Scooter in the Sticks

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

Dark Shadows

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This post is not about the television show or movie named Dark Shadows.  The old TV show does inform some of my “darker” thoughts though..

Vespa GTS scooter moving into the gloomIt’s not often that I ride through an area that feels creepy, as if something bad has happened, spirits lingering with malevolent intent.  I don’t believe in ghosts but there are times when the complex chemical workings of my body and mind get the best of me.

On the morning I made this photograph I could feel my skin prickling.  My hand was in my pocket on my phone wondering how quickly I could dial 911, wondering if there was any cell coverage.

Camp Antler -- an old hunting camp near Livonia, PennsylvaniaIn the darkness just off the road sat Camp Antler, an old hunting camp that could serve as a cinematic location for another episode in the Hannibal Lecter series.  Or perhaps one of the woodsman’s cabins on the grounds of Collingwood.  Kim and I had been discussing one of the local missing person cases where the person just vanished.  My mind was telling me they would find them here.  Or someone else.

The phone wasn’t needed and as quickly as the feeling surfaced it faded when the Vespa entered the sunshine a few miles up the road.  Faded, but not forgotten.

Dark cloudsThe weather seemed odd for a couple days.  The clouds conspired to force uncomfortable thoughts about life and death.  I swore I could feel the blood pumping past the drug eluting stent near my heart.  Looking up I couldn’t tell if the clouds were closing in our the sky was opening up.  That unsettled feeling stuck with me for days despite engaging the Vespa riding prescription for ailments of the heart and mind.

Vespa GTS scooter with Mount NittanyMore than once on the way to work the world seemed empty.  I wondered if the earth was passing through some strange electromagnetic field that triggered my hypothalamus to secrete odd hormones that were affecting my imagination powers.

angel in a gardenWalking through our garden at dusk often triggers thoughts of spirits and creatures etched carefully by books, movies and television shows.  I would not be surprised to see Barnabas Collins as I passed by this old garden angel.

Vespa GTS scooter with Triumph Tiger motorcycleIn the parking lot at the hospital I found safety with the herd — in this instance parked next to a Triumph Tiger motorcycle.  I was early for cardiac rehab and there were few people around.  Surely the vampires were back in their coffins and the werewolves were asleep in the fields and forests.  And in minutes the dark shadows departed.  Perhaps 21 minutes on an elliptical trainer is the antidote for an imagination run amok.  Or a serious Alpine pass program on an exercise bike.  Or maybe I just grew tired of the mental exercising that often takes place when I’m thinking about things.

When I came out 90 minutes later the sun was shining and the world was a pleasant place.

But I miss the drama…

Riding Bitch

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HOW TO RIDE BITCH from Alex Vivian on Vimeo.

Every male riding a motorcycle needs to study this video.  If you are going to ask your wife, girlfriend or anyone for that matter to ride on the back of your motorcycle or scooter you should first explore the experience yourself.  This video will show you how.

Maybe it’s a good rule of thumb to experience yourself anything you would ask another to do whether it’s riding bitch or anything else.  Think about the things you would have to try…

“Sometimes it’s a little better to travel than to arrive”

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Sign warning of winding road.Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, wrote the line I’ve borrowed as the title for this essay, “Sometimes it’s a little better to travel than to arrive”.

Sometimes, the saddest moment in a ride is when it’s over.  That’s not a complaint about home or family, just a recognition of the sublime joy of spinning around the act itself — moving through the landscape on two wheels.  It does matter why or where you’re riding, just being on the road, soaring and flying in body, mind and spirit can be pure, cosmic satisfaction.

I found myself in that place as I wandered along the winding roads of central Pennsylvania.

dry stone wall along a Pennsylvania roadThere’s much to see while riding, some of it subtle and easy to miss.  I’ve ridden past this dry stone wall many times but never paused to look closely or consider what it actually meant — someone, by hand, built this large, long dry stone wall.  I’ve built a few dry stone walls but nothing of the scope of this one.  It approaches 8 feet in height and runs along a rural stretch of road about half a mile.  It’s obviously not maintained and the property seems abandoned.  I suppose the state could have built it for some reason — it’s not far from the Rockview State Penitentiary where they would have had lots of free labor to use at some point in the past, but it doesn’t seem to connect clearly with that facility.  A small historical mystery found during a ride to no where.

Mailpuch tobacco sign on an old barnOther decaying roadside artifacts, this one man-made, are everywhere though more and more they are just disappearing.  When I was a kid Mail Pouch signs on barns where everywhere.  Now I can’t recall another one than this one near Axemann, Pennsylvania.

Vespa GTS on winding roadsWinding roads are in abundance around here and provide a fine diverse riding experience.  Lot’s of gravel sprinkled around so it does demand caution lest a rider entertain disaster from attempting to carve lines around tight curves.

For me, these stretches of winding, wandering roadways through the hills and dales where I live never cease to thrill.

Vespa GTS along rural roadThe roads on a Sunday morning are remarkably quiet.  I probably passed more squirrels and groundhogs than I did cars.

Fuzzygalore.com recently published a story about riding just a ways north of here and how empty the roads were — Road Tripping in Pennsylvania — Wandering to Breakfast in Wellsboro.  Some nice photos made along a beautiful part of the state.  And her SEO is better with much better post titles than I use!

Vespa GTS scooter on rural roadLast year my Vespa GTS died right here, at least for about 30 minutes.  The engine would crank, start and immediately die.  After the engine cooled it would start right up, a problem I later determined was a failing fuel pump.  I missed the idyllic scene of winding road and cattle on the hillside then.  Enjoyed it this time.

panorama of sharp curve and Vespa scooterThere are a lot of switchback curves in the mountains here — 180 degree turns that challenge a rider to whatever degree they wish to be challenged.  I made this image with the panorama feature of my iPhone.  If you’re interested in seeing the larger version lick on the image.  The gravel just off the berm was incredibly soft — had I hit it at anymore than a crawl I would have gone down.

Despite that, it was good to wander, and it was definitely better to travel than to arrive!

Scooter on the Freeway?

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Can I ride a scooter on the freeway? The answer to that question depends on your scooter, your level of riding expertise, and the freeways to plan to ride on.

Vespa GTS scooter parked along Interstate 99.Scooter on Interstate 99

There’s little traffic on Interstate 99 at 7am on Saturday morning.  Riding on a rural freeway with little traffic is markedly different than trying to ride on a main transportation artery jammed with cars and trucks around the clock.

To start, many people, motorcycle riders and scooter riders both,  think a scooter is only suitable for riding around town.  A lot of motorcycle marketing suggests that the choice for riding big miles on big roads involves 500 pound plus machines with engines capable of propelling you at speeds north of 100mph.  Over the years manufacturers have successfully pushed the notion of a “real” cruising motorcycle to something with an engine that has 1000cc or more.  Bigger is better in the mantra and it applies not only to motorcycles and scooters but to automobiles, pick-up trucks, houses and practically everything other than waist size.

If you can disconnect your head from the marketing absolutes and industry propaganda you can see a glimmer of what’s actually possible with smaller machines — scooters or motorcycles.

Vespa GTS scooter along expressway in ridge and valley region

The Highway Scooter

The reality is you can ride a scooter practically anywhere save for some hardcore off-road tracks involving deep mud and water. My Vespa GTS 250 can run all day at 65mph without a problem and faster if I need to.  On this recent 55 mile run down I99 I was passing cars, what few there were.

There are just a few things you need to consider in regarding to a scooter on the freeway.  First, is it legal?  Some freeways have engine size or horsepower minimums.  Make sure you meet those.  In most states, if not all, you can’t ride a 49cc scooter on an Interstate highway. I’ve ridden 150cc and larger scooters on freeways without a problem.

For me, one of the bigger issues about being on a smaller scooter is stability.  There is no doubt that a 500 pound plus motorcycle with big wheels will feel more stable, respond less to the air blasts of passing trucks, and deliver a more sedate ride.  But that does not mean a smaller machine is not stable.  It sticks to the road and follows a line just fine.  But be prepared for some beating by the air, especially if you’re riding along at 70mph and there’s a crosswind.

LEVEL OF RIDING EXPERTISE

Mentally, the most frightening riding thought for a lot of scooter riders is the freeway even though it may be a safer place to be that on a lot of crazy action on surface streets.  Recently, a local rider told me she now commutes on the expressway because of the higher danger of being clipped on local streets at rush hour.  Still, riding on an expressway has its own unique demands of a rider — traveling at higher speeds and being comfortable maneuvering and stopping in an emergency being two important skills that should be in your toolbox.

Riding at expressway speeds, 55 to 75mph means things happen pretty fast and you really need to have sufficient skill to make quick decisions and translate them into action on your scooter.  It could be a need to evade a piece of truck tire, or dodge a pothole.  While the low speed skills theoretically apply to higher speed riding you really need to do some practice.  I would suggest anyone considering riding on an expressway try and do some gradual practice to get comfortable with the speed and how the scooter responds at higher speeds.  That could mean some early morning weekends on the pavement to experiment.

Riding defensively is important too.  You’ll need to be aware of lane placement to keep yourself visible and learn to anticipate when you’re more vulnerable to someone nudging you into oblivion.

THE FREEWAY

Not all freeways are the same and they’re differentiated by speed, amount of traffic, and the quality of the road surface.  Heavy traffic moving at 70mph on a badly crumbled surface is a nightmare compared to an relatively empty highway with a new surface where you can ride at any speed and it won’t matter.  Make sure you know what you’re getting into.

Make sure you have sufficient power to travel along at a reasonable speed considering other traffic If you’re considering commuting at rush hour where traffic crawls along it won’t matter much.  But if you’re considering a ride on a main artery where there is a lot of traffic and it’s moving fast you want to make sure you can move with it, or at least near that speed.  I’ve parked myself behind a slower moving RV, truck or car more than once to move along a high speed expressway so I would be more “visible” as a slower moving vehicle.

The idea of “sufficient” speed is where scooters get dismissed.  If you can’t rocket away from trouble or travel faster than everyone else then you can’t ride on the freeway.  Similar thinking applies to automobiles.  But being able to pull yourself out of trouble is probably the wrong way to think about riding.  It may be better to consider how not to get in trouble in the first place.

Vespa GTS along Interstate 99Do I Belong on the Freeway With a Scooter or Small Motorcycle?

Deciding to ride a scooter on the freeway is a personal choice dependent on a variety of issues.  There is no right or wrong answer.  There are plenty of scooter riders who travel freeways and Interstate highways every day.  A lot of riders avoid big highways simply because they aren’t much fun.  After all, they’re designed to get you from point A to point B fast and little more.  It’s hard to enjoy the scenery when you’re flying fast and paying attention to a crowd of vehicles.

I ride on the expressway sometimes when I commute to work, or need to get somewhere quickly and the Vespa is fully capable of undertaking that task.  Is it as comfortable as some of the big BMWs I’ve ridden?  No.  But it has advantages over those motorcycles in other situations that I ride in more often.

So, can you ride a scooter on the freeway?  The answer is a qualified yes.

Perhaps readers can share their thoughts and experiences regarding a scooter on the freeway…

 

Hospital or Graveyard?

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From the opening crow caws to the closing funk music driven motorcycle montage, listening to Peter Fonda describe possible outcomes of not adequately learning how to ride a motorcycle as ending up in the hospital or graveyard was just part of a fun and interesting film filled with motorcycle safety tips.

I came across this vintage 70s instructional film on Gail Hatch’s She Rides a Beemer blog.  The film is narrated by Fonda, famous for his motorcycle escapades in the film Easy Rider, and includes commentary by famous motorcycle aerialist and daredevil, Evel Knievel.  I feel you can never know or learn too much about riding and safety, so pull up your computer, grab a snack, and enjoy a trip into thoughts on safety from the past.