Scooter in the Sticks

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

Greeting the Cold Riding Season

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Steve Williams reflected in store windowSay Hello to Cold Riding

I knew soon it would become dramatically colder, if only for a few hours.  And last Sunday morning was this year’s introduction to the cold riding season.  The forecast when I went to bed suggested temperatures in the upper 30s.  When I looked out in the driveway in the morning the frost on the cars indicated something different.  32F and sunny.

Wasn’t sure I was ready to ride at that temperature yet.  For me, the cold riding season requires a slow approach, a few degrees at a time to let my mind become comfortable with the unavoidable cold you notice after months of warm weather.  It’s something that requires a few Jedi mind tricks to overcome.

The self portrait in the window on the way to Saint’s Cafe shows evidence of two new features — a wool cap that keeps my head warm after removing the full face helmet, and my faithful insulated leather gloves from LL Bean.  They bridge the gap between warm weather and the time it becomes necessary to install the Tucano Urbano muffs.

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Ride in the Country

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Vespa GTS scooter in front of Elaine's in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania

Let the Ride Begin

My friend Paul and I planned a short ride in the country culminating in breakfast and a return home.  Can’t always go on long adventures.  For awhile it seemed like I could never manage much more than a few dozen miles at a time.

So breakfast as the goal and a short ride as the approach would have to be enough as we gathered on Main Street in Boalsburg.

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Seeing With New Eyes

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“The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”

Marcel Proust, Novelist (1871-1922)
Vespa GTS scooter on a wet gravel road

Channeling Proust

Don’t remember the last time I’ve ridden through a new landscape, one I’ve not ridden through or near many times. But I am familiar with the idea of seeing with new eyes. One of the mesmerizing aspects of riding is how often the rarefied, highly focused visual attention to detail to the road opens a door to noticing much more. And in those moments the detail and emotion of even the most familiar places reveal new secrets. Rain, mist, heavy skies — they conspire to recreate the world. And while on the Vespa, I’m a witness. Add to it the free flow of thoughts and feelings and its no wonder a well-traveled path looks new.

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Oppressed by the Past

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Vespa GTS scooter on road through the woodsWandering Through the Woods on a Vespa

Not everything here is about riding. It’s a means to an end. I’m never sure what I’ll discover on the road.

A dozen personal journals found their way to the landfill. Years of thought and complaint vomited on the page. Memories suspended in ink on hundreds of pages of paper. Free now of the weight of their presence.

Riding the Vespa scooter earlier in the day after an appointment with my cardiologist; wandering in mind and body and thinking of the past.

Wondering about the future.

The cool, autumn air keeps me bright and awake as it seeps across my skin. A sure sign of sloppy preparation and attention to detail — typical of early cold season riding.

The doctor swept the past aside as we talked about the future — medication, exercise, diet and lifestyle, the magic mix that increases the odds for healthy years ahead. Only my own thoughts keep me oppressed by the past. In this case — a heart attack.

Those discarded journals had their own power to oppress just as beliefs and assumptions and physical possessions can. It’s easy to become chained and weighed down without even realizing the ponderous load being dragged along. Slowly I’m working to free myself so I can experience more fully what’s right in front of me.

Riding the scooter through the woods is an exercise in simplicity. It expects nothing from me save for the basic skills required to safely operate. In that simple act is the space to observe chains and baggage, and hear the seductive song that softly winds through them. It’s the rare ride where I return home with no education.Continue Reading

Aimless Wandering

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Vespa GTS scooter in fog along railroad tracksWandering Along

The past few weeks have been a collection of exquisite riding weathers — fog, warm days, cool mornings.  For many riders it would open the door to long rides and adventure.  I wish I could say that’s what I’ve been doing.  But I’ve been doing some aimless wandering, on foot and on the Vespa scooter, but it’s not so much about the physical act as it is about engaging the senses.  Relishing the perceptions of being out in the world.

I stood for a long time at this railroad crossing gazing at the edge where what’s visible disappeared into the fog.  I wasn’t looking for anything; just feeling life flow around and through me.

That’s often the case when I’m riding the scooter.Continue Reading