Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650
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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At the last Pennsylvania Safety Inspection for my 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle the mechanic pointed out cracks in the rubber and let me know that next year they wouldn’t pass. Two trains of thought immediately ignited. The first, driven by a sometimes irrational frugality, urged me to keep riding and wear them out despite already recognizing the rear tire no longer had the bite it once did. Especially on muddy roads.
The second train of thought led immediately to searching for the perfect replacement tires. An exercise that can easily become obsessive as I race from site to site, review to review, in the mistaken belief that there is a perfect tire. The whole time blind to the fact that my barely amateur wanderings on the bike mean that pretty much any tire with suffice. But the belief that there is a singular best choice can really dog my thinking.
Eventually two Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires arrived at my door.
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Over and over I’m reminded that there’s little profit in holding too tightly to my plans. It was demonstrated again as I prepared for a long ride with my friend Paul and proceeded to rip the tire valve from a rear tire of my W650 before even leaving the driveway. Hugely frustrating because I had planned so carefully, visualized the map, and imagined how it would feel to be on the road with a friend on a leisurely ride to breakfast.
The frustration was strong and dominating my thoughts which in turn robs me of some of the riding experience as I replay events in my head, continually kicking myself for the stupid mistakes I made leading up to having to replace the W650 with my Himalayan. Gratitude was nowhere to be found despite the gift of having an alternative machine to ride.
Frustration was ruling the moment and blinding me to anything good or positive. A sad way to leave on a ride.
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A few things were different on this ride. It was the first foggy morning in a long time. I love riding in fog. Mostly because photographs appear more dramatic and ethereal. I wasn’t sure how Dave felt about it but since he was waiting on his motorcycle when I arrived at his house I figured everything was ok.
Thinking about fog I was reminded of a ride on a Kawasaki KLR in the fog and took a look at an old post that highlights some of the ethereal moments in that kind of light. If you don’t ride in fog you may want to have a look at what you’re missing.
And for once I didn’t need to stop for fuel. My plan was a relaxed sixty mile ride to breakfast but outdated information from Google Maps upended it and we ended up having to ride almost twice as far before sitting down to eat and having to choose between bacon and eggs or a bacon cheeseburger.
Bacon and eggs is aways the clear winner.
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The air was clear, the light brilliant as my friend Dave and I started our ride to breakfast. I can’t count how many times I’ve stopped at Wampler to take in the view, thrilled that the only evidence of civilization are motorcycles and the path carved from the side of the mountain. I’m still drawn to this place, visited many times as a simple destination for an evening ride to watch the light change, see a black bear cross the road, or listen to a hawk shriek overhead.
I’ve been speaking with a friend about getting old and what that means. The conversation highlighted the value of curiosity and adventure as a way to keep old age at bay. My body is aging but my mind stays young through motion, thought, and living. I wonder whether I ride to stay young or I feel young because I ride.
Whatever it is, the desire to ride motorcycles remains strong.
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