You’ll find another cool motorcycle to add to your legacy.

There’s a multicolored 1198 at Kissels I saw last week. I have to try specifically not to buy another one of those and just remember why I sold 2. They are pretty but they go slow very poorly. Kissels has me looking at the Triumph from the Terminator movie. Josh didn’t call me back so I guess they passed on my offer.

I forgot about that yellow Ducati. You have had so many motorcycles!

And as you know, I have little expertise in identifying the various models of Ducatis and Harleys. I keep my life simple and confined to a little knowledge of what is in my garage.

It’s strange, my parents allowed me to make journeys as a kid that parents might be arrested for now. At ten I was walking a few miles into town, getting on the bus into Pittsburgh, and spending the entire day exploring stores and other places.

And at 13 in Germany, my mother let me walk a mile to the train station and take a one hour train trip into Munich where I would wander around all day, barely speaking any German.

I think all of that has contributed to my wanderlust.

Vespa as a life boost! Absolutely.

Riding is a great social distancing activity, at least for those of us who ride alone.

It’s work to find a balance that makes sense.

We often don’t see ourselves as others do.

Didn’t you have a Ducati Panagale already? The red one? I figured a Fiat is in your future!

As a kid, I did suffer bouts of loneliness, as while I had a handful of good friends, I wasn’t at all popular. This feeling pretty much ended when I got my first decent bicycle, and started taking surreptitious journeys throughout Manhattan in the mid-1960s. That heady sense of independence and wanderlust was amazing, and that thought of what I could do and where I could go, on my own, has stuck with me ever since. (Along with the on-two-wheels thing, of course.)

Having the Vespa in my life has been a boost in my life, both in large and very subtle ways. Even on days when, for one reason or another, I can’t ride, knowing the bike is there offers a reassuring contentment; I can get on with my life nicely otherwise,

And: Although I’ve mentioned it here before (I think): I still recall, relatively early in the pandemic when I dared venture into NYC for a client who desperately needed my tech assistance (taking the now-standard safety procedures, of course): after the gig, I was about to head out of an eerily-deserted midtown Manhattan in early evening when, at a stoplight, someone on a BV350 rode up and stopped beside me. We looked at each other, nodded, and fist-bumped. I lifted my visor and yelled, “Best ‘social distancing’ in the world!” And went our own ways. Still feel that way.

It’s funny how I don’t see that until you point it out. That I like the Italian experience. I don’t necessarily seek out Italian stuff, it’s just when I stumble across something cool, its often of Italian origins. Example: Two weeks ago I went to Track and Trail Honda to look for stuff to sell on eBay and to look at motorcyles (it’s a hobby) and by the parts counter was a freaking 2020 Penagale! It’s spectacular! I’m not kidding it made my gonads rumble I would have bought it had I $20,000 in my pocket.