Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding Discipline

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Vespa GTS scooter parked on street in State College, PennsylvaniaThe Riding Ritual

Wake, exercise dogs, feed them, eat, shower and check the weather report.  Make decision to ride or not ride.

Riding discipline is a series of actions and behaviors that coalesce around a common goal of performance and engagement with the machine.  And that performance is what interests me.  Not only for how it affects riding, but how it reaches beyond to open consideration of a whole host of live actions and behaviors.

The Vespa is a teacher and mentor.  Unusual really, considering it’s only a collection of inanimate parts.

Yesterday morning I rode into town to meet a friend for breakfast.  The temperature was below freezing which required me to make a decision regarding riding, and then more regarding gear.  Engaging both questions over time creates a level of discipline which makes the entire process easier to engage and ultimately ride more.

Who cares about economy or fuel mileage when you can expand your experience through the use of a riding contraption…

 

Vespa Riding Soundtrack

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Often when I’m riding there’s a Vespa riding soundtrack in my head.  Not one powered by any digital device — just the quiet humming or singing that rises from the solitude I find while riding. The selections vary depending on mood and circumstance, but the music plays often — a private performance that echoes in my helmet.

It’s rare for me to sing openly among others.

Wayfaring Stranger — Michael Parks and Bonnie Bedelia

The most common song I sing is Wayfaring Stranger.  I’ve loved this song since I first heard it in the Pilot of Then Came Bronson.  My solitary rides are often quiet meditations on life and where I’m heading — from an existential perspective.  The song is in perfect harmony with those thought patterns.

Behind Blue Eyes — The Who

Behind Blue Eyes is harder to explain why it surfaces so often.  The lyrics don’t resonate but the melody and arc of the music does as it seems to push through some sort of adversity.  I find myself singing this at night.  Or in bad weather.

America — Simon and Garfunkel

America is my sunny day song when the road is clear and the world awaits.  It captures the thrill and excitement of exploration and discovery.  That was true the first time I heard it, long before I was riding the Vespa.

Riding is not a single experience but reflects the baggage I bring along.  While the road can disinfect and cleanse a troubled spirit, more often the ride conforms to the thoughts and feelings I’m having.  And music seems to capture all of it, my unique Vespa riding soundtrack, as these tunes play in the Shoei Arena.

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.

My Favorite Road Close to Home

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Vespa GTS scooter along Brush Valley RoadGateway Road

My favorite road begins one mile from my front door — Brush Valley Road.  Whenever I need to unwind with a short ride it’s generally my first choice. It’s a lightly traveled secondary road the winds through rural Pennsylvania; past horse farms and dairy farms, through villages and woodlots and all the time providing scenic views that help erase the noise of an especially chaotic day.

If I have little time the ride can loop home after just eight miles.  But it’s a gateway to longer ones.  Brush Valley continues on for forty miles until taking on the name of Buffalo Road.  And along the way there are a host of departure points for much longer rides.

Vespa GTS scooter in a winter wonderlandRoad for All Seasons

It’s a lovely road in all seasons.  The natural beauty of the landscape coupled with the seasonal effect make for some visually rich travel.  The road is well maintained and the drivers are generally well-behaved.

Vespa GTS scooter in fog along roadRoad for All Weather

As the road winds through the valley it is blessed from time to time with fog which can completely change the riding experience, almost to the degree that I sometimes don’t recognize where I am.  That’s a joy for a short ride in familiar territory.

Amish horse and buggy with Vespa GTS scooterOn Through Amish Country

Ten miles from home you’ll begin to see signs of the Amish communities in the valley.  Lines on the roads from the buggies.  Horse droppings.  The Amish farms.  Or even the horse and buggies themselves.  Added to the picturesque landscape makes the road one of the finest rides you’ll see in Pennsylvania.  And get the right weather and it’s magical.

Steve Williams with BMW F650 motorcycleOn to More Adventure

Brush Valley Road can be a jumping off point for a wide range of rides.  One of the most common rides I take is a 150 mile loop through three counties that traverses field, forest and mountain.  Here I was stopped along PA Route 44 as it crests Little Mountain.  I was riding a BMW F650 GS motorcycle.  One of my favorite motorcycles.  Plenty of power without being a lumbering mess.

Two Vespa GTS scooters in the mountains of central PennsylvaniaVespa in the Mountains

My friend Gordon and I rode our scooters on the same route and stopped in the same place to admire the view.  Some roads have those special places just screaming for a photography.

My favorite road provides a challenge to ride, exquisite scenery, and a chance to renew my riding spirit.  It just doesn’t get much better than that.

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.

Reflection

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Reflection of rider in a Vespa GTS mirrorMan in the Mirror

A lot more reflections when the sun is out.  And a welcome break from the gray, cold weather of late.  One of the first things reflected, aside from me in the mirror, is the filth and dirt on the scooter from the most recent sloppy ride.

Vespa GTS scooter in Bellefonte, PennsylvaniaReflecting on the Season

Reflecting on the weather — it’s been a long winter.  What’s strange is that it has been pretty mild as winters go around here.  No extended sub-zero weather, no long periods of snow cover.  A pretty wimpy winter by all normal measurements.  But personally, for a lot of reasons, it was hard.

So with the temperature at 50F today with the sun shining bright it was a fine day for a little ride.  By late morning I ended up in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania to spend some time with my journal at Cool Beans Coffee and Tea.

Reflection of Steve Williams in a windowObservation, Cogitation, Rumination

A lot of people don’t like having their picture taken.  Some won’t look in a mirror.  When I hear someone tell me that I’m surprised.  Both the camera and the mirror offer a wealth of insight to those who look. At the very least, it’s a slap in the face to move you from who you want to be into the sober reality of who you are.  Or a start in that direction.

Looking past the cosmetic details of a physical self, I begin to see myself as an actor on the grand stage of life.  And the subsequent thinking is at times helpful in deciding what the next step might be.

Just saying.

Vespa GTS along rural roadRiding Away from Winter

The local groundhog weatherman predicted six more weeks of winter.  I’m so ready to be done with it.  The warm weather has me believing that winter is done.  I probably should take another look in the mirror and ask about that…

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.

Turtles and Random Acts of Kindness

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Box Turtle on Vespa scooter seatStrangers on the Road

I’ve rescued a number of turtles crossing the road during my years of Vespa scooter riding.  Small, random acts of kindness.  Aside from a snapping turtle that was moved by having him clamp down on the end of a long stick, these little guys are docile creatures.  And perhaps thankful for a helping hand across a highway.

Random acts of kindness.  It’s hard to talk about without seeming like you’re saying, “Look at how nice I am.” Looking back at the past week and all the acts of kindness have to do with money — a donation to the local food bank when the cashier at the grocery store asked if I wanted to donate.  The same at Petco.  Or a donation to the SPCA in return for some bake sale dog cookies.

I want to say that stopping to let pedestrians cross in front of my car, or letting someone pass or merge on the highway.  But aren’t those really just driver responsibilities and not acts of kindness?

I’ve seen motorists completely stop traffic to allow a line of ducks cross a road.  Or a child try to return a baby bird to an unseen nest.  Almost as if it were instinctual.  And then I see a man in town asking for change treated as invisible and wonder where the kindness is.

Steve Williams and Vespa GTS scooter on foggy forest roadLiving in a Fog

Some years ago I was riding through the mountains on a foggy, misty morning.  The fog shrouds the world leaving a small picture with few details.  Riding decisions are simple as things slow down.  The environment demands more attention and the stress of speed and rushing are gone.  Perhaps it’s in those moments that those random acts of kindness are possible.  Otherwise there may be no time to engage them.

2017 Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge

This post is part of a month long writing prompt challenge conceived by Kathy at Toadmama.com.