Now that the temperature has plummeted below 90 degrees F I figured it a fine time to begin preparing for the onslaught of winter. The Vespa is in good shape and will be mechanically prepared, and I am mentally ready for the drop in temperature, but if there was a weakness in my winter riding it had to be riding gear. I need three things—winter riding jacket, heavy winter gloves, and new riding boots. After long consideration of a variety of jackets I purchased a First Gear Kilimanjaro IV jacket. Waterproof, armored, insulated, lots of pockets, and yellow and black too!

I tried it out for the first time on Saturday when I went for a ride with my father-in-law Bob. The temperature was 49 degrees when I left the house at 7:30AM and I pulled the new jacket on over a T-shirt. Felt warm and comfortable at 60 MPH and in my completely unscientific manner figure the coat would be warm down to about 35 degrees with just the T-shirt and easily down to 10 degrees with my long underwear and windproof Mountain Hardware jacket underneath. And no need for any raingear!

The big surprise was that the jacket was comfortable as the temperature warmed and it was not until it hit 74 degrees that I thought it might be time to open some vents. I think for the money this will be a fine jacket for my needs. Next on the list in a pair of Tourmaster Winter Elite gloves.

The ride took me 50 miles to meet Bob at a Sheetz convenience store in Bellwood. From there he led me up the mountain into the watershed area of the Tipton Reservoir, one of Altoona’s water supply areas. The road wound through the forested areas of one of our State Game lands before cresting a high valley and beautiful lake.

I made this image of the two Vespas waiting in the shadows.

Ten miles further down the road we stopped for breakfast at a little country diner. A small group of Harley’s and other V-twin bikes were parked outside and when I passed the table of riders on my way to the bathroom they all gave me a nod which I can only read as some acknowledgement of being out on road so far from town even if it was on a scooter.

Bob still enjoys his scooter and I made this picture of him when we stopped to look out over Glendale Lake at Prince Gallitzin State Park.

We wandered through the hills for another hour until I took my leave and rode back home. Another 140 miles of riding. Vespa ran well, new jacket was perfect, and I soaked up some more riding that I can only call magic.

Since I purchased the Vespa I have fretted over the adequacy of its 149cc engine in terms of performance and durability. A quick look at the riding world tells me that nearly everyone else on the road has opted for more power. The same evidence exists in the cage world. Obviously need and experience points to larger and more powerful machines.

There are a few people on the road with scooters, bicycles, or walking but it hasn’t done much to calm my fear that I made a terrible error in chosing a scooter. This past weekend I got up early and decided to ride for about four hours. The ride provided some interesting data related to my concern with power.

On the road at 8AM heading east for a quiet, relaxed ride. Five miles from home I notice my glove box is hanging open and my registration and insurance information are gone. Luckily a retracing of the 5 miles found the paper laying on the road at around mile 1. This sort of thing used to drive me out of my mind but I found this little side adventure just more reason to ride.

I rode up Brush Valley and turned north at Livonia to cross the mountains towards the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The roads seemed abandoned with almost no traffic until I neared Lock Haven. I stopped at a Sheetz for a breakfast sandwich and while sitting outside in the shade three Harleys rode up each carrying a passenger. I always marvel at the physical prowess of people who can ride with short sleeves when the temperature hovers around 60. I’m wearing overpants and a windbreaker under my riding jacket.

After breakfast I ride through Lock Haven and head north on Route 120 which hugs the river into the mountains. I have the road to myself and wonder why they bother paving it. I catch up to a group of Goldwing riders and lose them only when I make an illegal stop on a bridge to make a photograph.

I decide to ride up to the top of Hyner View which looks out over the river valley. It’s about a 1300 foot climb along a winding road.

Saw no one along the road or at the overlook despite the fact that the weather was beautiful. As I left I passed a lone BMW rider at the bottom of the mountain.

From there I rode on to Renovo, an old lumber and railroad town.

I’m not sure what people do in Renovo now. I suspect most commute to Lock Haven or other places of employment.

I cross the river and head south through Sproul State Forest. This road is remote. No powerlines, no houses or buildings, just empty. My kind of place.

A few whitetailed deer walking on the road reminds me to slow down and pay attention to detail. This is not the sort of place you want to be falling down. Last week a rider lost control of his bike and went off the road. He was found several days later after the birds and animals had some time with him.

Passed a lot of old and abandoned businesses and I find the slow decay of our past intriguing.

Pennsylvania is loaded with areas undergoing this kind of transition. It’s good to see before it ends up a commercial cobweb of Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and Home Depots without a sliver or personality or community.

Without going into a lot of detail the ride was relaxed and with the exception of climbing one hill at 40 MPH I never felt I needed more power. Still the power issue remains. And I can’t quite figure it out. Here is what I know. In terms of performance the Vespa will out swerve and out stop most more powerful bikes on the road. Both these activities are definitely safety features. It will not give throttle response to “speed away” from trouble. I remain dubious about this as a safety feature. I have heard the same thing about cars over the years—“I need that power to pass”. Yeah right.

Moving away from the purely safety issues into speed issues I think bigger engines are at there best. If you want to ride on limited access highways at sustained speeds of 60 MPH or more a little scooter is not the choice to make. If you need to commute at cager speeds then you need power. But I don’t want to ride on those roads and when I do it not to rapidly get somewhere but more a change of pace. I rode on I-99 on the way home but had to get off after one exit because a bee got under my helmet. I hate hearing that buzzing sound when the thing was sort of trapped near my ear.

The last consideration for power is image and ego. We all know the drill and it applies to cars and motorcycles and the lure and seduction of power is evident all around us—money, homes, clothes, stuff, and cars and motorcycles. This “need” is personal and each of us have to make our own decisions.

Does the scooter have enough power? Depends on what you want to do and what you expect. For me, today, it is fine. Tomorrow? Who knows….

Time to go for a ride.

I decided last night that I would ride to Northumberland, Pennsylvania to visit with a few friends. Because the weather forecast called for temperatures near 90 I was up early and on the road at 6:40AM. I rode five miles before I saw another car and ten before a car came up behind me. The road was smooth and the air temperature was near 70 degrees—perfect riding weather.

The sun was stuggling to push through the morning haze and fog making the landscape look like something out of a fairytale in places. I’m always amazed at how many things I can detect while riding that are completely lost driving a car. The fragrance of fresh cut hay, manure, pine needles, a lingering campfire from the previous night… And I can feel the air temperture change as I move from the open landscape into the forest. This image was made not far from a spring fed lake which is frigid year round. I could feel the air temperature drop significantly as I neared.

I often liken a scooter ride to sailing. Both are limited in their ability to push faster. Both require patience and attention to many variables to achieve optimum performance. Every rise of the road, change in the road surface, breeze or appearance of vehicles all suggest adjustments and corrections. At times when I see the road stretch out in the distance it reminds me of looking out over the bow of a sailboat in the ocean—all that to cover and I can’t go any faster….

The Vespa performed flawlessly. I cruised between 45 and 55 MPH depending on where I was. As I neared Lewisburg I caught up with an SUV which I followed for a few miles until I got to US 11/15. The temperature was rising and the haze worsened which was apparent from the overlook about the Susquehanna River.

I traveled more rural/agricultural roads on the way home. My neck was cramping a bit and I stopped a few times to stretch. Not sure if I’m old, out of shape, or just slept badly last night.

I hoped to ride through one of the covered wooden bridges that I know exist in the area. Without a map I wasn’t sure where they were but did come upon one that was closed. Everything gets old I guess and these wooden bridges are no exception. I’m sure it would have supported my scooter.

The only really bad part of the whole ride was it coming to an end. While I put another 140 miles on the scooter it didn’t seem to be enough to sate the desire to keep riding. Maybe I need to take a trip of several days duration to cleanse my system of riding…

The local scooter club (of which I am a member albeit not a good one since my loner ways keep me off by myself most of the time) is having a big scooter rally on August 18-20 in State College, Pennsylvania. If you like rallys and riding in the absolute sweetness of rural landscapes then this is a must event.

In addition to all the usual rally activities you’ll have the chance to see a lot of scooters both vintage and modern. To register for the rally go to this link:

Top Secret Scooter Club Rally

And to check out the scooter club website:

Top Secret Scooter Club

There is a link on that page to the club’s discussion list in Yahoo so you can join that as well.

Back to the idea of the rally. If you have been reading this blog very long you have probably figured out that I like riding alone. I like to stop when I want (and I stop a lot) and I don’t enjoy riding in a military assembly. Add to that my semi-aversion for crowds and a rally just doesn’t add up to fun for me. It seems a lot like a wedding or big party….

That said I do realize I am in a tiny minority and most riders love these kinds of get togethers. A guy at work told me about a big event of BMW riders that had thousands of bikes. Thousands….

Anyways, don’t be like me. Get yourself to this rally. The ride to State College has so many wandering backroads that it will be sublime. And once you get to State College you can adventure through everything the scooter club and a college town (Penn State) has to offer.

I’ll probably be at the rally with my camera. Gives me something to hide behind…

If you are reading this most likely you own a scooter or motorcycle, or have dreams of having one. Wednesday is Ride to Work Day— a day for each of us to stand up and show our solidarity as riders and demonstrate to our friends, drivers, legislators, police officers, transportation planners and designers, insurance companies and everyone else that riders are everywhere and that we deserve consideration as people who share the roads with cars and trucks.

No need to go into all of the benefits of riding. Let’s just say we’ll have a little nicer place if more people shed their fear and began to ride….

Ride to Work on Wednesday July 19th!

See you on the road.