Scooter in the Sticks

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

Weekend Riding Ritual

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Vespa in wooded groveVespa Scooter at Launch

Just down the road from my home, I sometimes stop at the Boalsburg Military Museum to make a photograph of the scooter.  I’m not sure why but suspect it’s often a time where I contemplate where I might be going that day. A kind of riding ritual connected that lets me consider options that factor in time, weather and how I’m feeling.

On this morning last weekend I was thinking about the fog I could see in the distance and the appointment I had with my friend Paul Ruby at Saint’s Cafe in State College, Pennsylvania.  Conflicting assignments.  The desire to ride through fog is always strong, but so are the get together’s at Saint’s to look at and talk about photography.  Some quick calculations suggested I may be able to touch both.Continue Reading

Take a Ride

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Paul Ruby with his Piaggio Fly 150 scooterThe Secret Garage

I can’t be sure if my friend Paul refers to this place as his garage, or his secret garage.  Either way, there’s always a bit of mystery here each time I visit.  We were going to take a ride a couple weeks ago to breakfast somewhere, the usual dubious plan that’s driven by hunger and an associated desire to ride.

Past visits to the secret garage have seen the place flooded from hard rains, full of cars and motorcycles, or piled high with pallets of old electronic equipment destined for eBay. His Ferrari, a 1975 308 GT4, lives under a blue car cover. I’m never quite sure what goes on here. With his Fuji X100F camera in tow, he dusted off the Piaggio Fly 150 scooter and we got on the road.Continue Reading

Riding and Exploring on a Small Scale

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How often do you discover things when you ride?

Vespa and Piaggio scooters on a forest roadVespa and Piaggio Scooters on the Road

In my dreams I’m riding somewhere far away. The destination unknown, the road moves through the woods and then rises into mountains, I’m curious what will be over the next rise. During every ride there are moments, some quiet, others thrilling, when a door opens a chance to investigate and explore. Driven by curiosity, riding and exploring is one of the most satisfying activities of my existence. I’ve mistaken it for freedom. But it’s something more tangible and direct. It’s an experience from childhood that was stolen away by adult life; found and retrieved thanks to riding a two-wheeled machine.Continue Reading

Learning to Waste Time

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Vespa GTS scooter along Interstate 99Highway Riding on a Scooter

Standing along an Interstate 99 is probably not the best place to discover that you don’t know how to waste time. Or more precisely, that with few requirements on my time in retirement, I can’t seem to relax.

I was on my way to Altoona to have breakfast with my father-in-law and because I spent too much time playing with the dogs I had to “hurry” to arrive at the agreed upon time. My normal route would wind through the countryside and take a little over an hour. On the freeway I can make it in 40 minutes.

For anyone keeping notes on whether a Vespa can handle riding on an Interstate highway — my GTS scooter ran between 65 and 70 mph the entire 48 mile trip.Continue Reading

Riding Toward Simplicity

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Vespa GTS scooter along a rural road lined with cornfieldsSimple Vespa Riding

The hot weather has vanished and I’ve been on the scooter more. Riding nowhere in particular. Just enjoying the passing landscapes. A stop along a rural road to admire the field corn, tall and lush from an abundance of sunshine and moisture.

I ride a Vespa scooter because it’s easy. And it can do practically anything. Anywhere. With few exceptions (water crossings and deep mud), most of the scooter’s limitations exist between my ears.

A recent email I received from a rider in Nova Scotia has been rattling in my head. Specifically, a short passage regarding a cross continent trip from Washington state to Nova Scotia:

“Most of that 14-day adventure (almost exclusively across America) is a blur to me. Like so much of my riding up to that point, my focus was 150 feet off of the front wheel and hitting every apex with surgical precision. In the process, I missed a great deal of beauty.”

I read about people making grand adventures; on two-wheels, on cruise ships, in cars. And I marvel at the distances traveled and the experiences consumed. But it all seems rushed.Continue Reading