Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650

A Tiny Taste of Freedom

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Vespa GTS 250 scooter on a farm lane.
Free in the world on a Vespa scooter.

Do You Taste Freedom When You Ride?

This portrait is different from other portraits made of the Vespa scooter. I made it with a tiny taste of freedom in my mouth.

The word freedom is tossed at everything from promises made by salesman about new cars to politicians proclaiming it with shaking fists. Abstract descriptions of something that has so many different meanings to so many different people that it’s difficult to feel it. How do I know when I’m free?

On this morning, at the moment I made this picture, I could feel the thrill of freedom in my chest. Like a kid released for the summer on that last day of school. For me, it began the moment I stepped out of the DMV with my renewed drivers license indicating I no longer needed to wear glasses when I ride. The surgery for removal of cataracts and subsequent implantation of new lenses correcting my vision to 20/20 gave a tiny taste of freedom then, and on this morning when I pulled on my helmet and didn’t have to legally fiddle with glasses it burst into life.

It was shocking how exciting it felt. So much that I had to temper the emotions so I could pay attention to the road. As I rode a smile acknowledged gone was pressure of glasses to my temples and nose, no ongoing need to raise the visor to reposition the glasses, and no more fogging of glasses on those frigid rides.

A little thing in a complicated world. But I’ll take every bite of this tiny taste of freedom. What about you? When was the last time you had a taste?

Do I Ride to Escape Reality?

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A Vespa GTS 250 scooter parked along a road in a forest.
A few quiet moments for reflection.

Glad I’m Not Young

In a culture obsessed with looking, acting, and being young I’m definitely off course and on a different road. It’s taken some time but I’m comfortable in my skin and with the circumstances of each moment as it comes along. I’m not saying I don’t care about how I look or take care of myself but I’m not on the social rollercoaster to deflect the onslaught of time on my body or try to convince anyone else that I’m not a 71-year-old man. My days aren’t driven by a desire to fill every moment with meaning or to chase an adrenalin or dopamine fix to be satisfied that I am living. I’m not trying to escape reality.

Meandering on a Vespa the the hills and dales of home provide me time to think, reflect, and enjoy the breaths I take without any weight of performance or requirement. Just me walking on the earth feeling in balance with life. And in the particular moment standing in the woods I was glad I’m not young.

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Milk Runs and Other Excuses to Ride

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2004 Vespa ET4 scooter parked along a rural road.
A beautiful day for a ride.

Do You Need a Reason to Ride?

Life often is chaotic. Full of the administrative tasks and duties that can run a person ragged. From going to the grocery store, the Post Office, on any of the other tedious errands that can consume a day, approached with the wrong frame of mind they become toxic little acts of life. Endeavoring to see them as excuses to ride has quietly changed the quality of my days. I’ve reaped dividends in miles, smiles, and a psychic draining of the emotional weight of duty and requirement.

How many excuses to ride do you have?

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Tiny Rides

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Vespa GTS 250 scooter along a rural road.
Pausing to admire the world.

What is a Tiny Ride?

It would be nice if every ride could be a grand adventure. Days or weeks exploring, unfettered by the weight of duty and the responsibility of maintaining a life. But ask yourself, how many of your rides fit into that specific category of two-wheeled activity?

A lucid look in the mirror draws a confession — only a small fraction of my rides are grand adventures. Most of them are tiny rides, rides that are part utility and part therapy. They don’t appear special in any way. Experience reveals they in fact have a powerful influence on the quality of my life. Those low miles, short time in the saddle rides are the medicine that keeps me smiling, pulls me out of bed in the morning, and have me muttering, “What a wonderful life.”

The utility aspects of tiny rides are easy to comprehend — errands, transportation, an alternative to the cage. But what exactly comprises the therapeutic aspect of a tiny ride?

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When Riding Alone Isn’t Enough

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Man checking the rear wheel tire pressure on a Vespa ET4 scooter.
Checking the tire pressure on the Vespa ET4 is a challenge. (Photo by Andy Heckathorne)

Ungracious Awakenings

By temperament, I prefer to ride alone. Free to embrace the road at whatever pace I desire. Stopping to look or make photographs without concern for the tempo of others. No need to keep checking the mirrors or adjusting speed. Just the freedom to ride with my tumbling thoughts.

And still I ride with others because finding balance between solitude and connection makes life richer. I didn’t always understand that. Moments and opportunities arrive more frequently now when I realize riding alone isn’t enough.

The plan was a long scooter ride with friends Andy and Paul on an unexpectedly chilly morning. It was the Vespa ET4’s turn to ride and Andy caught me checking the tire pressure, an increasingly challenging operation now requiring knee cushioning and a limber back to engage the tire valve.

There seems to be no end to the reminders that I’m no longer young. Physically at least.

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