I made this portrait of my friend and sometimes riding partner during a ride this past Sunday. I had a good time and realized he has to be pretty patient not only to ride along with a scooter, but with a rider that stops all the time to make pictures. Paul Ruby is a photographer in his own rite but doesn’t find his subjects rolling along the roads of Central Pennsylvania the way I do. So here’s a short dispatch from a Fall Ruby ride.
A man casts a sideways glance our way as Paul talks loudly about baking the perfect chocolate cake from scratch. I see the man gesturing to his girlfriend as Paul explains the careful observational skills necessary to accurately use a toothpick to determine when the cake is done.
We’re sitting at the counter of the Family Chill and Grill near Tyrone, Pennsylvania. While we eat a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and home fried potatoes our small audience has a chance to see two serious riders. Me and my good friend Paul Ruby.
A few hours earlier I was waiting for Paul to buy a copy of the Sunday New York Times. It’s a prodigious paper and fills one saddle bag on his Kawasaki Concours.
Papered and ready to go we head south out of town along Whitehall Road. Even though the landscape was plain and made more so by the bright light I just had to stop to pose the Vespa against the dried field of soybeans.
With an equally plain subject presenting itself to Paul he takes out his camera and records me recording the scooter.
Not far down the road is another field of dreg pumpkins. This one didn’t appear to warrant harvesting. The dry weather made these poor prospects for Jack O’Lanterns. Again Paul turns the camera on me but I fight back with a picture of my own.
I think photographers enjoy being in front of the camera. We don’t often get to be the subject.
The road winds south through more farm and forestland. I stop often to look around and make snapshots.
The road runs close to the woods keeping it in shade and making the view of the long run of trees on the opposite side of the valley look even more brilliant.
Paul doesn’t just stand around waiting for me. He’s actively pursuing a flexible back and can be seen here doing one of his exercises. I do the same myself now and again but have not yet worshiped on the road.
The landscape opens and affords some nice views as we near Spruce Creek. Hills and valleys seem to just go on and on.
So do the roads. A bit further south takes us through an area where another group of Amish have settled.
They haven’t been here long enough to develop the kind of agricultural enterprises seen in other areas. Their places are plain and simple, conversions of farmsteads once belonging to the English. I don’t think I could ever been that connected to the land. I just want to keep moving and seeing.
Eventually we get to the Family Chill and Grill Restaurant for breakfast and the man and woman listening to Paul’s story about baking. From there it covers the Italian class he’s taking in preparation for a trip to Italy and then on to a discussion of scooters and motorcycles and how people think about minimum power necessary for riding, riding safely, and riding within their ego limits. But that’s for another post. We left to go home, each having our own chores to do but I suspect Paul had some complicated mechanical or cooking adventure ahead. This picture is just an example taken by his daughter as he wrestles with on of his vehicles.
Some of you might have seen Paul’s Ecletic Scooter Page that appears in my links list. But if you want to see something really eclectic check out his main page.
Another day of riding and a good time all around.
Steve,
Great country roads ya got there.
Tim
Another great journey! Thanks so much!
It was our yellow Vespa that had the problem, they said for some reason the yellow and green ones have this issue. Something to do with the motor mount. But the service was excellent and the guys were so nice. We got our Vespas at Varsity in Fort Lauderdale and have been very happy.
Today it has rained non-stop so no Vespa rides. Hoping for sunshine tomorrow but it does not look good.
The PA countryside looks beautiful this time of year. I love the Fall colors.
Lea in Fort Lauderdale
Nice. The Concours sure has a wide behind compared to the Wasp.
I had seen that photo of him working on the bread van before; somehow linked from Steve Morris’ page. (The Morris Garage)
The one shot of him shooting you with an SLR up to the opening of his full-face; what a pain in the neck! Motorcycling is one instance where I happily settle for my point & shoot with 3″ LCD.
Jeremy
Pullin’ G’s
Hi Steve. It’s an honor to grace the pages of your blog. I always enjoy me motorcycle/scooter trips with you.
If you are up for it and have the time lets consider the diner in the Strip District in Pittsburgh or the Wellsboro Diner…I don’t know where that is… for next week. I got the 12v Gerbings adaptor for my cigarette lighter yesterday. oooo. That’s right you can’t talk to me. Paul “warm and fuzzy” ruby
I thought I should drop a word – two…
I’m from Serbia, that would be distant east-European former Yugoslavia. I have Vespa ET2 since this May and it came to me as a replacement for some other values and ways to spend a day, which I have lost in my life, while I was away from home, visiting NYC and Montreal this early spring.
When I have discovered this blog I was attracted to it immediately for several reasons. First, I also enjoy riding alone, although riding during winter season is not very welcome in a 2,5 mil. city which Belgrade is. Traffic is simply too hysterical, streets slippery and our drivers are everything but a forgiving type of people… it’s only one mistake you need. Second reason… hmmm… I also wanted a Triumph, Bonnie, T-bird or Legend but then I figured since commuting in a heavy density traffic, small thing as Vespa with it’s great MPG and ability to pull it through a tiniest gap between cars, then absence of clutch and shifter with which I got sick and tired during 13 years behind the steering wheel… so stylish, so reflecting someones attitude not only towards wheels but in general. Third, my eye is addicted to viewfinder just like yours. Pity is that just before I bought Vespa I was left without wonderful Linhof Tehnorama I used to shoot ladscapes, so now I’m using a tiny digital Leica I bought as a holiday type camera. I’ll be back to film eventually.
I’m in a serious lack of colorful landscapes you get to enjoy in your rides, or at least if I’m willing to reach them it would ask for 15-20 miles fight through traffic madness I got around me, not to mention that I’m living in a bare center of this city. ET2 with it’s 2-stroke 50cc engine is simply not capable for escaping out of town, so to make things right I ordered a beautiful Vespa Granturismo 125 and it should appear on my doorstep in next few weeks. I’ll also have to acquire a “type A” license to drive it, according to our laws, but it’s worth of extra effort.
I just wanted to say I enjoy your posts and with a difference in time zone I get to read most of them in early morning hours while having my coffee and getting ready to work. Nice way to break into working day. I enjoy the photos even more and I’m now encouraged to make some of my own ride… that is when I get next chance to ride, cuz I’m lacking winter gear and experience to ride 2 wheels in rain or greasy partially snowy roads.
Keep riding and posting, as you can see, there’s a devoted odeon on another part of the globe.
Milos
Tim: Central Pennsylvania is a wonderful place to ride a scooter. Lots of bicycles, motorcycles, horses, runners, hikers, and cars agree. And the colors that accompany this time of year are an added treat.
Lea: Glad you have the mechanical stuff sorted out. A yellow Vespa! That sure will stand out on the road.
Jeremy: Shooting with an SLR with the helmet on is a pain. Can’t really see the entire frame and you end up shooting and looking at the display to see what you got. I do that sometimes but composition is easier with the helmet off. Stopping as often as I do it can be tedious to take it on and off so much.
Paul: Another trip to Pittsburgh would be nice. Wellsboro would be nicer I think this time of year. I’ll have to see how things shake out in my schedule.
milos: Thanks for your feedback and kind words.
Riding alone makes it easier for me to see pictures and provides a spiritual kind of therapy. I feel more connected to myself and my life. And it’s fun. Great combination.
I don’t have the kind of battle you have to get to the landscapes I love to see. I can almost walk out the door into them. A Vespa ET2 and 20 miles through city traffic would be a challenge!
I was sick and tired of shifting and I hadn’t ridden in 30 years. I just knew I wouldn’t want to fiddle anymore. I used to have manual shift cars and trucks and got sick of that too.
Like you I am mostly working with a digital camera these days though I recently picked up my Mamiya 7 again to shoot black and white. I am interested in silver prints. For color though I will stick with digital.
If you ever have any pictures posted somewhere let us know. Would love to see the landscapes you get to ride in.
My son was home from Penn State, when I showed him the picture of McLanahan’s Market, he said he shops there all the time.
Paul suggested that I google “Paul ruby scooters” and I found your blog. The thought of a scooter and a motorcycle riding together is very funny. You pictures make it even funnier. Haha.
-Rei