Scooter in the Sticks

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

Can a Video Replicate a Riding Experience?

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My Royal Enfield Himalayan relaxing in the forest.

Virtual Riding Experience

A blog post used to more routinely be the place where I would share my riding experience. Whether on my Vespa scooter or some other two-wheeled machine that riding experience would likely appear here. When I bought the Himalayan in January of 2022 I made a decision to make a more deliberate use of video. I had about 50 subscribers on my YouTube channel then and have seen it increase to 2187 as I write this post.

Making videos unexpectedly piqued my creative interest and I’ve struggled to juggle the blog and a YouTube channel. Not because I don’t have the time but it’s unclear what my focus should be on the blog. Perhaps until it does become clear I will just flounder ahead and hope for the best.

Right now my mind seems focused on the style of video referred to as “silent vlogs” or ASMR videos. Those are the ones where there is no verbal narrative, just pictures and sound that provide the opportunity for the viewer to more easily immerse themselves in whatever experience is being documented. I’ve watched a few that were engaging and I thought I would give it a try. I recently produced my first silent vlog and I have to say it was technically the most difficult video I have yet to produce.

I’m curious if there’s much interest in this style of video. Or if viewers would rather listen to me share my ideas about some riding topic.

For now, I’m just following a path of interest to me. I’m just uncertain where it will lead.

Here’s the first of my ASMR style silent vlogs…

A “silent style” video of my riding experience in the Central Pennsylvania mountains.

Let me know what you think about this style of video. And if you watch it on YouTube and want to see more videos in the future please subscribe to the channel.

Sorry About the Swearing

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I’ve uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel. I found myself engaged in an impolite exclamation. Sorry about that. Shit happens.

I follow the Itchy Boots YouTube channel as she rides around the world in all sorts of challenging situations. And perhaps what surprises me most is that she never swears. Not when she dumps the bike. Not when she gets a flat. Not when a customs agent gets annoying.

I strive for that kind of serenity.

Anyway, here is the latest video. I’m enjoying the creative change videomaking brings. It’s far more difficult for me than shooting still pictures and writing. But the creative challenge is invigorating.

If you like the video or want to see more of them, jog over to YouTube and subscribe.

Riding with Paul and his Triumph used in “Terminator 3.”

1st Ride on My 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan

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Snow on the Himalayan tires.
What possessed me to ride when there was still snow around?

Common Sense (less)

Since buying the 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan a few weeks ago it has been sitting in the garage. Cold temperatures, snow , slush, salt, and grit have made it a terrible time to ride. I’ve been visiting the motorcycle in the garage, admiring it, acting like a kid at Christmas who got a new bicycle but can’t ride because of snow.

So despite my better judgment and some patches of snow, I went for a short ride around the neighborhood. Just a few miles. After just a mile or so I knew I would be washing off the salt when I got home.

Still, I was dying to ride.

The tires on the Himalayan look nice and aggressive. But are they good for snow?

Continue Reading

Winter Vespa Riding Video

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I just uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel filmed during the recent ride shared in the last post. I’m uncertain as to how, or if, to share the videos here. They seem so different that the essays I write about rides and riding. Perhaps I’ve not given enough time or thought to the making of videos. At this point in time, they are frustrating projects as I struggle with hardware, editing software, and finding a voice. Oh, and on top of that some sort of content that’s worth watching.

Still, it’s an interesting creative puzzle and I plan to continue for a while.

If you like the video or are interested in having me make more, please subscribe on YouTube.

That will give me some indication if anyone is interested in me further developing videos about riding scooters and motorcycles and all that entails.

So without any further conjecture, here’s the video on winter Vespa riding…

Winter Vespa Riding — my reflections of the madness.

Testing the GoPro Hero 8 Black on My Motorcycle

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Last spring I made a handful of YouTube videos and while fun to make, they were more difficult than they needed to be because I was fiddling with a lot of old cameras. So I decided to replace everything with GoPro Hero 8 Black cameras and see if there was an improvement in the technical hurdles.

The short answer — much easier to produce a video with these more “modern” action cameras. And the stabilization is light years ahead of what I was using before.

I’m not sure where I’ll go exactly with video, but it is a lot of fun. I think I need a break from writing blog posts so I can work on my book!

Let me know what you think about this video and the idea of more riding videos.