Scooter in the Sticks

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

On Down the Road: 2022

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The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.

Aldous Huxley
Steve Williams portrait in the woods.
A self-portrait during a walk in the woods on New Year’s Eve.

I love the quote by Huxley on solitude. Not so much to think of myself possessing a powerful and original mind, but rather to excuse my life long attraction to solitude.

I’m not sure if it’s a result of my genetic programming, the fact I grew up an only child, or just an accident or circumstance. What I do know is I’ve spent a lot of time apologizing for wanting to be alone.

But I’ll save this topic for another post. Right now I want to take a moment to consider the year which has raced by, and the new year ahead.

And to wish anyone reading these words my best wishes for a happy, safe, and satisfying New Year!

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Gripped by Sadness

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A lone tree in an open field with a mountain ridge in the background.
Does this picture represent hope and possibility? Or the terrible feeling of isolation and hopelessness that can leave me gripped with sadness.

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

Buddhist Proverb

Being gripped by sadness is an awful state, but one that fades with riding and writing.

There exists two possible options when I write a blog post. The first and most simple is when I write about the experience and feelings during the actual ride pictured. And the second is when I write about other feelings triggered while looking at the pictures.

My friend Paul and I were headed to Kissell Motorsports for my Vespa’s annual Pennsylvania safety inspection.

It’s funny how different a photograph can look between the moment I made it and when I am writing about it. The sun is shining, birds are singing, there is food at hand, and money in my pocket. In terms of what’s required to survive in this world I want for nothing.

Yet I’m gripped by sadness.

The sweep of an open landscape can generate a sense of hope and possibility. Often, perhaps always, when I stop to make these kinds of photographs I feel a thrill. And I did on that morning. But looking at them now, influenced by the rattling chaos of life, I see none of that.

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Vespa Scooter Freedom

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Vespa GTS scooter along rural road.
This looks like freedom to me. Of the mind, the spirit, and the body.

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.

MOSHE DAYAN

An escape from the noise of everyday life into a state of Vespa scooter freedom is a gift of hope and joy. The same now as it was when I began riding a scooter so many years ago. In minutes the noise and stress that can accumulate in my head burn off like fog on a sunny morning. The air embraces my body and I’m flying. All I can think is it’s great to be alive.

It doesn’t take long until I’m far from home. The scooter has quietly transported me to a different reality. The long road, the spring light, the promise of life emerging again from winter reduces my world to something simple I can grasp. Like the throttle of the Vespa.

Riding provides a taste of freedom, and it quickens the soul.

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Turning a Page

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Vespa GTS scooter on forest road.
On the road into the unknown.

A Slap in the Face

This past year has seen the world struggle. No amount of riding could free me from concern for myself, my family, and those I love. As much as I want to believe that today, the start of a new year, will be different, it’s merely turning the page in the middle of a long novel. There is no magic today, no sudden cleansing of the world. What was bearing down yesterday remains today.

I have faith that the future will be bright, that suffering will ease and those things that provided pleasure and joy will return. But not today. The same struggle goes on for some time to come.

When I looked at the photograph of my Vespa in the forest just two months ago, I’m reminded of how exciting it is to peer into the unknown. Not knowing what lays ahead. Not sure what I’ll encounter. I have that same feeling now as I embrace the start of 2021.

I pray each of you reading these words will find hope and solace amidst whatever challenges you face.

The Heart of the Ride

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Vespa GTS scooter on rural road.
A decision point. A pause to consider where to wander.

The Heart of the Ride

I wake in the middle of the night and think. Sometimes about riding. More often about the deranged state of everyday reality. I prefer thoughts of riding. Of moving, traveling, experiencing. It’s the heart of the ride.

Autumn almost escaped. It’s the swiftest of seasons. The landscape changes from green to orange to a drab, monochromatic scene as the trees surrender to the power of autumn. I feel a physical and emotional quickening as time churns in me as it drags me toward winter. I know something is ending. And something else begins.

I find myself once again standing alongside the road with no idea where to go. A drifter on a scooter with nothing pressing to do. A ride on the Vespa affords me an opportunity to bear witness to the rapid transformation of color, light, and fragrance. And like so many rides without plan or destination I find my only goal is pushing the scooter out of the garage. Where I go from there is anyone’s guess.

It’s the journey that attracts me. The mystery. The tapestry of unknowable experiences that may await. And these are the things I think about while riding my Vespa. It doesn’t happen in the car, or even very often on the motorcycle. Riding the scooter takes me to the heart of the ride.

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