Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding or Obsession?

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Sitting at home late this afternoon reading a book when I suddenly noticed the fading light, warmly orange streaking across the hilltops and clouds.  Dropping everything, I grabbed my camera and raced to the garage.

I like to think that I love to ride but it clearly isn’t that simple.  And I’ve been a working photographer my entire adult life though I let countless things derail a wide range of photographic opportunities and projects.  I want to make simple assessments of my life and actions but it just isn’t so simple.

Riding the Vespa and making photographs are clearly linked in some unholy manner.  More than one person has referenced my obsessive placement of the scooter in pictures and I confess to a powerful draw to do so.  As I stood in front of Mount Nittany in the fading light I forced myself to make a photograph without the Vespa.

The race was on as I forged ahead in the cold as the indicator flashed 27F on the instrument cluster.  I usually am careful to be warm before departure but this time I neglected to do so and could feel my feet getting cold after five miles.  Not a good thing for someone who suffers from Chilblains, a condition where the capillaries in my feet are easily damaged by cold and can lead to some nasty blistering.

Just one of a few medical conditions foisted on my by bad genetics and age.  But the recognition wasn’t enough to turn me towards the warmth of home and instead I kept riding, searching for some image or experience.  On rides like this I really do wonder about my obsessive traits.  They may account for some of my ability to focus doggedly on projects, at least those that capture my interest.  Things like painting walls or mowing lawns, they don’t attract any of my obsessive powers.

Riding on two wheels has some advantages — in this case being able to navigate around locked gates and other barriers to four wheeled vehicles.

By the time I rode through State College, Pennsylvania I was ready to head home.  The cold had won out over other obsessive/creative desires.  For a moment I considered stopping at Starbucks for tea and some sort of sugar delivery system but decided to ride home where I could wrap my feet tightly in warm blankets.  Good thing too since my feet were almost on fire in a decidedly cold way when I arrived.

Preparations for First Night are underway with an assortment of ice sculptors practicing their craft.  The weather will be more cooperative this year with a bit of cold to keep the ice in good shape for a few days.

So I’m left wondering if I’m driven by a passion to make photographs, and strong desire to ride, or if some other psychological mechanism is at work.  Many riders tell me they enjoy riding, it’s fun and exciting.  This ride wasn’t fun by any definition I use and I don’t think I derived any enjoyment.  I can say the same thing about photography — it’s neither a hobby or an activity to have fun.  In riding and photography I’m driven by something else.  It’s work, at times a burden, but I need to do it.

Something to think about as the year comes to a close…

Change the Time, Change the Tires, Just Change…

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The clock changed this morning with the departure of Daylight Savings Time meaning an extra hour of sleep and it wasn’t dark when I got up. With more and more mornings showing the temperature in the 30s — Fahrenheit — a change of tires isn’t far off now.  Mounting the Heidenau K66 LT Snow Tex tires offers a lot more cold weather performance on the Vespa.

Love seeing the sun rake across Mount Nittany.  After seeing it for over 40 years it’s still magical.

On the ride to work I was thinking about a lot of changes — moving Scooter in the Sticks from Blogger to WordPress, dropping the Google ads, writing more often, writing less often, improving my diet, exercising more, blah, blah, blah…

It’s not even New Year’s Day yet.

Surprised to see the big Honda Shadow on such a cold morning.  A couple hours later every space was full of bikes and aside from my Vespa not a scooter in sight.  But all that will change when freezing temperatures arrive in force.  Not sure I can even stomach the idea of riding in the cold as I type this.  Hot tea will chase away the weakness…

Nothing much changed today.  One more picture of Saint’s Cafe from across the street.  I wonder if I’m considered a regular yet?  Haven’t received any kind of Gold Card or special access.  The people know me by sight if not name.  A few know about the Vespa.

So I sit in the corner and write in a journal, listing all the things I should change.  The list is ponderous but that’s in the morning.  At night, as a date with a warm bed nears, who cares about change.

There’s tea and a brownie with my name on it downstairs.  Kim is searching for something for us to watch on Netflix.  Or Amazon.

No reason to change anything right now…

Riding as the Path

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Vespa GTS scooter beneath a lovely autumn skyVespa Scooter Beneath a Lovely Autumn Sky

The distance from my bed to a cup of tea at Starbucks is just under ten miles as MapQuest would direct me — a short, 13 minute ride on the Nittany Valley Expressway.  On Sunday morning traffic is sparse and I can ride as fast or as slow as I chose within the possibilities afforded by the Vespa.  Indifferent to route, riding demands focus to remain safe.  But focus doesn’t necessarily translate into awareness which, to me, is something bigger and more important. Awareness can be a result of riding but not always.  It requires a measure of deliberate choice and focus before I find myself dwelling in the moment — appreciating life and minute, near invisible details that make up the world.

The Vespa leaned right and exited the Expressway to take a different route.  Standing, looking, watching the clouds move along the horizon with the sun warming my face in the brisk air I felt the muscles in my face relax into a smile.

I was on the right path.Continue Reading

Latin Lessons, Breakfast and Other Riding Pleasures

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If I had a quarter for every time I was asked “Can a scooter ride with a motorcycle?”…

The answer is simple — yes, and no.

On this morning last week my Vespa was an acceptable riding companion to Paul Ruby’s BMW K1200GT despite the gap in size and power.  In this case the riding styles of the riders matched making the machines incidental to the ride.  No freeway tricks or backroad racing involved, just a leisurely 38 mile tour through the woods on the way to breakfast.

Paul dispatched some trash from the road which offended his view in the pristine landscape.  I can’t remember ever seeing a rider police litter during a ride, myself included.  Only took a few minutes to gather, stow in the sidecase, and return to the ride.
Positive Karma points involved.

The woodlands and waterways in Black Moshannon State Park are more like the arboreal forests of Maine than the typical Pennsylvania ones.  The last flowers are blooming on the lilypads before everything recedes into fall and then the cold of winter.

Speaking of motorcycles and scooters mixing — there’s a reason why the BMW isn’t in this picture.  Fine, soft gravel provides uncertain footing for the big bike where the scooter, while no dirt bike, is easier to flog without fear of dumping.

My wife is the naturalist in the house, by temperament, training and love.  I know this plant as Doll’s Eyes.  She does too but consistently shocks me with her encyclopedic knowledge of scientific names (in Latin) of plants as Actaea Alba flows from her lips. I tell myself I’m smart in other ways.

On rides like this I wish she had a Vespa and we could ride together…

Ruby and I arrive at the Retro Eatery in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania for breakfast — hungry. It’s a great place to eat and not what I would expect to find in P Burg.  If you’re out that way it’s worth a visit.

Paul always investigates the menu and engages in a range of culinary evaluations.  Regardless of where we are though the end result is the same: waffles and bacon.

I’ve never questioned the choice.  Some things are private.

After breakfast we made a quick stop at my entrepreneurial enterprise that promises to make my retirement years profitable and comfortable.  I see new socks and underwear in my future.

We took the long way home — a 50 mile trek across the edge of the Allegheny Plateau until we descended into Bald Eagle Valley and the beginning of the ridge and valley section of Pennsylvania.  The abrupt changes in natural and geologic landscapes are a pleasure to experience and with the tutelage of my loving wife I see a lot more than I used to.

Just not in Latin.

Have Fog, Will Ride

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Another morning greeted by fog which, for me, is near the pinnacle of riding environments. While not the most dramatic fog day it was still enough to push me on a more circuitous route to work.

Most riding textbooks I’ve read counsel riders to leave the bike at home when it’s foggy with similar advice for night, rain, snow and other visibility limited situations.  Those situations definitely have heightened risk but can be managed with training, preparation and a riding mind attuned to the dangers.

Acquiring those skills is the challenge.

Reading about a crash on ModernVespa.com two comments stood out that shine a light on the possible outcomes of learning to ride in less than ideal conditions.

“…congrats on the healthy crash. crashing safely is the best thing you can do to become a better rider…”

and

“Wish it wasn’t so, but experience really is the best teacher. Glad she is ok.”

The comments relate to a new rider making a mistake on a wet road.  Easy to do especially if you think riding on wet roads is pretty much the same as dry ones.  You can get away with that thinking in a car but on two wheels not so much.

Anyways, I’ve been thinking about how differently I ride in different conditions including fog.  And try to keep the risk fresh.  Two of the most anxiety provoking rides I’ve ever made were in fog.

The ride to work today was uneventful — at least I can’t remember anything happening of note.  Just a relaxed ride through the countryside slowly giving way to autumn.  Before long we’ll be seeing snow flakes in the air…