riding Archives - Page 44 of 86 - Scooter in the Sticks

Latin Lessons, Breakfast and Other Riding Pleasures

September 22, 2013 by Scooter in the Sticks 13 Comments

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

September 21, 2013 by Scooter in the Sticks 5 Comments

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…

The Torture of 25 Miles Per Hour

September 14, 2013 by Scooter in the Sticks 11 Comments

The hand painted sign appeals to drivers and riders alike to slow down. Traveling slowly may be the most difficult riding skill of all.

I pass this way frequently and admit how inviting the winding road can be to push the Vespa to soar through the curves like a bird in flight. The bigger challenge is to resist that urge, make a choice to travel at a speed almost foreign to mind and senses. It can be painful at times, like struggling for air, being restrained from what’s good and natural in the world.

The romance of power and speed mixed with self importance and rationalization propels vehicles at speeds far beyond posted limits. Rush, rush, and rush some more. And grumble about the idiots who post roads far below their potential interrupting needs to get to a destination. Traveling slowly isn’t an option. Or so it seems.

Riding at 25 mph can be torture and almost unbearable. I’ve seen drivers so agitated that they can’t go faster that I imagine their heads exploding as I seem them wildly gesticulating and mouthing words of encouragement to those impeding their progress.

There are real benefits to slowing down. Reducing speed in almost every roadway environment provides extra time to evaluate hazards, choices and make decisions. All easily put aside for another day when the highest and best skill is often reflected against speed.

Whenever I talk to riders of big machines the almost universal response when asked about what part of riding makes them nervous the most common response is slow speed maneuvering. If the bike is going down that’s where it’s likely going to happen.

There is something peaceful about going slow. It’s not always possible where heavy traffic forces the pace but I see riders and drivers race over roads like these where speed is a choice.

Going fast can be fun. So can going slow. And the latter is far more difficult because it requires commitment and willpower — even on a Vespa.

Speaking of slowing down on the road….

This morning I was traveling with the traffic flow when I saw a Ring-necked pheasant clip the top of an oncoming car’s windshield and tumble onto the road in the middle of an intersection. The traffic light was red and I knew I had a few seconds to create a barrier in front of the bird. It was alive but stunned, likely dispatched by a passing car in next few moments. Leaving the Vespa on the center stand I motioned for traffic to stop as I approached the bird. For a moment everything stopped.

The bird came to life and raced towards a cornfield on the other side of the road before I could reach it, narrowly missing an oncoming minivan moving slowly through the intersection. I’ve seen this sudden change before as traffic halts to let a family of ducks cross the road. Or a dog. YouTube has a series of video clips from Russian highways of drivers stopping to rescue dogs, help elderly people cross busy roads, or pick up dangerous debris that might cause disaster. Little gifts of slowing down.

A few smiles and beeps of horns acknowledging the event and we were all on our way again. And I was glad I slowed down…

Radar, Riding and the Tasmanian Devil

September 12, 2013 by Scooter in the Sticks 13 Comments

Radar. The kind that forecasts weather instead of nabbing speeders along the freeway. After a long day and a comment by Kim that the light “was interesting” I was watching a radar animation on my iPhone estimating my chances of dodging rain and lightning. A few moments later I was on the Vespa chasing the fading sun.

There’s a method to this madness beyond seeing the sunset, making a few photos, or riding the Vespa. It’s connected to the Tasmanian Devil — the one always chasing Bugs Bunny in the old Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoons. To most people I appear calm, even tempered, and a few times I’ve hear”zen like” whatever that means. Inside it’s often a different picture with my thoughts, imagination, joys, sorrows, frustrations and more swirl like the cartoon devil, spinning madly with snarls and growls.

So it often is after a long day of burning mental energy the right medicine is to burn some more in sharply focused manner. If I was built differently meditation would work but I can’t bring myself (yet) to sit still. Riding coupled with chasing an image is perfect. The riding forces me to stay focused to remain safe and the visual puzzle related to finding a picture flavors the experience into a creative craving. Or so it seems as I write this now.

I was 15 minutes too slow getting on the road. The sun was gone and the dregs of light just weren’t right. Still, the ride served it’s purpose and the devil went to sleep. The rain from an hour earlier pushed much of the heat away and left the world moist, thick with possibilities, but remained elusive. The Vespa rolled over pavement and gravel searching, seeking, looking for the answer to the photographic puzzle in my head.

Never found the answer. And that’s ok because, as has been said so many times in so many places, it’s the journey that matters. And on this journey I was able to acquire two Hershey bars for a plan to be hatched later in the evening.

And now the devil and my dog Junior are asleep. A few small chores will transform the day into night and my mind into a quiet stream. A stream familiar because of a scooter and camera.

I feel like riding some more but that would just be selfish…

Family, Friends and a Ride to the IngleBean Coffee House

September 9, 2013 by Scooter in the Sticks 10 Comments

Not just another Saturday morning in central Pennsylvania. This one was one of those magnificent days where the atmosphere is free of haze that postcard photographers love. Add a constantly changing variety of blue sky and wispy clouds and it feels like you’re in a Disney World commercial.

With the temperature at 48F, Aleta, Paul and I pointed our scooters towards Millheim, Pennsylvania and the IngleBean Coffee House for breakfast. A fine, lazy ride through some of the most picturesque agricultural landscapes in Pennsylvania — a real ride through time as a result of the growing Amish communities here.

Seeing horse-drawn buggies is a common scene with road apples everywhere and the telltale lines on the road sketched by hundreds of thin steel wheels. During the ride we passed a number of them. I noticed one Amish farm is a solar array on the roof. Wonder what that powers…

We were lucky enough to get a parking space right in front of the coffee house. Notice the parking pattern — Paul and I represent the older generation parking head out. Aleta does the head in parking. Evidence of an intergenerational ride.

Aleta Deveau in the Inglebean Coffee House

The IngleBean Coffee House is a relaxed, comfortable, feels like home kind of place with good food. Definitely worth the half hour ride. The place has a rustic, LL Bean feel to it and is the sort of establishment you would expect to find friends (which we did when we first arrived). Paul and Aleta seemed to be at home.

Paul Ruby, BMW, Ducati, vintage Vespa, and on this day Piaggio Fly rider. I think he’s sucking in his stomach…

Aleta puts up with one more picture with the local mural on the side of the Elk Creek Cafe. Another fine place to eat.

We wandered across the street to the Green Drake Art Gallery where I bought a small clay tile for Kim. On the way back I had the chance to catch another Amish rider…

As fast as the morning develops it draws to a close. Departing Millheim we wandered a bit until Paul and Aleta decided to head to the Nittany Valley Antique Machinery Show and Flea Market while I chose to head home. Riding with family and friends is great but there are moments that I like to keep to myself — the little walks along the road looking for a vantage point, burning memories into my synaptic pathways, being grateful that I’m alive and on the earth.

Riding through the middle of the valley on the small roads, the ones the Amish use, and just thinking how fortunate I am to be here.

Another little ride stored away, percolating, mixing into the Vespa experience.

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