Scooter in the Sticks

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

Bringing My 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan Home

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2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan in a dealer showroom.
A parting shot of the Himalayan on the day I bought it.

The Green Machine

Mornings starting with single-digit temperatures or worse don’t automatically engender thoughts of motorcycles, scooters, and riding. But for me, thinking about bringing my 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan home has been a major preoccupation. I’m embarrassed to say how many Himalayan YouTube videos I’ve watched. Or how many accessories I’ve considered (and purchased) on SRC Moto and Twisted Throttle.

I’ve been dreaming and scheming about the many and myriad rides I might take with the Himalayan. And bringing it home was the necessary first step.

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Riding is Magic

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It’s always a surprise what triggers me to write an essay for Scooter in the Sticks. This time it was dragging the garbage can to the street for pickup and seeing frost on the car.

BMW K75 motorcycle parked by the Mid State Trail in fog.
A magical, foggy morning on the motorcycle.

There are hints that winter is approaching; leaves descending from trees; geese honking overhead; squirrels and chipmunks growing fatter and fatter as they store the peanuts we put out for the birds. And now frost along with a faint bite on skin that rattles awake ancient programming in my DNA that whispers deep in my brain, “you better get ready…”

Those feelings sometimes emerge while riding, especially when conditions turn toward the surreal or become physically challenging. It happened one morning when I was riding the motorcycle into the mountains and encountered fog.

I discovered (again) that riding is magic.

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Testing the GoPro Hero 8 Black on My Motorcycle

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Last spring I made a handful of YouTube videos and while fun to make, they were more difficult than they needed to be because I was fiddling with a lot of old cameras. So I decided to replace everything with GoPro Hero 8 Black cameras and see if there was an improvement in the technical hurdles.

The short answer — much easier to produce a video with these more “modern” action cameras. And the stabilization is light years ahead of what I was using before.

I’m not sure where I’ll go exactly with video, but it is a lot of fun. I think I need a break from writing blog posts so I can work on my book!

Let me know what you think about this video and the idea of more riding videos.

Morning Meditations

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dog in garden
Dogs enforce habits and rituals for their owners.

You Shall Not Pass

Morning meditations have become a daily ritual. One that didn’t come easy.

I’ve learned life is easier when I begin the day slowly.  It’s not a simple task because my mind is most active in the morning and I can be swept into action before I really have an idea of what I should be doing.  Or worse, jump on the merry-go-round of obsessive thinking, often on a subject I’ve given far too much attention.  Fortunately,  I have dogs who stand ready to stop me as they demand their fair share of the American dream.

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Motorcycle Enlightenment

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BMW K75 along a rural road.
Riding a motorcycle is, for me, a fundamentally different experience from riding a Vespa scooter.

Riding is a practice.

And with enough practice, I’ll run across motorcycle enlightenment. The motorcycle doesn’t see much use during the cold months. With little protection from the elements and the relative ease of using the Vespa, I have to re-acclimate myself to the heavier, bulkier, less maneuverable machine.

I confess riding the BMW K75 brings its own, unique excitement. Different than the scooter, but rewarding in a way that the Vespa can’t match. Power, speed, and the physical mechanics of operating it creates a physical experience that’s more visceral.

I left the house to exercise the motorcycle, churn the oil and further ease myself into the comfort zone with this larger machine. Everything operated as expected but I have concerns regarding this 29 year old K75. Regardless of how flawlessly it operates there’s a part of my brain unwilling to accept it’s fine.

I had experienced the beginnings of motorcycle enlightenment.

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