Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.

Riding Under a Clear Winter Sky

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Shadow of a Vespa scooter rider on a snowy field
One of the treats of riding in the winter is the air is so sharp, crisp and clear that you can almost feel your spirit soar.  At least that’s how I experience it.  Today, from the right vantage point,  you can see for forty miles.  With the sun shining and the air still the cold felt far away. Riding a Vespa in winter is magic.

Vespa GTS scooter and Mt. Nittany
 A stop (again for the thousandth time) at Mount Nittany to make a photograph.  The image is burned in my brain but I still make pictures.  Not sure why…

Vespa GTS scooter in snow covered forest
The roads were mostly dry but you can’t ride in the sticks without paying close attention to possible ice.  It seems to grow unexpectedly — snow from a branch or a car roof, a splash of water or coffee from an unthinking motorist.  As the sun pushed towards the horizon I made my way towards home from a few afternoon errands.

Vespa GTS scooter along rural road with snow
There is a weird, strange thrill in riding in the cold that’s hard to describe.  Part visual, part physical, part spiritual.  The ride is important, an anthem to living, a meditation on feeling blood and breath course through the body.  The cold sharpens the experience.  Another gift of a Vespa in winter.

Or so it seems.

Vespa scooter in snowy field at sunset

Time passes quickly on the road.  The destination approaches rapidly regardless of how many times I stop or detours I take.  The ride, as is life, seems to short, too fast, too soon over.

Under a clear winter sky each breath feels special.  Each moment sparkling with life.

No wonder the Vespa finds its way out onto the road…

My Winter Riding Checklist

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Vespa GTS scooter between snow covered carsVespa Scooter in Snow

Winter riding, especially in the snow, generates the most interest and traffic on Scooter in the Sticks.  I’m uncertain if that’s true because it’s like watching an accident, or people are searching for reasons to try it themselves, or something more or less profound.  Regardless, this activity that I find so satisfying resonates.  With that resonation in mind I thought I would share the mental checklist I go through before venturing out into the snow.  I made all these pictures this morning and started gathering my checklist thoughts on the road.

There was snow on the ground when I got up this morning with more on the way until changing to sleet and freezing rain.  That transition was many hours away.  When I made the above photo I had already made the decision to ride.  Shoveling snow and cleaning the cars could wait until later.  A rider has to have their priorities straight.Continue Reading

Tomorrow is the Very First Day of the Rest of Your Life

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Stumbled across the opening scene from Then Came Bronson again and struck how it still resonates 44 years after seeing the pilot.  Can’t help but think the writer mapped out a series of archetypal characteristics the would capture the imagination regardless of whether a person rides a motorcycle or not.

I want to say it has a universal appeal but it definitely was created with men in mind — a Mad Men styled world where the guy always gets the girl during or at the end of almost every adventure.  Can’t remember ever having a conversation with a woman who pointed to Then Came Bronson as an important cultural event in their lives.

Listening to Bronson’s brief exchange with the man in the hat at the intersection and riding off on a motorcycle to see the world was a powerful idea for me at 15.  It remains that way today.  And even though I ride a Vespa I can easily imagine myself on a Sportster.

Wonder what a 2013 version of this would be?  Ewan McGregor and Charley Booman’s Long Way adventures have some things in common save for the absolute aloneness that Bronson can conjure.

Maybe it’s time for another pilot.  I have some ideas…

Doubt, Foreboding and the Solitary Adventurer

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Yesterday evening I took a little ride around the valley inspecting the landscape after a thunderstorm had rolled through.  Hardly an adventure compared to those souls who venture forth on long journeys lasting days and weeks through unknown places.

A recent post on Shreve Stockton’s (author of The Daily Coyote and Honeyrock Dawn) Vespa Vagabond blog discussed the challenges for riders who announce plans for adventures to friends and family and the ensuing resistance, doubt and anxiety it can arouse.  Her post titled An Interview of Sorts answers questions from a woman planning a trip across the United States on her Vespa.  It’s worth reading, especially for riders who’ve not ridden alone or gone on longer trips.

Stockton writes of her own solo cross country journey on her Vespa ET4, details, route planning, Vespa performance and such.  The most interesting part for me was when she described how those plans were received by the people you hope will support you in life.  She touches on fear of the unknown and the perceived danger that lies over the next hill.  Stockton responds to real concerns about personal safety and disaster in the following manner: “As for the true, valid, compassionate concern ~ my answer to this (to others and to myself) is that “the bad things” could happen anywhere.”

I think there is some freedom in those words for everyone worried about what might happen if they venture beyond their own backyard.

It’s an I wish I could speak from a place of vast experience crisscrossing the country on my Vespa about how I put aside misgivings and apprehensions about venturing forth alone on the road.  Unfortunately such is not the case.  My solitary adventuring has all taken place within a 200 mile radius of home and within a 24 hour period.

Perhaps someday time and circumstance will allow me my own big adventure.

Riding to Alaska

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PICTURE COURTESY MOTOQUEST

Admit it — you dream of riding to Alaska. The isolation, solitude and wilderness haunt your dreams. One hundred miles of gravel after lunch just means dinner will taste all the better. Even if it comes from a can cooked over a small fire along the road.

You can sample a taste of this life on Wednesday evening, April 6, at 7pm in the Outreach Building at Penn State. Kissell Motorsports in conjunction with coolBLUE has brought Brenden Anders from MotoQuest to town to give a presentation on the riding opportunities they offer around the world and answer any questions you might have.

REGISTER FOR THIS FREE EVENT.

PICTURE COURTESY MOTOQUEST

This is Brenden Anders and he’s doing what I wish I had the good sense to do when I was 23. Looking at that pretty Kawasaki KLR650 reminds me that Kissell Motorsports has a similar one in their showroom. Actually it belonged to a friend of mine, a fellow photographer at Penn State. But I digress…

I’m anxious to listen to the experiences Brenden has had on the road and how a MotoQuest tour might fit into my future. A look at their website reveals a wide range of opportunities for just about any riding taste. I’m still trying to picture a Vespa in Alaska.

Even if you can’t make it to the event visit the MotoQuest site and register in their drawing for an Alaska trip.

A guy can dream right??