Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.

Rider in the Mirror

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Most riders pay close attention to their machines; inspecting, checking, making sure everything is working as it should. But how often do we look in the mirror and make the same critical assessment of our riding expertise?

It’s rare for me to meet a rider who questions their skill or ability. More often I hear stories of feats of speed or disaster averted. Long trips, great rides and recollections of weather, roads and people. Consideration of how good a rider one might be just doesn’t come up. Self-assessment in general is a cloudy and sometimes painful process. A lot of ego is tied up with riding and denial may be easier than honest reflection.

A look in the mirror doesn’t mean much to me unless I have some standard or definition of what it means to be a good rider. One man’s good is another man’s terrible. Looking at myself I see some riding experience – around 17000 miles on a Vespa over the past three years in a wider range of weather and conditions. Two MSF riding classes. And a running pseudo-evaluation of sorts through Scooter in the Sticks. But that’s probably not the level of assessment necessary to really make sure I’m as good as I should be on the road.

I’ve noticed that as time on the scooter increases so does confidence. But that confidence may be unfounded and even dangerous. The once complete feet down stops get replaced by slow rolling stops at an intersection I’ve seen a hundred times. Or riding faster through familiar territory because I know what to expect. The guy in the mirror isn’t too bright. Still, there are things I consider positive.

Dress for the Ride

What does that actually mean? If I pretend to be an outlaw biker does it mean jeans, t-shirt, sunglasses, and boots? And if the need arises for head protection a bandanna neatly tied over the top of my head? Or shorts, t-shirt, and flip-flops for a sunny Sunday scooter ride? Both costume choices fit the stylization of some in those riding cultures. I’ve always thought physics trumps culture and make my own choices accordingly. Regardless of your choice of two-wheeled conveyance the physics are the same.

A body falling onto pavement at 45MPH pays the same price whether delivered from a Goldwing or a Vespa. A head meets a curb or tree. A knee or elbow bangs the asphalt. All possible events for any rider. Not inevitable but possible. When I look in the mirror the rider I see always has a yellow and black armored jacket, over the ankle boots, full helmet, gloves, and long pants (and usually armored ones on top of those). Dressed for the possible physics of the ride.


Noticing Stupid Things on the Road

I don’t mean bad spelling on yard sale signs or the price of gas. For me it’s: 1. speeders, 2. tailgaters, and 3. the oblivious driver (usually connected to a cell phone). I always think individuals engaging in those behaviors are just sort of, well, stupid. But what really gets me chuckling is seeing items 1 and 2 performed by a rider. I just don’t have the degree of faith in my fellows on the road to do it and am happy to report the man in the mirror free of those defects.


Strategic vs. Tactical Riding

I’ve always felt there is more to successful riding than good tactical skills – being able to physically manipulate a machine on the road. All that’s important but those skills are like individual puzzle pieces – without them being put together to form a bigger strategic picture they don’t add up to much. Looking in the mirror for a while I realize that I think a lot about the rides I take. Where I am going, the characteristics or the roads I will travel, traffic patterns, road hazards I am aware of and those I could possibly encounter.  Like the dump trucks that zip across the road at the quarry entrance in the picture below. When the weather is bad these considerations are even more intense. Riding may put me “in the moment” but my mind is constantly processing things into a larger picture.

How Do I Get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice, practice, practice. The rider in the mirror practices and experiments and pushes the skills envelop. I still seek out places to practice quick and sudden stops bringing the scooter to a halt right at the edge of skidding. I experiment with balance and slow tight turns. And I test my ability to manage the Vespa on a wide range of dicey surfaces. They keep my mind and body in tune with the machine.

Report Card

The rider in this mirror gets a C. I’m making good progress. I’m doing the things I should be doing to be a safe rider. I’m not trying to bring track skills to the highway or duplicate stunt skills in traffic. I want to continue to learn how to be capable and conscious of the things I can do physically and mentally to reduce risk and enjoy riding.

Winter Riding Devastation

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I’m tired and don’t have a lot of energy to write. But that’s not a product of winter riding. Last week I made a picture of the snow on the road in front of the house as I was doing the morning check to see if I was going to ride to work. I made this with a little digital camera moments after I photographed my bike riding neighbor with the Leica M6.

Winter riding, especially in snow, can lead to devastation. Mostly I focus on the risks associated with cold, ice, snow, and the potential for accidents. I rode to work a couple days agao when there was a brief break in the weather that allowed the roads to clear a bit. But on some of the secondary roads there is still much to be wary of.
I got to work fine but I did notice that no one plows the motorcycle spaces. I had to gingerly back the Vespa over some snow and ice to nestle it into position beside the box truck that was awfully close. It was there first and the only reason it wasn’t closer was the snow and ice. So perhaps it’s a good thing.
The real devastation is mechanical. If you are going to ride year round in a climate that believes road salt is one of the seven wonders of the road then you had better swallow hard. It means your scooter is just another vehicle on the road. A daily rider. And if you ever look underneath a car it is covered with rust and corrosion. My exhaust system is one year old. When the weather warms and the salt is gone I’ll pull it off and repaint it. Geez…

Anyways, I enjoy riding more than cleaning. And the scooter will just have to take it’s knocks like a car. And when it falls apart I suppose I will have to get a new one.

I am curious though how you deal with your two-wheeled machines. I know lots of people who treat them as fine antiques and will wash and polish after each use. Others are more lax in their cosmetic maintenance but as you can see this is more than cosmetic.

The (Potential) High Cost of Riding

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Various views of John’s skull

My friend John underwent another surgery on his leg yesterday, a bone graft to fill a piece of bone that was missing as a result of his motorcycle accident last October. The surgery went well and to his surprise was an outpatient procedure. John’s recovery has been slow and frustrating at times but he is coming around. I know a lot of you have asked or wondered how he has been doing and when a recent dispatch arrived from John the other day I thought it would be a good time to share it. All the pictures displayed in this post are courtesy of John.

I also thought it serves as a good reminder to anyone venturing out on two wheels to do so with open eyes and be aware of the potential risk and that each of us should do what we can to manage them. And accidents are just that — accidents.

John is a serious rider putting thousands of miles on his BMW. He’s seen below just before departing for New Mexico on an Iron Butt ride.


Always the comedian he is pictured below with his new ride.


Anyways, if you want to read John’s latest dispatch that he prepared and distributed in a Microsoft Word document you can download it HERE.

I must warn you that it is graphic in its display of his injuries. John retells the medical story of his stubborn leg wounds and treatment complete with color photos, X-rays, the works. But mixed in throughout the story is his humor and indomitable spirit.

A Prayer for John

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Riders everywhere often feel some level of connection to other riders when an accident occurs. My friend John will be undergoing surgery this Friday and I ask that you consider taking a moment to say a prayer for him. Even if this is not something you do or believe perhaps you would pretend this once. What could it hurt to add to the positive feelings in the world…

John sent the letter below to friends and family to let us know what was in store. I hope none of you ever have to send such a letter.

Dear All,

The surgeons haven’t made a final decision on the procedure yet—either a major skin graft, a muscle graft from above the knee, or else attempt another flap using part of the gastroc (calf) muscle. They will confer on the approach and let me know, but we got a green flag from infectious disease, whom the plastic surgeons thought would be very conservative and make us wait two weeks. The ID doc said, “Now or never. It doesn’t make any sense to wait; if they can do this next Friday, that would be fine.”

So, apparently the infection is down enough that it won’t harm the graft – they weren’t sure whether the dying graft caused the infection, or the infection killed off part of the graft. But the wound is now very clean, and the infection is diminished, so here we go.

All the doctors are saying they want to avoid the free flap surgery, which takes muscle from the stomach, and then they microsurgically attach healthy arteries and veins in the leg to the transplanted muscle. Dr. Bitterly says that procedure has about a 70% success rate, and he would only do it if it were “4th and 99, and we’re not there yet.”

He also said that sometimes the patient and surgeons reach a mutual point of frustration, where it’s just not worth it to go on. He says we’re not there yet either. His colleague, Dr. Harter, who did all the orthopedic work, is fond of saying, “Save the leg, lose the soul.” In other words, the leg can really take over the focus of one’s life. But we still have two arrows in the quiver—this Friday’s graft, and the free flap, should that become an option.

So, positive attitudes, thoughts and prayers everybody. It’s kinda like a televised World Series—they always take it to Game Seven. Well, that’s enough sports metaphors. I hope this finds you well, and that things go smoothly this Friday and after. Will keep you posted, and thanks for all your kind thoughts, prayers and support all along.

More later – love, John

Looking Down the Road at Risk and Regret

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I’ve not posted in over ten days and I have been avoiding this one for over a month – from the time my friend John rode his BMW into a garbage truck on the way to work. The Pennsylvania State Police cited him for riding too fast for conditions. As John commented “You should be able to stop for something as large as a garbage truck.”


His well ridden (Iron Butt rider) motorcycle won’t see any further service and sets in pieces at his home. And physically the future is cloudy.

His injuries were severe with a month in intensive care and weeks more in acute care. Dozens of medical procedures, operations, and hundreds of thousands of dollars later he’s still in medical limbo on whether he’ll be able to keep his right leg.


Multiple compound fractures, infection, and failed muscle grafts have created a ponderous challenge for John and the medical team. The hospital he’s being treated in has wireless internet access so John has sent numerous dispatches in the way of images, PDF files, and PowerPoint presentations.


I’ve included a few to give you an idea of the physical nature of his injuries. I’ve not included the more graphic ones from early in the process.

For the past few weeks I’ve noticed the accident is present while riding. Situations appear while riding that requires consideration and assessment. That process has come to include a scenario for catastrophe – a direct result of thoughts about John’s accident. I’ve always been aware of the risk that comes with riding but I have begun to wonder about regret.

Like pilots who don’t talk about crashes I question my own mental turning of this subject. For good or ill it is the way my mind works and I don’t easily let stuff like this pass. No matter who or what is at fault in an accident a person is left with their own situation. And I suppose everyone would regret an accident, a bad decision, an unfortunate circumstance. I ask myself thought would I regret ever having gotten on the Vespa if I found myself in John’s situation. If I was spending time looking at an injured leg not in control or sure of what was going to happen. Would I? Would you?


Weighed against those thoughts is the question asked at the end of my life “Would I regret it if I stopped riding or never rode at all?” That answer would be different for everyone and dependant on what place riding occupies in a person’s life. For me, riding is more than transportation and it surpasses recreation. It touches something spiritually fundamental in me the same way photography and writing has. I would be diminished if I stopped riding.

Many riders do stop after an accident. I’ve not considered stopping nor have I become fearful on the road but something has changed. Perhaps I’ve matured. John and I have not talked of regrets but he has said the accident has put him at a major life crossroad. He’s not sure if he’ll be able or willing to ride again.


Surgeons have attached a vacuum pump to the severe wound on his leg in hopes of eventually making it ready for a muscle graft to allow the leg to finally heal and save his leg. It’s a day-by-day assessment.

So I continue to ride to work and make the occasional trip through the countryside with my camera. Riding down the road I’m aware that I am solely responsible for anything that happens to me. I’m not talking about legal responsibility but actual responsibility for living. It’s not a matter of right and wrong. I am the one who has to live in the circumstances I find thinking about this stuff has taken a bit of the luster from the road.