Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding a Vespa Scooter

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Vespa GTS scooter at Pennsylvania Military MuseumThinking About Riding

After a week without riding,  I rolled it out of the garage, to test how far my still sore back has healed, and to quiet a mind grown restless from not being able to fly.  Trapped in a riding-less life, it’s odd to observe how much mental space is consumed by riding.  From waking in the morning and thinking about what gear might be appropriate to ride to work to gazing at night sky while the dogs run in the garden and wondering if it would be a good night to ride — it can seem like riding a Vespa scooter has taken on an unhealthy bite out of consciousness.

It’s like an addiction, gnawing at restraint, whispering rationalizations to reform reality, providing false evidence to gain what it wants — to be moving along on the road.

I took a short ride this evening,  through the village and on to the park, a riding researcher collecting data coldly disconnected from desire and want.  The prognosis is positive yet issues persist.  An intentional “bump” triggered a groaning response from my back.  Getting the Vespa on and off the center stand wasn’t a problem.  Mostly, no issues or concerns.

Another night of sleep and I may be able to ride a Vespa scooter again.

Vespa Off Pavement

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Vespa GTS scooter along gravel road in Rothrock State ForestRider, Tires or Vespa?

Last year I could easily ride the scooter along a stretch of gravel road like this at 35 to 45 mph without much trouble.  Now at 25mph I’m backing off the throttle. Have I changed?  After some more focused investigation this past weekend I’ve come to the conclusion the tires I now have on the Vespa aren’t much good when you leave the pavement.  And they may explain why I unexpectedly dropped the scooter recently on some steep, loose shale.

So I headed out into the Rothrock State Forest just a few miles from my front door; nearly a quarter million acres of forests spread across the mountains of three counties — perfect for testing a theory:  Heidenau K61 Racer scooter tires don’t perform well with the Vespa off pavement.

Vespa GTS scooter at overlook on Thickhead MountainOverlooking the World

By the time I arrived at the overlook on Thickhead Mountain I was hot, sweaty and ready for a monkey grip — that’s a banana for those of you not from Altoona. After only a dozen miles on dirt and gravel at a variety of speeds I’ve concluded the tires are exceedingly not well suited off the pavement.  They wander in the loose stuff which is to be expected, but they do the same on well packed gravel and dirt.  So much so that I had to reduce my speed by at least 20 percent to feel safe.

Steve Williams in Rothrock State ForestOld Man on the Mountain

Like a smart dog I seek shade and water on hot days.  But I do so with the knowledge that my tires deman an extra amount of attention when riding off the pavement.  Maybe next time around I’ll finally spring for the Kenda K761 dual sport tires I’ve been talking about for ten years.  Back in 2006 I was talking about them back in 2006 on Gary Charpentier’s Rush Hour Rambling blog — the source of my winter riding disease.

Now that I’m older and wiser I hide from the sun.  This winter we’ll see if I hide from the snow.

Riding Sets You Free

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It’s as if no one can touch you when you ride…

Vespa GTS scooter on the open roadLure of the Open Road

No matter how many times I see the road reach out into the distance I still get a thrill.  In this place, I experience a sense of freedom.  It keeps me coming back.  On the road no one can touch me.  Cares and concerns melt before the wind and pavement.

I’m certain that riding sets you free.

My friend Paul Ruby and I were going on “a little ride” to breakfast.  Stopping in the eastern end of Penns Valley so Paul could look at an old pickup truck I had a chance to survey the road ahead leading through Woodward and Hairy Johns and on toward Laurelton.

Vespa scooter and Ducati Hypermotard motorcycle in the mountains of PennsylvaniaIn the Mountains

Pennsylvania has mountains.  High places covered by a hardwood forest with threads of roads twisting and turning through a fern, rock and moss paradise.  Riding introduces you to truth.  Sometimes uncomfortable.  When I started riding a Vespa 15 years ago I could still scramble up these rocky hillsides to make a photograph.  Now it’s a careful trek with the knowledge I could easily break a leg or ankle.

Or maybe I just need better boots.

This picture was made just a few miles from where I dropped the scooter.  I was still worried that something bigger might be wrong than the handle bars being out of alignment.

And we hadn’t even had breakfast yet.

Vespa scooter on a sharp curveNo Grids

There are no grids of roads in central Pennsylvania as you climb through the Appalachian Mountains.  If I think about them more than a moment I have trouble imagining how they ever came into existence.  Or how people made their way through this part of the country 200 years ago.

The Vespa was tracking fine through the most severe turns and curves and any concern I had for the alignment issues faded.  The scooter really is at it’s best in this environment.  Just watch out for the loose gravel that seems to be everywhere.

Paul RubyPaul Ruby

Departing the Carriage House Restaurant in Mifflinburg, Paul can’t pass up an empty pack of L&M cigarettes as an opportunity to pose.  I didn’t spend enough time directing him into the proper Euro grimace.  And we really needed a pack of Gauloises cigarettes for the right Ducati feel.

All the photographers I’ve known enjoy being photographed.  Paul is no exception.

Ducati motorcyle and Vespa scooter together on a rural roadCloud Drama

The skies played tricks on the mind the entire ride.  Heavy clouds and darkness followed by bright sun and dazzling colors.  Riding through that constantly changing illumination just makes the whole experience seem surreal.  And I’m an actor in a play bent of flying free.

Riding sets you free.

Ducati and Vespa along the Susquehanna RiverPause Along the Susquehanna River

Surveying the view of the river I notice Paul is tossing his helmet in the air.  I didn’t ask and he didn’t say but I suspect it was his idea to make the picture more interesting.  I just wondered how he would feel if he dropped it and the helmet rolled of the edge to the riverbank below.

He never dropped it after numerous tosses.  Don’t lend him your helmet.

Scooter and motorcycle on the roadRiding Sets You Free

The weather was perfect and the low humidity provided rare summertime views to the horizon.  The ride was great even if breakfast consumed 147 miles.

I’m addicted.  Or at least suffering a compulsion that drives me out the door and onto the road.  I hesitate to count the hours I spend riding.  Or thinking about riding.  If riding sets you free how come I can’t stop?

When I ride in the snow or sub-zero temperatures am I free or in denial?

Right now, I don’t care.  I just want back on the road.

Seeing the World

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Vespa GTS scooter and Ducati Hypermotard at gas stationStarting Point

Never sure exactly where I ride begins.  A morning fuel stop seems a convenient starting point but sometimes a ride begins in my head days earlier.   Not in this case though.  Took a day off work, at the last minute decided to go for a ride with my friend Paul with a sense of riding north through Sproul State Forest.

Walking through the garden this evening I thought about how much I love seeing the world.  I’m not referring to traveling to the four corners of the earth to see the world.  I mean the visual stories that are all around, everywhere, always changing and right in front of me.  Did some quick calculations around the years we’ve lived here, knowledge of the distance of a walk around the yard, and a conservative estimate of the number of times I’ve walked and come up with 625 miles in the 20 years we’ve lived here.

NOTE: A reader pointed out the 625 number and I realized I miscalculated.  The walking mileage in the garden for 20 years is closer to 14K miles.

And I still crave those walks for what I’ll see.  Riding the Vespa through the same roads and counties I’m doing the same thing — seeing the world.

Ducati and Vespa scooter on the Allegheny PlateauThe Allegheny Plateau

Riding up onto the Allegheny Plateau took Paul and I past Gum Stump and Yarnell as we steered toward Snow Shoe.  The area is still rustic despite changes brought by the shale gas development in the area.

Despite a forecast of no rain through the morning rain drops began to fall early.  Radar maps on my iPhone indicated heavier rain farther north which precipitated a change in plans.

Ducati Hypermotard motorcycle and Vespa GTS scooter outside abandoned service stationMobile Gas Pegasus

Riding through familiar territory ignites memories of place and time.  Forty years earlier I gassed up my orange VW bug.  Now the building looks sadly at a world that’s content to let it die.  The Mobile Pegasus has been gone for 15 years.

It’s a gift to remember.  Riding is the delivery vehicle.

winding road in forestSpace for Lazy Riding

The road winds lazily through Moshannon State Forest, 296 square miles of forests, roads and streams.  Even though it would be easy to race through this area and notice little more than there are a lot of trees, I know I’ll be back again and again because I’ve barely scratched the surface of understanding this place.

Vespa GTS scooter and Rhododendron flowerRhododendron Blooms

It was here that I lost Paul.  He pulled off the road to explore a creek and I rode on a few hundred yards where I turned off the road to make a photograph of a Rhododendron flower.  Paul didn’t see me and rode on.

I learned a Vespa can run down a Ducati.

Vespa GTS scooter along a wall of Rhododendron Wall of Green

Further into the forest brought the road along a 20 foot wall of rhododendron bushes.  I would hate to have to navigate through that tangled jungle of plants.

At this point we had ridden about 50 miles.  Breakfast was in the back of our minds and soon a decision would be make to head to the Naked Egg Cafe in Pine Grove Mills, Pennsylvania — just 40 miles away.

Ducati motorcycle and Vespa scooter at Moshannon LakeBlack Moshannon Lake

Paul made a mental note that this is a pretty nice picnic spot. I’ve been here before, the last time to eat my traveling lunch while watching the geese swim in the lake.

The bowl of shredded wheat I had hours earlier was beginning to wear off leading to a more focused effort to get something to eat.

I had steak and eggs for breakfast, had a fine ride with a friend and had the opportunity to see the world.

Doesn’t get much better than that.

On To Breakfast

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Vespa GTS scooter along rural roadClear Morning Ride

Off early with friend Paul Ruby for a ride on to breakfast.  The night before I curled up with my tattered DeLorme Pennsylvania Atlas & Gazetteer pondering routes to various eating establishments.  Usually I know where I want to go.  Other times I have to explore maps until something surfaces as a destination.

By the time I met Paul this morning I had decided on a little ride to The Dream in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.  The last time I was there was in the 1970s when it was then known as Dave’s Dream.

At 8am the weather was perfect and the Vespa running as well as ever.

Ducati Hypermotard and Vespa GTS scooterDucati and Vespa

There are many routes to Hollidaysburg.  I was hungry, the roads relatively empty so I chose one where we could cruise at 55mph or faster. Paul’s Ducati Hypermotard was up to it so I figured, “What the heck”.

An intentional effort to not stop for photographs quickened the trip to breakfast.  Moving across three counties in a cool morning is a pleasure.

Vespa scooter and Ducati motorcycle at The Dream in Hollidaysburg, PennsylvaniaThe Dream Restaurant

The Dream is fancier that my usual breakfast haunts.  The food was fine but it lacked the rustic character I enjoy in smaller, out of the way establishments.  I don’t suspect it’s a biker hangout or destination for long distance riders.

Paul Ruby and Bob DionisA Vespa Connection

Paul got my father-in-law Bob involved in scooter riding when he sold him his Vespa ET4.  It was a creampuff then and is now under Bob’s watchful eye.

Paul Ruby and Vespa scooterRide and Wait

It’s no secret I prefer riding alone.  Mostly because I want to stop and look around, make photos and live without calling or rule.  That’s easier alone.

Paul waits a lot for me and his Ducati could obviously travel much caster.  Still he waits as I scramble up direct roads for one more picture.