind of work.
That’s a big leap for me. I’ve never liked the sound of my voice in recordings. I realize from just some brief, simple recordings that I have no control over the sounds I make. Some practice will probably help. I told a friend that making videos adds an element of performance that isn’t present when writing and posting text and pictures.
I need to practice and rehearse. Maybe then I’ll be more comfortable with my voice.
When I clicked the link and saw it was only two and a half minutes long I thought theres no way hes gonna get his point across in that short time. Wow was I wrong. Your passion carried the message strong. As a blogger also dabbling in video I can appreciate every concern you have and its gonna be hard for me not to think about your work here when I do my next (sucky) video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your kind words about the video.
I watched your most recent video Scott — it was fine. Sucky is one of those technical terms that can be hard to pin down! Yours wasn’t that. Clear picture and audio and you had something to say. That’s all you can do.
Thanks for your kind words about my two and a half minute video. Making them short is a goal. My target is two minutes but it is tough to reach. I’ll keep at it. Obviously, not every topic will lend itself to short videos. I started working on one regarding improving photos made while riding. I outlined it first and suddenly I realized it would be long. Like a mini-seminar. And even if I divided it up into pieces they still might be long.
I plan to make five more videos and then sit back and evaluate why I should continue. For now though, it’s an interesting puzzle.
One last thing — not many Harley riders visit here. How soon until you add a Vespa to the shop?? 😉
I’m not hung up on brand names and have owned most of the common ones. The current stable is two harleys, a kawasaki and a bsa. The last bike I sold was an aprilia. Knees in the breeze and all that good stuff. The purchase of the new 2015 harley was more about buying American than wanting to belong to any “group”. I look at a scooter as a light bike. When the harleys gets too heavy I’ll move to something lighter. I figure I need to do this bike ownership thing in a certain order because as I age, the big bikes won’t be an option. Its also why there are no more sport bikes in the garage.
I understand. I’ve met riders who commit to a single brand. Others who commit to a single model — me for instance with the Vespa GTS line. And then there are others, like you I think, who sample a wide variety of machines for just as wide a set of reasons.
While I won’t abandon the Vespa, if space and time allowed I would have a wider variety of machines in the garage. Right now all that space permits is the scooter and the BMW K75. The K75 falls squarely into the category that at some point will become too heavy for me to manage. I don’t know when that is but for now it is a wonderful motorcycle to ride. Not as heavy as a Harley at only 550 pounds, but it is tall and top heavy making it a handful in slow speed maneuvers. Still, I enjoy it.
My hips long ago ruled out the posture necessary for sport bikes. Not sure what it will rule out next!
Steve, followed the link from Cashcow on the ADV Battle Scooter forum. Loved the video. You have a great voice. My wife plays Leonard Cohen Music often and your voiceover reminded me of him.
I too am old, unhip and ride a Vespa for the pure joy of it. Nothing like riding through nature to keep your head in the moment – indeed the only place you can be.
That’s high praise being compared to Leonard Cohen in any respect. Thank you.
I suppose in time I’ll grow comfortable with the sound of my voice much in the same way I got comfortable with the things I write. Old, unhip and riding a Vespa. Sounds like a good marketing tagline to me. Maybe I’ll use it as the tagline for my blog!
Thanks for stopping by and letting me know what you thought about the video. I’m glad Bill posted a link on ADV Battle Scooters. I need to visit that site more often. Usually when I do, I’m making inquires about the K75 motorcycle.
Thank you Steve, for posting this video. It has inspired me to venture out more on my Vespa again and to exploring (and not only use it to commute to work). Be safe, stay healthy. Greetings from the Black Forest, SonjaM
It’s always good to explore on a Vespa!
I hope all is going well in the Black Forest and you’re adjusting to this strange new world.