Scooter in the Sticks

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

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

Morning Vespa Ride

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Vespa GTS scooter on a foggy morning Vespa rideHow to Return a Library Book on a Vespa Scooter

In general, I go to great lengths to find reasons to ride the scooter.  Most mornings begin with the dogs, walking slow laps through our woodland landscape and reflecting on the day a step at a time — a quiet meditation on life.  Contemplation is made more difficult by two excited canines with squeaky balls in their mouths who are anxious for the contemplation to end and the ball throwing to begin.

When I saw fog on the mountain yesterday morning, the fragile detente between man and dog was threatened.  If I go out of my way to find reasons to ride, fog trumps almost all riding situations.  It wasn’t long before I remembered I had a library book to return — a short five miles to town.

The direct route to the library is a bore.  Besides, the fog was on the mountains so I quickly determined an alternate route was in order — the long way around so to speak. Just a slightly extended morning Vespa ride.Continue Reading

One Last Ride to Work

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Vespa GTS scooter parked in parking lotConvenient Vespa Parking

Friday was my last day of great parking on the Penn State, University Park campus.  One last ride to work. Retirement would mean surrendering a sought after parking permit. Walking into the office I took one last look at the familiar morning landscape.

The weather was perfect.  And the previous day I had new shock absorbers installed, preparation for whatever new riding adventures present themselves.  After 35 thousand miles the ride was getting ragged.Continue Reading

How to Ride a Vespa Scooter

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Vespa scooter on a wet rural road in PennsylvaniaHow to Ride a Vespa Scooter — With Your Eyes Wide Open

A couple weeks ago I left the house on a damp morning with no goal other than to find breakfast.  For me, that’s how to ride a Vespa scooter — without limits or preconceived notions of what it was designed to do or how it can perform.  At the most basic level, the scooter can do almost anything you want it to do.

This post isn’t about technique.  I won’t discuss lines or counter steering.  There will be nothing on braking technique or road awareness.  Learn those things from experts and through enlightened practice.  What I want to do here is suggest a few things to broaden the riding experience.

I know motorcycle riders who think in terms of performance.  Their descriptions feel like there’s a competition between them and the road — how fast they can travel, how aggressively they can chew through curves, how smoothly they can overtake obstacles in their path.  While I’m certain there are Vespa riders who share this approach, I don’t know any personally.

When I think about riding a Vespa, it’s about an experience of the world.  And it starts with your eyes wide open.Continue Reading

Riding Freedom: Scooter in the Mountains

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Foggy forest road near Little FlatFog on the Mountain

Standing in the yard with the dogs this morning I could see fog on the mountain.  The scooter moves toward it like a compass needle points north.  I feel the draw.  And I feel the pressure of responsibility to work, or take care of the incessant business of life.  A friend suggests I abandon work and go for a ride.

While standing here making the photograph of the road disappearing into the fog I’me struck by how infrequent it is that I feel disconnected from responsibility, free from the thoughts that I need to be somewhere or do something.  Riding goes to great lengths to help detach for awhile.  I suspect many experience that riding freedom. But I wonder what true freedom feels like.  Or even if it exists at all.

I had to revisit a piece I wrote for Motorcycle.com called Riding and the Taste of Freedom.  See how my thinking changes.  Or doesn’t.Continue Reading