Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.

2023 Honda CT125 Trail: All Things Change

by 39 Comments

2023 Honda CT125 Trail strapped down in the bed of a pickup truck.
Preparing to haul my new Honda CT125 Trail home.

I Done Done It

The deed is done. I bought a brand new 2023 Honda CT125 Trail. It’s home in the garage sipping power through a Battery Tender waiting for a little warmer weather. It was sunny and 17F this morning but the clarion call of cold weather riding no longer shouts louder than my desire to curl up in the house with a cup of hot chocolate or tea.

But this week the thermometer will point toward the 40F mark so the Honda CT125 Trail should see its first experience of the beautiful Central Pennsylvania landscapes.

Continue Reading

The Art of Being Alone

by 47 Comments

Vespa GTS 250ie on a rural road.
Alone on a ride.

Clearing the Mind

Being alone is the only reliable way I’ve found of clearing my mind. It may take place in a chair by the window in my office, on a walk through the woods with the dog, or on a ride on my Vespa scooter. The common connection is that I am by myself, alone with my thoughts, and slowly unwinding whatever confusion, pain, or suffering I’m carrying.

For a long time, I saw the need for being alone as a defect in my character, some personal lacking reinforced by the messages from media, marketing, and society that implied the highest and best experiences take place with other people. And my choice to turn in a different direction seemed to be something for which to make excuses or hide. But eventually, I embraced the fact that I am an introvert and that I gain energy when I’m alone. And I see my energy drained in stimulating environments involving other people.

I’m not saying I can’t or won’t socialize with other people, but I require time being alone. And riding the scooter or motorcycle has provided a wonderful opportunity to accomplish it.

Continue Reading

The Myth of Inspiration

by 27 Comments

“There is no greater enemy to those who would please than expectation.

Montaigne

Inspiration is real. I just look for it in the wrong places. Or in the wrong way. And I hold onto an expectation that it will come if I just wait.

Sitting in the living room, watching the world through the picture window, has become seductively normal.  Life exists in that view, and the images, thoughts, and dreams that float through my head comprise my sedentary existence.  I began to suspect my inaction and lack of motion was responsible for the difficulty I was having in sitting down at the keyboard and writing.  Or doing much of anything else for that matter.

I sat waiting all summer for the myth of inspiration.

Continue Reading

Vespa Scooter Freedom

by 16 Comments

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.

Continue Reading

Rider Indifference

by 54 Comments

While I can’t recommend it, an Emergency Room visit does break up the monotony of daily life. No heart attack this time, instead a foot injured by an overly exuberant dog. As my father always said, “It’s hell to get old.”

Shaking Rider Indifference

*NOTE* This post has been pressured by rider and hair stylist Billy Blades. I avoid him. He’ll tell me my hairstyle is something out of the 1980s. He rides a Goldwing. Can I really trust him? 😃 *NOTE*

One morning my dog Lily knocked me down some steps in the garden while we were playing with the tennis ball. It hurt but I thought I would walk it off. By dinner time I told my wife I was going to the Emergency Room. X-Rays showed no breaks. The doctor said “severe contusion” and sent me home.

Aside from that sort of diversion, my days begin and end with a sameness that is hard to understand. This must be what prison is like, an interminable counting of days where one day is the same as the next. It’s easy to understand how life could descend into a comfortable indifference fueled by streaming video, music, and books. Despite blue skies and sunshine the world feels empty and alone.

I’ve struggled to find balance between the reality of my day-to-day life and the mental construction of it. The gulf between the two is great. And rather than work toward some construction of a bridge, I’ve fallen into inactivity and indifference. As if I’ve been condemned to live on an island with no prospects or resources. This must be why I’ve been stricken with rider indifference.

Of course this is utter bullshit. A result I can only point to because of the hypervigiliance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are reasonable actions to take. But there is also the false apocalypse built from too much time and too little activity — physical, mental, or spiritual.

So I think it’s time to make an inventory of reality and imagination in hopes that I’ll emerge from the endeavor moving into life again.

Continue Reading