Reminders of My Physical Reality
For the past couple months I’ve been physically feeling a little worse than normal. Whatever normal is now as I ride the downward slope towards the boneyard. Psoriatic arthritis visits more frequently with painfully stiff joints and fiery reminders that all is not well in this body. And a request by my rheumatologist to taper the drug used to control things to make sure I’ve not gone into remission and no longer need the cancer med used to suppress my immune system.
I’m not in remission.
And some recent chest pressure and pain has a stress echo test in my immediate future to determine if things have worsened since my heart attack back in 2015. The only evidence that I’m not hurtling toward the boneyard is the miraculous eye surgery that removed my cataracts. It transformed me and my near-sighted existence into a far-sighted man who no longer has to fuss with glasses in the motorcycle helmet. And I have great night vision.
I acknowledge I have an expiration date in a way I didn’t when I was younger. And it has made each day special regardless of whatever joy or crap I face. Riding is an even more exquisite experiences. An unexpected result of hurtling toward the boneyard.
I had two goals when I rolled out on the Kawasaki W650 — explore an area whose roads were unfamiliar, and have breakfast at a cafe I’ve not visited in a few years. Perfect excuses to ride on a crisp morning in autumn.
My Aging Rider Mindset
We’re all on the same ride. The difference between us is what we carry along. I can only share my own experiences. What you decide is entirely up to you. Or the pressure one or more insistent family members or friends who tell you why you should or shouldn’t ride. So far the only voice I have to deal with is mine.
When it comes to riding, honesty is critical. It supports intelligent decisions on when to ride, how to ride, and what to ride. It’s easy for outside pressures to push towards the wrong machine, something too big or fast to safely ride. Or to follow a pace beyond my riding skills. Being honest about my capabilities, setting aside my ego, especially as it might reflect some notion of masculinity, and ultimately being comfortable in my own skin will let me ride as long and as safely as humanly possible. I don’t know when the door will close on riding for me but until that time I’m going to keep going and create a buffer between me and the boneyard.
My 2001 Kawasaki W650 is a perfect companion to explore the backroads of Central Pennsylvania. Weighing around 435 pounds with the weight low makes it easy to manage. And when necessary, the twin cylinder 650 engine will let me keep up with traffic for hours on the freeway. It’s a naked bike which isn’t great fun at those speeds but it’s a dream on the backroads. Utter simplicity on two wheels.
Exploration Surprises
Despite exploring on Google Maps it’s hard to know what the road surfaces will be or their condition when it comes to township roads. I wasn’t too surprised to find the tar and chip road I was on turn to pure gravel. Not my first choice with the W650. My concern more about beating up the motorcycle than its gravel capabilities.
Roads with Views
I’ve never been here before. There are roads I travel on each side of the valley but for some reason that I can’t wrap my head around I’ve never explored the roads in this area. I think I may have considered this area boring. What I found was winding roads over rolling hills that provided nice views. I’ll be back soon.
Harvest Season
Glad it hadn’t rained because many of the roads were strewn with dry mud fallen from farm vehicles used in the harvest of corn. If this stuff was wet it would have been a slippery mess. And I don’t like cleaning bikes and scooters after a ride. For those with little rural experience and over confident riders this kind of road could advance their arrival at the boneyard. Mud, leaves, and liquid manure are things to remember.
Peace and Quiet
I’ve convinced myself that my risk of visiting the boneyard is substantially reduced because of where I ride. Quiet, low-trafficked roads. Statistically that might be true but risks remain. The most worrisome for me is always deer. The only effective management strategy is to ride slower and stay off the road at dawn and dusk when they are moving around. I’m pretty good at that stuff but deer can appear anytime almost anywhere.
Again, another road whose turn off I’ve passed dozens of times thinking it didn’t go anywhere. What a surprise it was to find it wound through the forest for a dozen miles bringing me close to my breakfast destination.
Standing Stone Coffee Company
My goal was breakfast at the Standing Stone Coffee Company in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Thoughts of hurtling toward the boneyard surfaced during the ride. Time passes quickly and I don’t want to miss a thing if I can help it. The same roads are never really the same. And a lot remain hidden just waiting for me to find them. Pure little adventures on a motorcycle or scooter.
I’m grateful to be able to ride. And I could never have predicted the results beyond the adventures — unexpected experiences, new friends, and a better understanding of myself. Quite a mix.
We’re all hurtling toward the boneyard. I’m just choosing to do it astride a platform for discovery.
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Thanks Steve – always love reading your stuff. I think you have the material now to start another blog rating all the breakfast places in central PA.
It’s good to know that someone finds some enjoyment reading the things I share here. As far as rating food establishments — I fear my culinary skills for discrimination of food are weak to non-existent. For a guy who grew up on frozen fish sticks and hot dogs I don’t feel qualified to offer more than an affirmative grunt in the face of breakfast. *grin*
I must have had it a little better, because I grew up on fried haddock filets and tube steaks! 😅
Our generation preceded extreme concern with diets. We ate anything or nothing.
Wow, what a great article. I sold my scooter months ago and was going to hang it up but a few months later bought another one. I will be 70 next March. You have inspired me to enjoy every ride. Enjoy your trek every time you go out ..Brian
I hope you find your renewed riding satisfying. I’ll be 73 next year and riding still feels like the right thing for me. Each of us will have to face our own hurdles and limitations and decide when it’s time to stop. I’ll push through the mental hurdles but I won’t push myself around physical barriers if they arise. I just hope my friends and family can help offer unbiased input about riding rather than just automatically reaching for the keys.
I’m feeling the desire to ride but a heating contractor and visiting relatives are keeping me tied down at home. It’s a terrible feeling!!!
Hey Steve I have watched all your videos (well almost). I am a 64 year old rider in Costa Rica (immagine that). I have started late on the motorbike just to find out I have a passion for it. To bad I started late do to imposed fear. Anyhow I loved watching your videos they give me great peace. You live in a beautiful place and I love your Vespa. I ride a transalp but I am seriously considering buyin a Vespa just for fun. (It’s an expensive toy though). Are you planning on filming videos in the future? Thanks buddy
The Transalp is a fine machine. For a time I was considering tracking one down but I got sidetracked. Ended up with the Himalayan.
The Vespa GTS is a great scooter. I just prepared it for a short ride later today. And you’re right, they are expensive. There are lots of good alternatives to the Vespa but none seem as pretty to me.
I don’t have any immediate plans to shoot any videos. On Monday I will be posting more details about YouTube and where things stand.
Steve,
Good to see you out on your W650, you were instrumental in my tracking one down and am so glad you did as I just love it….and the way it reminds me of all the fun I had decades ago on my Meridan Triumphs. It is a superb back road bike andI and bike just love chugging along at 35-45 mph, but has plenty of extra steam if needed. I feel soooo alive when riding that I would feel like I would be ready to cash in my chips when I hang up my helmet. I will be 77 in a couple weeks but still feel able to handle the bike just fine, not always so sure of dodging the idiots I have to share the road with though. The deer are one thing, idiots are another. Be safe out there, enjoy the fall riding season while you can. Warm cup of cider is calling you, …and it is only 25 miles away on a back road!
I’m glad to have played a small role in your acquisition of a W650. And happy you seem to find the same immense satisfaction with it as I do. I rode mine just this morning to breakfast with a friend and it really is a superb back road bike.
I hope I can still handle the bike when I’m 77. We never know what the genetics wheel spin has in store for us. Until then I’ll just keep riding until I can’t.
Autumn is upon us here. I could see the forest on the mountainside beginning to change colors. In a couple weeks most of the leaves will be gone and I’ll be girding myself for the cold.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate it.
As I might have said somewhere but the aches and pains are like the weather. “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”
Since you have a small windshield on the Vespa I don’t see why you don’t put one on the Kawasaki W650. I did on mine years ago and it made it a pretty decent over the road machine. My Dad had one on every one of his Triumphs and rode everywhere in all kinds of weather on them. My originally naked 1983 Kawasaki Spectre has an old Plexi Fairing on it and I ride with my buddy on his Harley bagger in about the same level of comfort on our trips to Lake George.
People asked my Dad why he always had a windshield on his bikes. He said, “Imagine that while you’re riding someone was trying to push you off the back of the motorcycle and you could do something to make it stop. That’s why I have a windshield.”
Well, I do what I can. I follow the things my doctors tell me to do including taking the medications they prescribe. And I definitely have modified my stress levels and exercise. Diet remains a resistant one though. And exercise is hit or miss. I know that strength exercises and stretching help with back issues and my arthritis. Doing something is definitely better than nothing I guess.
I can’t remember why I got the windscreen for the Vespa. I think it was purchased during an episode of consumer therapy. No need for it and it didn’t look hideous as so many of them do. I can’t imagine ever buying a screen or shield for the W650. And I seldom ride at speeds where I feel the wind is going to push me off the bike. But I definitely know what you mean.
If I ever find myself doing a lot of really long riding — days at a time — I may revisit the windshield/fairing issues. For now, I’m a happy camper with what I have.
I have knees that should have been replaced a few years ago.
Walking is uncomfortable, especially down steep hills, and running impossible.
But when I hop on a scooter for a ride, I feel great again.
Bill
Sorry to hear of your knee issues Bill. Hopefully you get it sorted out.
It’s always gratifying to me when I realize I am comfortable riding my scooters and motorcycles. Whatever discomfort I bring to the ride largely evaporates. The only adjustment is having to stop to stretch. But since I’m always stopping to take pictures it is not a problem.
Beauty pic, the next to last one, Steve! I empathize as I also live with a milder version of your pains, I feel them more and more as well these days. Presently testing out riding with an e-bike and so far it’s a lot better than riding a bike without an electric motor! Distances that would have my heart pounding and my lungs on fire are much more comfortable now on an ebike.
I don’t foresee pictures of an e-bike having the same cachet has pictures of one’s motorcycle no matter what the background.
You and I rode parallel to that road. It’s not far from the place with the big rocks.
I have mixed feelings about e-bikes. I can see the advantage of the motor assist over a straight bicycle. So for touring and exploring without the huge element of strenuous exercise they’re a good choice. As they get bigger and faster I suspect we’ll start seeing some more intense restrictions. And perhaps even license requirements. Somehow, having once been a bicycle rider, they feel like cheating. An irrational argument but there it is…
I bet I could make a pretty picture of an e-bike. The goal being to romanticize the ride and inject enough machismo to make it less wimpy. I think snow might be involved.
A little snow in the foreground and majestic snow covered mountains always makes the magic.
Visually it adds some magic. But I feel more and more resistance in venturing out into that cold world. Doesn’t matter if it is on two wheels or four, or on foot. The attraction of a comfortable chair in a warm house is difficult to abandon…
Steve, my curiosity about your lack of new YouTube videos lead me here, and now I understand more.
Due to my wife’s passing from cancer at the ripe old age of 63 (!), I’ve re-evaluated the things I do with what’s left of my life. I took an early retirement from my job, claimed Social Security at age 62, and just hung out with my dog and video games for a couple of years. Mowing the lawn as needed, turning down the sprinkler frequency to avoid having to mow the lawn as often (and paying the ever rising water bill!). And then, I revisited the promise I made to my wife thirty years ago to stop riding motorcycles, because they’re dangerous. I sold my FJ 1200 back then, and carried a secret resentment that I wasn’t even aware of!
Harley? Costs too much, performance is sub-optimal.
Yamaha? Sure, if they still made a more modern version of the FJ. Newsflash: they don’t.
Honda? I’m 66, and 275 lbs, on Social Security; I can’t afford a new Goldwing. Not sure I even want one.
Kawasaki or Suzuki? Never found one that I like.
Royal Enfield? Maybe, but they make a lot more sense if you have capability to maintain them yourself. For me, almost any mechanical failure requires a (trailer assisted) 40 – 90+ mile trip to a competent dealership/maintenance facility.
CF Moto, et al? Jury is still out on long term reliability and logistical support.
And the typical “old man” motorcycle, the BMW “R” bikes? The situation with BMW Motorrad is about the same as for BMW cars: everyone wants to ride/drive one, but nobody wants to pay for the maintenance!
And that left scooters as my best alternative. The Vespa models appeared as the least likely model to achieve Mach 1, and I know from past experience that if the machine is capable of it, it’s only a matter of time until I test the machine’s limits…at least once. I bought a ’27 GTV 310 Officina 8, because the big Vespa is probably required to carry my 275 lbs body up and around the hills of Central Texas at anything close to highway speeds. After installing a Speedometer App on my iPhone, and a phone mount, I was able to see that the Vespa’s speedometer is about 10% too generous, meaning that I could maintain 75 mph on flat terrain for a while, at full throttle, but that kills fuel economy and probably engine longevity, so I probably should keep it between 50 – 65 mph.
But then I started looking for a bike that’s reliable, easy to maintain, doesn’t cost an arm and a leg (in acquisition or operation), offers an upright seating position with foot pegs instead of floor boards, can handle a lower lean angle than the Vespa, and can maintain GPS-confirmed 75 mph indefinitely. So far, out of the new bikes on the market right now, a Moto Guzzi V7 appears to be my best bang for the buck.
I’m sure that my heirs are hoping I’ll be sensible enough to sell both of my SUVs, and Vespa, buy a used Chevy Trax, sell the house, put the money in a trust for them, and go lie down in a corner of the retirement home until management informs them that my belongings and remains are to be picked up at the front desk.
So I will defy them, and their petty plans for my riches. I shall do my best to spend as much time as I can sitting astride a two wheeled conveyance of some sort, and endeavor to see every corner and curve within a 500 mile radius of my home.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
– Dylan Thomas
Thank you Michael for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences. I do appreciate them. Comments from others have helped me along the path many times and often in unexpected ways.
I’m sorry to hear of the loss of your wife. Those kind of events can leave a person idling for a while before the brain starts wondering what’s next. For me it was a heart attack leading to early retirement at 63, Social Security right away, and an expansion of my two-wheeled fleet. And then, like you, ride. Ride until we can’t anymore. Hopefully a date far in the future. It’s a good thing to have acquired that Vespa and explore your world.
I’ve met a few guys who seem overly concerned about leaving cash for their kids. I guess it’s a nice gesture if you want to but I never felt kids are entitled to anything of mine. If I spend it all before the end then oh well. And often by the time we shuffle off the world they don’t really need it anymore. I needed financial help in my 20s.
As far as YouTube goes, I’ll be posting about it tomorrow.
And thanks for the reminder to not go gentle into the good night!