Scooter in the Sticks

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

Vespa GTS Scooter — A Chore Runner

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Vespa GTS scooter parked in the shade in a bank parking lot.
Successful chore running means finding the shady parking spot.

The Right Choice for Errands

Of the scooters and motorcycles in my garage, the Vespa GTS scooter is my first choice for running errands. Why? Because it is utterly simple to use and it has more than enough power for any situation I will encounter. And among all the things it is good at, it is the perfect chore running machine. And on this day I had four chores to accomplish.

By the time I arrived at the bank to deposit a check I was already appreciating why the Vespa GTS scooter was the right choice.

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Simple Pleasure: Where Do You Find It?

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Vespa GTS scooter along freeway exit in the morning lightA New Day

Took the freeway to work one day this past week.  A crisp clear morning,  a spine pretending to almost be normal, I stopped to enjoy a moment alone on the road.  It’s a communion of body, mind and spirit that sweeps past unlooked for but welcome.  A simple pleasure that can’t be bought or planned.  A gift I’ve opened and received gratefully as a rider.

Simple pleasure of seeing my dog in the garden grassSimple Pleasure – a dog in the garden

Being open to the small moments that flame life takes practice.  Lest I miss them, I need to slow down and transform my eyes from detection devices into tools for introspection and insight.  Noticing Lily stalking through the garden grass, I realize how much there is around me that I don’t want to miss.

Riding a scooter, going forth on a motorcycle, these exercises have cleared my eyes.

Vespa GTS scooter in a pastureRiding Shrine

There are moments when my Vespa ascends from riding contraption to shrine.  It usually happens when it’s standing in some lush promontory where it stands against a wider world.  After weeks of nagging irritation from my back, it was a joy to face the morning and feel good about riding, the job I was moving toward and the knowledge that life was rich as a result of a few simple pleasures.

Tea at a morning call on a cafeTea, Light and Friends

An hour in Saints Cafe, some hot tea and conversation with a friend; it’s a simple pleasure that requires only an investment of time on my part.  Time that, in almost every case, returns far more value than the cost of admission.

Vespa GTS scooter in the blazing sunA Ride Home

My back has recovered enough to ride back and forth to work.  I’ve learned to sit up straight to minimize fatigue to that area of the body.  Still experimenting with the rougher experience of riding on gravel roads as habit leads me to old cow paths on the ride home.  The dazzling light of a low sun at the end of the day is a simple pleasure that I don’t embrace nearly enough.

Is there a good reason why I don’t see more sunsets?

Meyer Dairy milk bottle in a GIVI topcaseMilk in Glass Bottles

Twenty four hours ago the milk in the glass bottle was grass.  At least that’s what I like to think.  Meyer Dairy is two miles from my house and they still bottle and sell their milk to the community, a dying breed of dairy farmers not shipping their milk to a cooperative or factory in return for a milk check.  The simple pleasure of drinking fresh, local milk, hides the hard work and complication of daily production.

Seeing the bottle in my GIVI topcase has me wondering how long they’ll last.  Or my Vespa scooter.  Or me.

For now I’l enjoy the little rides I can take, a simple pleasure purchased with the effort I make to choose the scooter over the car.

Where do you find simple pleasure?

Riding Choices

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Many riding choices are simple — obvious and mechanical; apply the brakes now, activate the turn signal, avoid the car door opening ahead.

Some choices involve more experience to properly evaluate like making decisions to ride when the weather isn’t ideal or determining how many miles a backside can actually endure before discomfort interferes with technique.  And then there are the grand choices that affect lives and relationships, the riding choices that directly influence how much time you a rider lives on two wheels.

Motorcycles and Vespa at the Pump Station in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania
A phone call led me to the Pump Station Cafe to see my daughter and granddaughter. Coincidentally members of the Boalsburg Moto Hang were gathered for a weekend ride to member Brian Moroni’s place – H&H Cycle Shop in Osceola Mills. I’m told he has all kinds of vintage dirt bikes and there’s always an interesting collection of vintage riders who hang out and tell stories of the glory days of central Pennsylvania motocross. Brian is a talented fabricator and would probably have a few of his works on display. I could go on that ride or I could see my granddaughter.

Emma, if someday in the future you’re reading this — make note I chose to hang out with you even though you drool and don’t say too much.  But you are pretty damn precious.  And if at some point you become a rider you’ll appreciate the painful process to balance riding with everything else.

Hannah and Emma at Pump Station in Boalsburg
Everything else. I wish I could say I have it under control, all figured out but I’m no closer now than I was scribbling complaints in my journal at 17. I’ve wondered if I’m genetically programmed to warm to disorganization and chaos.

Regardless, choices must be made and for most part I’m comfortable with the ones I’ve made. And I’m excited about the ones that lie ahead. Whatever they may be.

Perhaps Emma will provide some clues — she seems pretty thoughtful.

Boalsburg Moto Hang riders at the Pump Station in Boalsburg, PennsylvaniaThe Boalsburg Moto Hang gang were making plans for the morning ride and discussing group riding rules and stuff.  No scooter riders were represented save for those harboring a secret desire to abandon their motorcycles for the bliss of twist and go.

Motorcycles lined up at the Pump Station Cafe in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania

Off they went.  Hannah took an increasingly sleepy Emma home for a nap and I got on the Vespa to engage in some dog walking business with Junior and Lily.  Everyone has a task, everyone has a choice.

As far as riding choices go, right now I find myself dividing them into three simple categories; when, how and how long.   Simple is good.

Make Mistakes

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contemplating a handIf I’ve learned anything in life it’s that I make mistakes.  Albert Einstein counseled people to make them as part of a method which makes life richer, deeper, and opens doors otherwise invisible.  I was pondering this idea while trying to ease my frustration at line of little mistakes and misjudgments that are maddening.  Ordering the wrong parts, staying up half the night instead of sleeping, neglecting new ATM cards until the bank decides to cancel everything.

My own magical thinking leads me to believe that things will just work out.

Dog in a fairy ringJunior is oblivious to the fairy ring he’s laying in.  I asked him to pose for this picture, a momentary break from our repetitive exercise of hurling and retrieving tennis balls.  Come spring there fairy rings, elf rings to some, will burst forth as a line of mushrooms.  The biology is more complicated than I want to go into.  Being able to see them is a gift of my wife  Kim and her naturalist ways slowly rubbing off on me.

Junior reminds me of mistakes, especially in timing related to inadequate sleep.  The less sleep I have the less time there is for the two of us to run wild.

Dog displaying lazy behavior

Junior reflects my own laziness and sloth of late.  And I’m sure it’s fueled some of the mistakes I’ve been making, especially in regard to installing the heated grips on the Vespa.  It’s still in the garage in pieces and at the rate I’m going it will fall in line between printing my daughter’s prom pictures and finishing the darkroom sink.

I’ve been waiting for over a week for some Posi-Tap connectors only to discover I ordered the wrong size.  With my patience exhausted I just grabbed the quick splice connectors I had on hand and started the electrical work.  It wouldn’t be as “perfect” as I imagined but would likely work just fine.

KOSO heated grips controllerSuccess.  Switched power to the grips and all the lights are on.  So the power is wired correctly.  Was working a bit on the grips.  Have to do a bit more sanding before I can push them onto the bars.  Ran out of energy, heard the whisper of the easy chair.

One step at a time I’lll get the project finished and i’ll probably continue to make mistakes…

Peace on Earth

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I saw this Christmas video posted on the Modern Vespa forum this evening and it reminded me of how I wish things were in the world. One hundred years have passed since men waged battles in the trenches of Europe. While wars continue, the spark of human hope and imagination persists that seeks peace on earth and that one day the world will be a better place.

May this video remind you of the dream as well.

UPDATE:  After reading the comments on the video I remembered the song “Children’s Crusade” by Sting done in the 1980s.  It’s a powerful follow to the above video.