Scooter in the Sticks

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

In Sickness and in Health

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View of a hospital at sunset
View at the end of the day while waiting for the elevator.

A post-surgical view

My wife and I have been married for over thirty years. The youth and energy that drove our lives when we began changes and fades over time. And a recent spine surgery that my wife underwent reminds me of the marriage vows I swore so many years ago.

…in sickness and in health…

That surgery reminded not only of vows, but triggered gratitude for health insurance and acceptance of the reality that I wouldn’t be riding for a while. For the last two weeks of July and through the end of August my scooters and motorcycles were idle as I focused on support and care.

And as healing progresses I’ve been able to begin to ride a little. Short trips, errands mostly, and the experience recharges my physical, mental, and emotional batteries.

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Riding in Circles

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Paul Ruby on his red Honda Trail 125 motorcycle.
A wild man in paradise.

Text Messages

“I’m honda trailing to grange if u want to tag along for the ride”

Verbatim from Paul. Capitalization and punctuation aren’t required to understand the offer. While I have no desire to go to the Grange Fair it would be nice to get out of the house and go for a ride. That’s reason enough and the text message provided the nudge to get up off my ass.

We took the back way to Centre Hall, slow roads with little traffic. When we stopped to say goodbye I can’t help to shudder a bit thinking what it would feel like for me to ride with no gloves and short pants. Paul is unconcerned.

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Friendship Follows Interests: Riding and Photography

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A black & white photograph of two men in a mirror.
A familiar state of being.

Making Friends

A young man I know complains how hard it is to meet people. To make friends. For me, friendships have all developed from common interests. Years ago it was hiking and backpacking. Then photography, and now riding. I’d like to tell that young man he is unlikely to find friends at bars, playing video games, dabbling in crypto, and placing bets with Draft Kings. I won’t offer advice unless he specifically asks for it.

My friend Paul recently gave me a photograph he made of the two of us at a local diner. It immediately struck a chord — that’s my friend Paul, always making photos, always sharing a ride.

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Discovering New Places

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A 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan along a rural road in farm country.
Few things as pleasurable as finding a new road to ride so close to home.

Overlooked Places

Just a mile or so to the right in this photograph is a road I’ve ridden or driven a hundred times or more. Somehow I never realized another world existed just over the hill. Sitting in my living room the previous evening with my good friend Google Maps I discovered some roads I didn’t know existed. It’s a little unsettling to discover new places just 35 miles from home. A fine day to do a little exploring on the Himalayan.

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A 150cc Vespa Scooter: Grateful for the Little Things

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A 2005 Vespa ET4 scooter on a rural road.
A perfect morning for a perfect little ride.

Mistaken Thinking

In my brief and seldom views into the social and marketing realms of the Moto-world I’m always shocked at how overwhelming the size, weight, power, and tech can be. It feels a lot like going into a hotel and turning on the TV and feeling it’s all commercials and pitches with very little content.

A 150cc Vespa scooter seems a lost and forgotten machine amidst the din of macho claims and excitement of real motorcycles. Scooters are dismissed for a variety of reasons. “Real” riders dismiss them for lack of everything. Some find them embarrassing, common I think in a world of giant SUVs and trucks where size reinforces myriad weaknesses in self image. And probably the most egregious view of scooters is their inability to deliver on the road. Simply put, they’re toys for the beach and not much more.

Taking my ET4 for a ride always reminds me of how capable it is, and how grateful I am to ride one. For a week our hot water heater was dead and awaiting replacement. That first hot shower, something easily taken for granted, was suddenly an amazing experience. How grateful I am to have a hot shower. It’s the same with my 150cc Vespa scooter.

Out on a backroad on my way to breakfast and taking in the beautiful central Pennsylvania landscape in which I get to ride. I’m a lucky man.

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