Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650

A Grateful Christmas on and off the Road

by 17 Comments

Christmas arrived this morning with sunshine and blue skies.  Ice covers much of the ground and parts of the road after a day of rain gave way to a drop in temperatures.  I suspect I’ll see no holiday riders today.  Since my Vespa is still in the shop I didn’t have any holiday scooter images so I decided to take one of the Christmas cards I bought for next year and make a picture of it with a sprig of holly Kim cut last night in our yard.  Imagine that reindeer is a Vespa…

I want to wish all of you who read and comment here a Merry Christmas and fine holiday season.  This year the season has moved me to take stock of all the gifts I have already received and are sometimes easy to overlook in the rush.  It is the simple, everyday things that make up my life that are more important than anything I might find under a tree.  I have much to be grateful.
I am grateful:
to have a family who loves and cares about me.
to have good and faithful friends.
to have a career I enjoy.
for a home and warm bed.
for being healthy.
for not being hungry or cold.
for having learned how to have fun.
for being able to look at my life and realize how many fine gifts I have.
In this Christmas season of gift giving perhaps the biggest gift we can give ourselves is recognition of the good we may already have.  
Best wishes to all of you in the coming days, weeks and months.

No Christmas Tree on the Back of the Vespa This Year

by 20 Comments

A week ago I took my Vespa GTS into the shop because the rear brake lever was pulling in close to the handgrip and the stopping power was less than desirable. Turns out I need a new master cylinder and it is currently somewhere between Italy and Pennsylvania. So it looks like my tradition of bringing home a tree on the back of the Vespa won’t happen this year. And I had real plans too. Deep snow, wind, a long search through the mountains for the perfect Christmas tree, and then the ride home. Now I’m not sure if I really even want a tree.

Seriously though, I’m full of the Christmas spirit and it doesn’t bother me at all that I can’t scoot a tree home. Tomorrow night I’ll be going to a theater with my oldest daughter and her boyfriend to see “It’s a Wonderful Life” on the big screen. That’s right up there and maybe even ahead of transporting an evergreen on a scooter!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

by 12 Comments

I want to wish each of you a Merry Christmas and thank you for your support and kind words towards Scooter in the Sticks. I’ll be spending time with family and friends and perhaps even take the Vespa out for a ride. I have much to be grateful for.

The magic of the season I felt as a child has changed — replaced by the knowledge that this is indeed a wonderful life. And while I don’t know where Scooter in the Sticks will be going in the coming weeks and months I’m glad you are along for the ride!

I’ll leave you with the song below that triggers fond memories of a time when I was younger. Whatever your faith, belief, or tradition is, best wishes to you and yours for a fine holiday.

Bringing Home the Christmas Tree

by 15 Comments

It’s now a tradition — bringing home the Christmas tree on the back of the Vespa. I can’t help but think of Clark Griswold in the Christmas Vacation movie driving to get a tree in the woods for an old fashion family Christmas. I may have even sung a carol or two on the way home.

The tradition’s continuation was still in question that morning. Kim and I were talking about alternatives to a tree, it was getting late in the season, and we just weren’t sure. Sitting in Starbucks enjoying a pre-holiday breakfast of tea and chocolate marble cake I decided to ride to the Tait Farm for a tree.

Business was slow on a weekday this close to Christmas so I had the place pretty much to myself. A few people were wandering around looking at trees and decorations. With the temperature in the upper 30’s the melting snow made the fields a little sloppy so I decided to buy a pre-cut tree rather than wander around with a saw and cut my own. Waiting patiently among the pines and spruces was a lovely six and a half foot Douglas Fir.

It didn’t take long to strap the tree to the rear rack and start towards home. While there weren’t a lot of people at the farm there was a lot of traffic on the road (US 322) running past the place. It’s a main artery between Interstate 80 and points south through Central Pennsylvania and thick with trucks and cars. I wanted to take a more rustic and relaxed path home — to the right I would find a nice gravel road but with no winter maintenance it would likely still be covered with snow and ice. To the left just a half mile down the road I could turn off and ride through a golf course and into a quiet valley that would lead me home. I waited until I could see a big gap in traffic and made a beeline towards the golf course. With the tree on the back I couldn’t go much faster than 45 MPH without the tree beginning to shake. I could see a line of tractor-trailers bearing down on me in my rear-view mirrors. By the time I made the turnoff they were only a hundred feet behind me and coming fast. Ho. Ho. HO!

Once in Brush Valley things were much more relaxed and I could ride along slowly and enjoy the scenery and sing a few bars of Let it Snow and I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas. Dean Martin or Bing Crosby I’m not. Having earplugs does enhance the singing of even a less than mediocre singer like me.

I didn’t go straight home. I wanted to find another present for Kim so I stopped at the soon to go out of business Federal House, a small gift shop with an eclectic collection of things. With everything at 75 percent off I purchased two 10 by 16 inch paintings mounted in ornate, rustic metal frames. No problem with transport on the Vespa — just strapped them down on top of the tree with a few more bungee cords.

I like Christmas and tradition is important. If you are looking to add one yourself you may want to consider hauling a Christmas tree home on the back of your scooter or motorcycle. It looks more imposing than it actually is. The tree weighs less than a passenger and when balanced correctly it doesn’t even take much to keep it attached. Keep the tree less than 9 feet in length and you won’t even be a wide load!

Merry Christmas!

by 10 Comments


Some part of me expects to find the landscape covered in snow on December 24rd. It’s hard to listen to Dean Martin on the radio singing “Let it Snow” or Johnny Mathis doing “Sleigh Ride” when it was 50 degrees and sunny yesterday. I didn’t grow up on “Christmas in Dixie”. The little kid in me wakes up and won’t go to sleep during the holidays. I rent all the classics at the video store. My daughter and her boyfriend invited me to go with them to see “A Christmas Story” on the big screen at a new theater in town. It’s still a thrill to bring home and trim a Christmas tree. Family and friends will gather this evening to spend time together in the best spirit of the holiday. It’s from this place I want to extend my best wishes to all of you for a Merry Christmas!

Over the past year I’ve watched the number of visitors to Scooter in the Sticks grow and I am grateful for the network of riders who share their experience where and on their own sites. It’s been a positive experience, a gift from all of you who read and post here. Thank you!

It’s Christmas Eve and the Vespa is sitting quietly in the garage after carrying me yesterday on last minute errands before Santa arrives. Other than a brisk wind the riding conditions were perfect. I stopped along the Linden Hall road to make a photograph of the rural area I enjoy riding through.


Again, I wish all of you the best for you and your families.

Merry Christmas!