Scooter in the Sticks

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

Without a Map

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My version of GPS is written on a plain index card. The night before I left on a ride last Monday I poured over the Pennsylvania Atlas looking at places I haven’t explored and made cryptic notes on the card so I would have a general idea of where to go. Paul was riding with me on his Kawasaki Concours and the plan was to ride south to Huntington to a diner for breakfast. Unfortunately my index card didn’t inform me it had been bulldozed to make way for a Rite-Aid. But who needs help finding a place to eat breakfast anyway?

The ride to the diner was through familiar territory though we did take a few new roads that weren’t on the route scribbled on my card, one that had a nice view of the Little Juniata River winding through the countryside.

Even when I have no idea where I am I always know that I will emerge onto a road that is. Being lost in the East if more a figment of imagination than anything based in reality. At least in the manner that I describe lost. And there are always new things to see. Stopping for a picture gives Paul a chance to do a bit of back maintenance.

After breakfast we head south to pickup a road that will take us across the Juniata River. As we crossed the railroad tracks the signal begins to flash and I do a quick U-turn with the Vespa to take a picture of the train. I can see at least a half-mile in either direction and no train is in sight. After waiting five minutes the signal stops and the gates go up. So much for the train. As soon as I fire up the scooter the signal goes off again. Same thing, no train.

I forgot to point out that the temperature by 11AM was approaching 70 degrees. This in on January 7th. Winter in Pennsylvania. I felt like a tourist stopping to take pictures at all the scenic overlooks.

A GPS system only works if you pay attention to it. The same applies to the index card. And it doesn’t help much to pull it out of your pocket when you are 25 miles past a turnoff. I had a general idea of the direction we needed to go and with the sky clear and the sun out I knew where the compass points were to we rode on making a larger than planned loop through some of the southern coal regions of Pennsylvania and over more mountains until we got back on course. I was able to ride my scooter right off the road through the grass back to this overlook. The larger and less maneuverable Concours had to wait on the pavement.

At the top of one mountain was a cell tower and our first coverage in quite awhile. I stopped to call home and let Kim know where we were and when to expect us home and Paul paused to do a little ebay business on his iPhone. He is trying to convince me that I could do Scooter in the Sticks with one. I think I might have to wait until Photoshop is available for the iPhone.

I was able to look back across the valley towards the southern end of Raystown Lake, one of the two big federal flood control projects that resulted in major bodies of water. This one has no horsepower limits so in the summer it is a nightmare of noise and speed. A friend and I canoed its length once and trying to cross from one side to the other was frightening. But that’s another story.

We still had another 80 miles to go before we would be home but were in familiar territory again. A stop for lunch, another to examine a Black Locust tree (another story), and a few more side adventures before riding onto a freshly opened segment of Interstate 99. Paul was kind by keeping his speed to 65 MPH so I could keep up as the highway rose and fell along the mountain.
We got home with another 167 miles on the odometer. No map, no GPS, just a partially utilized index card. And we were fortunate to be able to take advantage of unseasonably warm weather. It didn’t last long though. Temperatures are going down again and there is still plenty of time for winter to really visit.

A Few Words About Safety

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It’s snowing outside again. Not hard but enough to influence a decision to stay off the road. I had my riding pants on before deciding to keep the Vespa in the garage. The roads are wet, mostly free of snow, and with temperatures in the high 20’s a ride is not out of the question.

I received a note from a fellow rider this week that described my riding and writing as revealing “the beauty that dwells in the middle”. He went on to explain this as a marked contrast to the media culture that pushes extremes. I smiled when I saw an advertisement on the online version of the New York Times announcing the coming episodes of National Geographic’s Planet Carnivore. I don’t live there.

Before moving on to safety I confess to a wonderful comfort in the middle. I am not an adventurer, warrior, or adrenaline seeker. I look at and think about the world in front of me and wherever I find myself it is enough. There are more discoveries still waiting for me in my backyard. As a photographer I find connection and direction in the work of Czech photographer Josef Sudek and his ability to find beauty right in front of him.

As a rider I am still learning. I don’t expect to stop until time or circumstance prevents me from continuing. Living in the middle as a rider means thinking about safety and carefully considering what that means to me and what risks I am willing to take. I don’t confuse living safely with managing riding risk. If I wanted to live safely I would not ride. It’s here that things can get sticky for some would be riders that want to live safely, carefully, and want to believe that accidents will never happen if they follow steps a, b, c….

The notion that accidents should not happen if everyone follows the rules may be how someone justifies a legal action for an accident. Unmet expectations on the road might lead to anger and rage when others don’t perform as they should. This angry energy gives rise to more and more unsafe drivers and highways. And it leaves me with more difficult questions related to managing risk. What can I do?

Safety breaks down into four areas for me:

1. State of mind
2. My physical condition
3. Mechanical readiness of the scooter
4. My skill and experience in making and executing decisions

Each of these can respond to work and energy that I put into them. None fall into the Act-of-God area. All benefit from practice and attention and will make my ride safer. And I know they make me a better man. When I look at this short list and ask myself if I applied it to driving before I became a rider the answer is no. Riding safely, managing risk, and riding “in the middle” works together like magic to sweep away the curtain that make it difficult to appreciate the quiet places and moments in front of me.

The snow has continued to fall while I have typed this post. The house is quiet save for Kim turning pages in a magazine and I am living in the middle. I’m grateful that riding has made it much easier to accept and appreciate the life I have.


Don’t forget to let the motorcycle industry know how you feel about things in the 2007 Riders Choice Awards sponsored by Motorcycle Bloggers International. Dream bikes, dream rides, the good and the bad, and off course if you are so inclined Scooter in the Sticks is in the running for best blog! Click the image to get to the ballot.

A Search in the Cold

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Opening the online version of the local newspaper this morning revealed 10° F. Hardly the riding weather of choice. I decided to take the dog for a walk instead. Didn’t take long to confirm the paper’s temperature indication especially since they neglected to mention the wind. During the walk a young dog appeared and followed us along hoping to get Essa to play. Noticing his lack of identification or license reminded me that my own dog was illegal.

By the time we got home the sun was bright in a clear blue sky and my dog needed a license. The temperature has risen to 15° F. After a moment of mental wrestling and q quick examination of the road I decided the Vespa was ready for a trip to the hardware store for a license.

Rolling through the unshovelled driveway (the has to melt that snow soon) I thumbed the starter and the GTS came to life unaware of the near zero temperature it has slept through last night. The air temperature readout on the instrument cluster flashed 18° F. I moved out onto the road with feet down to test the surface. Some icy patches but generally clear. I would have to monitor the road surface carefully and adjust carefully. A few miles from home I realized my usual dog license supplier had gone out of business and I would have to ride farther to get one. The well-traveled roads were generally clear with only scattered snow or ice mostly where wind would continue to deposit new coatings. As long as I was upright and traveling in a straight line I was fine but curves, especially blind curves, had to be handled more slowly than normal and in several instances taking them so slowly that the scooter didn’t lean.

A long loop south of town took me through open farmland where the wind blew steadily. The scooter handled the wind and road surface challenges well and my comfort level is growing with each ride. I stopped at a local pet supply store for the dog license only to be told they were sold out. From there to another place that didn’t carry them but offered directions to a place ten miles away that surely would have a dog license. Rather than ride the back roads I thought it would be a good time to try the new Vespa on Interstate 99. I stopped at the ramp to view the road surface and it was clear and dry, at least what I could see. Still in the break-in period I had no trouble maintaining an indicated 70 MPH, well under the Piaggio admonishment to keep the scooter under 80 percent capacity for extended periods. I did twist the throttle once to bring the GTS to an indicated 80 MPH for a few moments with throttle left. The Vespa is surprisingly smooth and stable at that speed even with a crosswind. I was extremely pleased in the performance of my First Gear Kilimanjaro IV Jacket and Black Diamond Mittens. Running along at 70 MPH in 18° F air I was warm and toasty until I returned home after almost two hours on the road. And I was reminded once again how much I enjoy riding in cold weather.

I’m sure I made the right decision to move up to the bigger Vespa. The increased power and weight will expand the things I can do on the road. I never did find a dog license though. The last stop at Tractor Supply Company was a bust. So I suppose I will have to ride farther to make my dog an upstanding member of the community.

No Riding, No Writing

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My dog enjoys the snow. She’ll happily lie outside until she’s covered in snow. I’m coming up empty though. Neither motivation nor content for any new posts. Other than this picture I made last Sunday during a snow squall I have not been riding.


My Ford Ranger faithfully transports me to work. The Vespa sits in the garage because snow on the ground, snow in the air, the threat of snow, and temperatures in the teens and single digits conspire in my head. A quick check of the weather report this morning shows 16° F and snow for the next five days doesn’t have me pulling on riding gear. While I might have ridden the old scooter on one of these days I don’t trust myself yet with the GTS. And come to think about it I don’t want to ride in snow or when there is the threat of snow. So where does that leave me?


I’ve never been good or overly interested in scouring the Web for interesting material to post here. If I stumble across something I will share it but I would rather ride and write about riding. My riding. It’s unique to me and to you if you’re interested.

The ride on Sunday followed a short nearly snowless ride on Saturday. Sunday found snow in the air and for a while snow everywhere on the road. It didn’t take long for things to melt leaving just a beautiful landscape to ride through.


I tested the GTS as best I could in the snowy areas and it seemed to perform OK. I am comfortable that if I were caught in the snow I could slowly and carefully negotiate my way to safety. But I would not want to routinely venture out knowing there would be snow.


So that’s where I am, waiting like many of you for the weather to improve. Right now if the roads are dry and the temperature is above 15° F I will ride to work. If the temperature rises above 20° F I will consider a trip. For the past few weeks I’ve been looking for clear pavement. No end in sight for snow free forecasts and even though on many days we don’t get the snow I don’t want to chance it. I’m beginning to think the bigger scooter has robbed me of something…

Shiny Scooters and Snow Don’t Mix

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The weather broke, or perhaps my resolve to keep the new Vespa GTS clean, safe and off the road until it was completely dry. Either way I was on the road again yesterday. The temperature was 31° F when I left and had risen 10 degrees by the time I returned home. The roads were clear and damp without ice or slush. I had hoped to see what the GTS was like in snow so I turned off into a shaded parking lot that was still snow covered. It was a gravel lot so traction is much better to begin with but there were a few areas packed smoothly that would simulate snow on the road.

The Vespa GTS feels more stable in the slippery stuff than the LX150 did. The advantage of the smaller scooter is that it’s lighter weight makes it easier to physically wrestle if the wheels should slip out from under you. A foot down on the ground and holding the handlebar can keep the scooter from falling to the ground. I didn’t push the experiment with the new GTS though—I’m not ready to see it fall down yet. Maybe after it gets dirtier. For this experiment I was content riding in circles, stopping, trying to slide, and generally increasing my comfort level with the new handling characteristics.

Still being in the break in period of operation I didn’t push the scooter too hard on the highway and kept my top speed below 65MPH. Acceleration is smooth and positive and the increased weight makes for a more stable ride. Handling on turns and curves is smooth and the GTS feels almost as nimble as the LX150.


More snow is called for today so I’m not sure yet if I will ride or not. Part of my concern is doubt in my familiarity with the new scooter but a big part does not want to get it dirty and covered with salt spray. As I ride more the scooter will become less precious and allow me to use it as I want.