Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding and Getting Older

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2001 Kawasaki W650 parked along a rural road.
An old motorcycle is perfect for an old man like me.

Responses from an Aging Population of Riders

The 2001 Kawasaki W650 motorcycle continues to prove it’s mettle as I wander the backroads of Pennsylvania. I’ve noticed that riding and getting older have begun to intersect and have raised at times some uncomfortable questions. There’s some truth to the idea that when old men get together a big part of their conversation is consumed by tales of aches, pains, medications, doctors, and myriad flash points to complain about.

But the subject of change doesn’t often come up other than plans to move to warmer places or where the next vacation will change place. But for a rider, aging introduces a growing element of risk. And how to manage it was the topic of two recent videos I posted on YouTube. And I am in the process of making a third. That’s what brought me and the W650 out to play.

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Join Me on a YouTube Livestream

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Kraken’s Garage and Adventure Livestream

This Friday, July 7th at 6 PM EST, I’ll be talking with Eric, creator of the YouTube channel “Kraken’s Garage and Adventures.” We’ll be talking about riding scooters and motorcycles, creating content for a YouTube channel, getting older, and whatever questions you might ask during the Livestream.

So if you have a chance to stop by please do.

Hope to see some of you online Friday night!

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.

Video: Vespa Haiku

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A poem of seventeen syllables on a morning with my scooter.

A glimpse of a Vespa Ride

The 10th video I’ve produced for Scooter in the Sticks.

I’ve decided to continue experimenting with this media. And of course, continue to post photographs and text from riding experiences.

For this entry, I was interested in how short I could construct something that still had meaning.

The Vespa haiku text:

My silver machine
Morning fog softly whispers
I continue on

VIDEO: Ode to the Machine

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Vespa GTS scooter on a muddy forest road
How can a machine generate something so powerful on an emotional and spiritual level?

Over and over I’m reminded of the effect riding a scooter or motorcycle has had in my life. They have a peculiar power to make it possible to shed dread and angst.

I don’t try to understand. I accept it as true.

This Vespa video is a feeble attempt to capture the experience.

Riding continues to lead to mysterious places both in the internal and external worlds.