Scooter in the Sticks

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

The 200 Mile Hot Dog

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Scooter and motorcycle being moved outside of a garage
My friend Paul Ruby had to exchange his Honda CRF250L motorcycle for his BMW K1300 before we could begin our 200 mile ride for a hot dog at the Coney Island Lunch in Shamokin, Pennsylvania.

Moving Motorcycles

This post was supposed to be about hot dogs. But it seems to be more about the misery of summer riding.

There’s only room for one motorcycle in Paul’s garage. For long rides that don’t require any off-pavement maneuvers he prefers the luxurious comfort of his BMW K1300 motorcycle. Sure enough, when I arrived at his house to begin our ride to get a hot dog for lunch we had to first exchange machines. That meant paying a visit to a garage he rents on the other side of town.

Riding 200 miles to get a hot dog is exactly the sort of crazy behavior that we’ve both managed to normalize in our riding life. Any excuse to ride. Time and distance are irrelevant. We exist in a world where such things are concerns in the domains of youth and career. We’re just two guys with few cares in the world.

That’s before encountering the misery of summer riding.

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Evaluating my 1992 BMW K75 Motorcycle

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1992 BMW K75 motorcycle
I was evaluating my 1992 BMW K75 motorcycle during an early morning ride.

Embracing an Older BMW K-Bike

After ten days of BMW K75 ownership I’ve learned a lot about the machine and what it will mean for me in the weeks, months and years ahead. The motorcycle is more complex than the Vespa and that complexity means more maintenance which translates directly into more expenses whether I do the work myself or take it to the dealer.

Before I delve too deeply into all the things that have to be done to the bike I wanted to share up front what it is like to ride. I took the K75 out this morning for a 50 mile jaunt at sunrise. It’s a joy to ride in every situation I encountered including some meandering gravel paths through farmlands managed by Penn State.

I can already tell I’ll enjoy the motorcycle as much as I do the Vespa.

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Scooter and Motorcycle on a Perfect Morning

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Scooter and Motorcycle along highway
Scooter and Motorcycle pause along road on the way onto the Allegheny Plateau.

Sweeping Roads on a Perfect Morning

The plan was breakfast at a hitherto unvisited cafe in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. The Everyday Gourmet. Unlike most breakfast rides that generally require less than an hour on the road, this one would require scooter and motorcycle twice that time. Enough to transform serene thoughts of life and liberty to pure, hunger fueled obsession.

I knew I should have had a bowl of Cheerios before leaving the house.

It was a fine morning though and traffic was generally light. Our route would take us on roads neither Paul or I had ridden before, always special, and the weather moved from clear air, to mist and on to blue skies and sunshine.

Stopped along a road that climbed into the Allegheny Mountains I was reminded of how beautiful this area is. It’s easy to lose sight of that and focus on all the things that make it less than perfect.

On this morning — it was perfect.

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Thoughts on Independence Day

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Steve Williams standing in the road with his Vespa
Some of my best thoughts come while standing in the middle of the road.

Thoughts on the Road

I’m not sure if it’s the books I’m reading, the places I walk, or just the approach of July the Fourth that has sparked thoughts on Independence Day. These are my reflections, in no particular order and perhaps won’t make much sense to anyone but me.

I’m surprised at how much I don’t know about the founding of this country I call home. I’m working to better understand the flame kindled 243 years ago that has become the United States of America.

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Riding Enlightenment

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Vespa GTS scooter on rural road on a sunny day.
A perfect morning for a ride. Cool air, fluffy clouds, and rain that would hold until later in the day.

Sunny Morning Enlightenment

Every ride is different. If they weren’t, I would have lost interest in riding a long time ago. My attention can’t be held by the machine I ride. It’s just a tool necessary in being a rider. In the pantheon of cosmic questions, albeit a minor one, is “Why do I ride?”. The answer isn’t important but it has fueled some mental gymnastics on my identity as a rider. On this day I experience a little riding enlightenment.

Scooter rider? Vespa rider? While enjoying a morning ride I realized there’s a difference between someone who identifies with a particular riding machine and someone who’s a rider.

I’m a rider. I just happen to ride a Vespa scooter.

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