Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding Discipline

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Vespa GTS scooter parked on street in State College, PennsylvaniaThe Riding Ritual

Wake, exercise dogs, feed them, eat, shower and check the weather report.  Make decision to ride or not ride.

Riding discipline is a series of actions and behaviors that coalesce around a common goal of performance and engagement with the machine.  And that performance is what interests me.  Not only for how it affects riding, but how it reaches beyond to open consideration of a whole host of live actions and behaviors.

The Vespa is a teacher and mentor.  Unusual really, considering it’s only a collection of inanimate parts.

Yesterday morning I rode into town to meet a friend for breakfast.  The temperature was below freezing which required me to make a decision regarding riding, and then more regarding gear.  Engaging both questions over time creates a level of discipline which makes the entire process easier to engage and ultimately ride more.

Who cares about economy or fuel mileage when you can expand your experience through the use of a riding contraption…

 

Meditation Fuel

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chocolate chip cookies and teaGazing Out a Window

My living room, before the great window.

The heat from the tea penetrates the heavy ceramic mug and into my hands. Steam floats before my face as I gaze out the window, thinking about nothing, feeling everything, and then my concentration breaks for an instant as I’m reminded of the cookies.

I can’t count the number of places I’ve sat gazing out windows with a cup of tea in my hand while allowing imagination to run wild for a time before reining it in to a focused meditation. Many scooter and motorcycle rides lead to such a place as have walks and journeys by cars and planes. As much as I want to say I have some calling to introspection, it’s the cookie that brings me back, over and over again, to a quiet place where a conversation with life is possible. The cookie – meditation fuel.

Heart of the Matter

Post-heart attack I wondered if all snacks and comfort food would by necessity vanish from life as a hard, plain diet slowly strangled me. Perusing nutritional information on packages of sweet, chocolate goodness yielded the same message – “No snacks for you!”.

And then, unexpected, appeared Chips Ahoy Chunky Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Dry, hard, crunchy cookies with fat content lower than their compatriots, a package of reasonable fat and carbohydrate matrices that I could live with – literally – by my estimation.

The cookie is a talisman, a reminder of life lived simply. My focus with the Vespa follows that path. Surely the same is possible with a snack. There’s no need to eat the entire package, half or even a quarter. The path begins at three small round morsels imbued with the sweetness of life and ends with one solitary cookie – the grail at the end of a quest where body and mind meet in recognition that where cookies are concerned – less is more.

Problems with this ritual? What if I need to meditate twice in one day? How much fuel do I need?

Doom of the Warm-Skinned

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Yamaha Vino scooter in Rothrock State Forest

No matter what lies I tell myself, how well I prepare, or how much gear I put on, I feel the burn of cold and ice, the doom of the warm-skinned man.  Another cold morning ride with the thermometer just below the freezing mark.  Without heated gear my behavior changes with each action weighed against the potential exposure to the elements, a tedious ritual at times but essential to keep doom at bay.

By the time I was wandering in Rothrock State Forest I felt the slow chill of my right thumb as the frigid air relentlessly attacked my Black Diamond Expedition mittens.  A little patience when I stop would allow my hands to regain heat organically but I made the mistake of taking pictures, a decidedly mitten-free activity.  The Canon G15 body gets cold on bare fingers, even for a few moments.

I tell myself something warm awaits down the road and depart before hands rewarm. The rest of my body is warm, toasty, making the beginning-to-ache hands emerge as a loud complaint.

Yamaha Vino 125 scooter on the road

More miles on the Yamaha Vino 125 reveals a solid machine.  Nothing fancy, just “little engine that could” performance.  Just stay away from busy freeways or pavement full of maniacal road warriors.

Yamaha Vino 125 scooter sightseeing

I was mainly a sightseer this morning, wandering familiar territory exploring the changes brought by time and season.  An unexpected advantage of the Vino came to me while making this picture — the kick starter.  The Vespa GTS 250ie electric start has failed a couple times due to battery issues leaving me waiting for another vehicle for a jump.  Those rare experiences have left an indelible mark on my brain, especially in cold weather when batteries are stressed.  No cares at all with the Vino — the little kickstarter really works.

Open road and Yamaha Vino 125 scooterThe Vino can ply the same open road as the larger Vespa requiring just a few more pullovers to let traffic flow by — traffic that remains rare most of the time.  This time of year attention is focused more on scanning the road surface than the rear-view mirrors.  And managing body heat reserves and flesh exposures to avoid the doom of the warm-skinned.

Yamaha Vino 125 scooter with icy road sign“Watch for Ice” — a visual warning that cannot be overlooked when you’re on two wheels.  Those signs are not randomly placed as I once thought — little polite reminders for the motoring public.  They are deliberate placements because of known issues.  Not far from this sign is a place where water routinely runs across the road in wet weather and continues for awhile in dry.  When it freezes, well, you can imagine.

No ice today but I have seen it here many times and conduct myself accordingly.  I recall one trip where I had to come to a complete stop and gingerly footpad my way across a six foot span of shiny, slippery nastiness.

All in a day’s work for winter riders north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Just a few miles ahead I found food and hot chocolate and the chance to reflect on the cold.  I’ve begun adjusting to it, my resistance to exposure has diminished and it’s easier to venture out.  And I have to say I love the feeling of coming in from the cold — invigorating, exhilarating.

It’s great to be alive and walking (and riding) on the earth.

 

 

Other Forms of Travel

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salt on drivewayHaving taken a few days of vacation time from work provided the potential opportunity to do some more serious scooter riding with the Vespa.  Sloth, weather and bad planning on my part eliminated my options revolving around the Vespa and relegated me to other forms of travel.

Weather interfered on a few mornings as the temperature dipped below freezing and transformed lingering slush and moisture into the kind of early season road ice that can give a scooter rider fits.  Standing in the driveway I could see the remains of salt still at work and with my Heidenau snow tires still sitting in the garage it would not be a great idea to go for a ride.

Even if the snow tires were mounted, the scooter headset is still dismantled as I await some additional parts for the heated grips.

State College, PennsylvaniaSunday morning in State College, Pennsylvania, the view down Allen Street as I make my way to Saint’s Cafe to join fellow riders and photographers Gordon Harkins and Paul Ruby.  Neither rode on this morning either though ice was not an issue with the temperature in the upper 30s.

As the morning unfolded I realized that there are more travel options than I often realize.  And many don’t involve motors or wheels.

Saint's Cafe, State College, PennsylvaniaFinding and establishing rituals is more important to me now than when I was younger and the world was something to consume and discard with each new day something to experience.  I don’t believe my experience was that robust or unique but it was easy to romanticize newness and adventure in ways I don’t now.  The younger me wanted to see every sight on a trip.  The older me wants to revisit the familiar over and over until I understand what I’m seeing.  Can’t say which is the better approach, only that they’re different and where I am now.

Saint’s Cafe has been the place I return to on most Sunday mornings for the past seven or eight years.  I wonder if I’m considered a regular and if I’ve become a character like those on Cheers.  I don’t think many people know my name but they do recognize the yellow riding jacket.

Tea and a Moleskine journalEarl Grey tea and a Moleskine journal — part of another long standing ritual.  The tea has remained consistent though my writing has fluctuated in the past couple years as I’m drawn more and more into the digital bog.  Digital is so alluring and easy that I’ve considered abandoning the pen and paper, film, darkroom and more.  Some lingering voice whispers for me to resist.  Part of the ritual of being at the cafe is to ponder the meaning of those whispers.

Kodak Tri-X film at Saint's CafeGordon returned some of the Kodak Tri-X film I lent him to shoot the Penn State football game.  I bet there were no other photographers along the sidelines shooting film, especially black and white film.  I’m not sure if he’s an enigma or an anachronism.  Either way, seeing that film sitting on the table triggered some powerful desires to pick up my Leica M6 again and make the photographs that so faithfully fulfilled the creative hole that lives in me.  Everything stands ready to do it save for the personal hesitation I shroud in excuses.

Film is not dead.  Merely tired.

Paul Ruby examining printsPaul and Gordon routinely show up with new work while I sink into my chair as a distant observer who remembers what it was like to be a photographer.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  Or maybe just over scheduled.

Gordon brought a lovely set of images he made of our friends and colleagues Stephen Dirado and Frank Armstrong at the opening of their exhibition in Massachusetts titled Regarding Landscape.

I can barely comprehend the work involved to produce another exhibition myself.  It’s been too long.

Greta Righter photoPaul also had a lovely set of images made over Thanksgiving at a friends place in the Catskills.  This print of his girlfriend’s daughter emerged from his backpack along with some others of the location. Paul is persistent in his image making and works hard to stay engaged with the camera, a critical component in being a good photographer.  He was working with an 8×10 Deardorff camera when I first met him and while today he’s fully digital his work sometimes echoes that large format approach.

Snow scene in Glen Spey New York

Paul put together this lovely composite image that for me creates a powerful feeling of that snow filled landscape.  I can’t wait to see a large incarnation in print.

Thinking about photographs and photography I realized that there are other ways to travel besides the physical act of moving through space.  Like Rod Serling often said, “You are traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!”

Perhaps that’s where I’m headed.

Gordon Harkins at Saint's CafeThe signs juxtaposed against Gordon was too much for me to resist.  He would be the first one to say he’s always going the wrong way.  While I don’t agree with the assessment it was a funny scene.

Feet on the floor.For an hour or so each week the three of us exist in close proximity, sharing ideas, problems, stories and lies, all part of a ritual that provides me with a great deal of satisfaction.  Seeing our feet on the floor reminded me of the closeness that’s developed because of our shared interests.

Breckenridge Brewery Christmas AleI still don’t have the scooter put together.  I’ve not shot any film.  I haven’t accomplished much of anything lately.  I did buy some craft beer.

Alcohol is no longer part of my life.  Not even a little due to the medication I take for my ankylosing spondylitis.  My doctor at Johns Hopkins grilled me about perils of even sips of beer or wine and how they can fry my liver.

Right now.  Fast.  Badly.

My luck it would come at a time when the craft brews exploded.  So while I can’t sample any of them I do enjoy looking at the labels and names and putting together little collections for friends and family that can still partake.  This Christmas Ale was one of the graphical items that caught my eye.

So that’s the news from Happy Valley.  Hopefully by the end of the week the scooter will be back on the road and life will be grand…

 

 

Cold Riding

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Vespa GTS scooter with chrome front rackCold and grey this morning for my weekly ride into Saint’s Cafe where I attempt to keep a creative flame alive — if only a flicker.  The 35F temperature provided another opportunity to try the new First Gear jacket and test my Gerbing electric gloves to make sure they’re working.  The jacket was great and has a little more room making it much easier to manage the wires to the gloves which must be fished through the sleeves. Cold riding requires me to embrace a gear ritual that at the beginning of each season seems unbearably tedious.  Here’s the ritual I have to learn (again) to be tolerant of:

  • Layer, layer, layer.  Depending on the temperature it can be up to five not counting the jacket and thermal liner.  It’s a damn nuisance.
  • Overpants. I hate fussing with the pants, those long zippers and then trying to get the Velcro secure at the ankles to keep the air from rushing up towards my bellybutton.
  • Wires and jacket.  I have to say the new jacket is much, much easier to manage the wires though they still hang up at times.
  • Balaclava. Think ski mask.  This thing keeps the frigid air knife from my jugular vein.  Absolutely essential when the temperature nears freezing and below.
  • Earplugs and helmet.  I like riding quiet and want to continue hearing birds sing hence the earplugs.  Foam, -32dB contractor plugs.  Then the helmet.  I hate getting this out of order by doing the gloves first only to find out I can’t secure the helmet with gloves on.  I’ve tried many, many times. (Insert appropriate curse word)
  • Gloves.  After securing the ends of the sleeves and having the wires in the right config, I attach each glove and then pull them on and make sure they are securely over the sleeves to make sure no cold air rushes up the arms.

I think I’m now ready to ride in the cold.  I do this every ride when the temperature is below 40F.  That’s a lot of rides.  This ritual requires about 10 minutes time.  After months of quick departures it is the longest 10 minutes of my life.  Luckily for me, it fades after a few weeks and seems simple and easy.

Scooter riding jackets hanging in the garageI have all three riding jackets hanging in the garage.  From the left is my mesh Triumph jacket, old First Gear, and new First Gear Kilimanjaro.  I’ve been considering the fate of the middle one.  Someone suggested I give it to Junior to lay on and soak up some daddy mojo.  I was leaning towards the landfill option.  I mush note a saw a comment on a forum about how much trouble Hi-Viz is to keep clean.  My first reaction was, “What?”.  After a moment to think I realized not everyone is like me and never washes their riding jacket.

Junior is going to love my old one.

Scene from Saint's Cafe in State College, PAGordon and I had a fine conversation on our collective creative trauma and entropy.  Neither of us had any solutions on how to flame the photo fires but it is nice to know you’re not alone.  He brought a new book produced by one of our graduate school advisors who has remained remarkably productive his entire career.  I suppose it’s how you get your work in the Whitney, MOMA, and receive Guggenheim Fellowships.  The book was a collection of photos made at proms and titled “Prom”.

Steve Williams with his Vespa scooterThe new jacket is brighter than the neon Public Parking sign across the street.  Chalk one up for modern pigment and textile technology.

Hi-Viz glow on Vespa scooter.

Hi-Viz changes the riding experience — take a look at the glow in the headset reflection. It’s like riding a Day-glo scooter.

Vespa scooter on dirt and gravel road

Wasn’t a lot of time for riding but I did manage to find some dirt and gravel roads to play on.  The little street tires are not ideally suited for this kind of riding nor are the shocks but it’s still fun to see what sort of trouble you can get into.  More on trouble in a future post.