Scooter in the Sticks

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

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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Returning to the Moto-World

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A rural, central Pennsylvania farm landscape
The world I stepped away from two months ago is different now upon my return riding a motorcycle.

Out of the Garage and Into the World

It was a cool, gray day in my little part of the world. Somehow it feels a little different than it did just two months ago when I parked the scooter and motorcycle.

I don’t know how those of you who retire from riding in September and don’t return to it until spring manage. After a six-week riding hiatus due to pandemic restrictions in Pennsylvania I was experiencing no-moto cabin fever.

Still, I felt restricting myself from riding the Vespa and K75 was prudent considering all the unknowns at the time and my own unique immune system quirks which squarely place me in the high-risk category of humanity. One day before the stay at home order was to expire in Pennsylvania I pushed the motorcycle out of the garage and into a new world.

It seemed like an eternity since my last ride.

I tentatively returned to the road riding a motorcycle. My BMW K75.

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VLOG: Gratitude During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Man jumping in air next to a Vespa scooter at sunrise
Finding gratitude and joy in memories of riding.

Remembering Good Times, Having Faith in Tomorrow

If I had to choose one photograph that depicts the joy I feel while riding it would be this one of my friend Paul Ruby leaping in the air on one of our many early morning rides. This photograph was made over ten years ago but that feeling has not diminished in frequency or power.

During the coming days and weeks, many of us may entertain our darkest fears and concerns.

I have. But I also have choices. I plan for the worst but continue to hope for the best. Part of that process stems from the fine memories I have of life in the rear view mirror, a strong belief that all things pass, and faith that there will be a new tomorrow. I just don’t get to know what it will be until it gets here.

Until that time I daily give thanks for what I have. Finding gratitude, even in a storm, warms my spirit and fuels hope. I produced a short VLOG entry on some of the things rattling in my head.

Thoughts on Gratitude during the COVID-19 Pandemic

I hope these words find you safe, healthy and with a positive view of life ahead.

Sunny Days to Ride

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Shadow of a man on plants next to a stream.
Pondering life along a creek.

Off the Digital Grid

I’ve been a shadow here of late. The Vespa has been on the road and the camera active, but motivation to write, process or share has been slight. A lot’s been going on and creative interests suffer when the universe seems to grow dark. At least that’s how it seems at times in my head.

The reality though is there have been a lot of sunny days to ride. And ride I have.

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A Fine Way to Begin the Day

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Vespa GTS scooter parked in the morning sun
My reliable Vespa scooter stands ready to ride in the driveway.

A New Day

The light at dawn, I’m convinced, has a special power to renew and restore the spirit.

Glow to gleam and on to dazzling light as I push the Vespa scooter into the driveway for a short ride to town. Sunbeams, medicine for the mind, food for the body, I stand a bit taller in the radiance that’s nature’s gift to humanity.

A simple event. A fine way to begin the day. My love of sunlight.

Heliophilia.

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