Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding in the New Normal World

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Motorcycle and Vespa parked along a rural road.
My friend Paul and I riding in the new normal world.

Social Distancing with Motorcycles and Scooters


Every day I wake to what appears to be another regular, familiar, normal day. This morning the sun was shining in a dazzling clear blue sky. A runner passes in front of the house followed by a bicycle rider and then a man walking a dog. There are clues that something is different but unless I’m looking for them, nothing would hint to me that I’m living in a different world. A world that suggests I act a little differently too.

That brings me to riding. Two days after Pennsylvania’s “Stay at Home” order ended my friend Paul and I decided we would take a little ride together. That’s normal. But we did make a few changes. Like when stopping for photos we now park a little farther away from each other.

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Riding Alone and Solitary Adventure

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Vespa GTS scooter along Pine Creek
Peering at my Vespa scooter and beyond into adventure.

One of the things I love the most about riding is the solitary experience. Riding alone provides space from the mental and emotional distractions that can dim my awareness that I am living a blessed life. On these solitary rides, it’s easy to feel a sense of adventure, especially when traveling in the more sparsely populated areas of Central Pennsylvania. It’s during those rides I am having an adventure.

I’ve always admired the work of writers who share their stories of solitary adventure in the wilderness or at sea. Reading Edward Abbey and Colin Fletcher led me to my own solitary hiking and backpacking adventures. Being dependent on no one but myself fuels a level of excitement and satisfaction but let’s be honest, my solo adventures, on foot, and on the road have taken place in the safe confines of the Eastern United States.

A few days ago I came across a video by a young woman named Noraly who describes herself as a 32-year old, Dutch, solo-female traveler – currently on a mission to travel the world by motorbike!

One particular scene at about 11:40 into the video where she comes upon a torrent of water rushing across the road and plunging off a cliff gave me the chills.

Frightening video. Courageous woman. She must faith — in herself, and in other people in the world. One note — I’m amazed she never swears or curses!

If you fancy yourself an adventure rider, or dream of creating your own adventure, this video is worth watching. Mud, dirt, gravel, rain, heat, cold, dogs, protesters and more await.

She’s riding alone through places like Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan. And generally across the planet. As I watched one of the videos I realized I could never do what she does. I have neither the courage or pluck to venture into the unknown alone.

I’ve enjoyed watching the films with Ewan and Charlie traveling across the globe and I know they faced challenges and hardships. So do the men and women who undertake the guided adventures of myriad ride companies. But being alone. That’s different.

The people who quit their jobs, sell everything and venture out into the world are a different kind of human being. I admire what they do. I could never do what they do. At best I can live vicariously through the stories they share.

Here are a few others you might want to check out if solitary adventure interests you:

Mike Saunders — 69,000 miles on his Honda Ruckus

Stephanie Yue — on the road with her Vespa GTS 250

Lois Pryce — epic solitary rides on her Yamaha XT225 Serow

Walter Muma — in 1978, a 3-month 11,500-mile (18,660 km) journey by moped from Toronto (Ontario, Canada) to Yukon (Canada), Alaska (USA), and up the Dempster Highway to Inuvik, NWT (Canada), and back to Toronto.

Part of me would love to see my name on that list. But it’s just not me. My adventures will remain casual, safe, and in my mind.

Be well, be safe, and enjoy the road!

VIDEO: The Thrill of Riding a Vespa Scooter

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I’ve struggled to share with people the experience I feel while riding a Vespa scooter. The video below is an attempt at presenting the emotional energy of riding as I do.

I fully realize that different riders will have different experiences. Speed and following the perfect line along a winding road may be the pinnacle of experience for one while a leisurely wandering rings the bell for another.

This video reflects my experience. The thrill of riding a Vespa.

A statement on what riding a Vespa scooter means to me.

I have to confess a level of reluctance in posting this video. All of them in fact. I’ve become comfortable over the years writing about my experiences, how I feel, and what I think. But putting my voice to the writing has changed things. It feels more exposed and open. More personal perhaps. Maybe revealing more than I intend.

So bear with me as I experiment technically and emotionally.

I hope each of you is surviving whatever unique demands the COVID-19 pandemic has placed upon you. Be safe. Be smart. So you can ride another day.

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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Honoring the Dead

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view of a horizon in farm field
A gray day in Central Pennsylvania

Thoughts on Memorial Day

Memorial Day has special significance in Boalsburg, a small central Pennsylvania town that claims to have started the observance of this holiday. Add to that a shrine to the soldiers lost by the 28th Division of the United States Army at the Pennsylvania Military Museum and you have an ongoing reminder of the sacrifices made by men and women in this country.

With less than 10 percent of our population being veterans or serving actively in the military we owe them a debt of gratitude that’s difficult to repay. We owe them more than a vacation day disguised as a celebration of their service.

Granite monument to the battles of the Civil War
A granite monument at the Pennsylvania Military Museum remembering some of the campaigns of the Civil War.

Most of us never had the chance to sacrifice for our country until now. Until a global pandemic has swept across the land leaving our people and economy shivering in surprise and fear. Even the rosy predictions from the White House now peg the death toll at 135 thousand citizens by the end of the summer.

Service and sacrifice are at hand now. Each of us has the opportunity to honor the blood shed by our military through our own choices. To reflect their selfless dedication in our own behavior. To put the well being of our friends and family, neighbors and strangers, ahead of ourselves. We have the opportunity to celebrate the fallen men and women and reflect their sacrifice in our own.

I can’t say what that is for anyone but me.

Today I keep my distance from others as I can. And when I can’t I respect them by wearing a face mask. I am generous and give as I can. I remind myself often that all that I have in this life came with a cost. And I continue to hold in my heart that the United States of America a place of kind and honorable people.

I offer my best wishes to each of you on this Memorial Day.