Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding in the Shimmering Heat

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A hot tea and big chocolate chip cookie sitting on a counter with a motorcycle parked outside the window.
Elements of a reprieve from the heat.

Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Ride

It was already pushing 90 degrees when I rolled the W650 out of the garage this morning. The National Weather Service has been in full panic mode, warning everyone to stay inside like the world is ending. I almost took the car.

I had every excuse ready: It’s too hot. I’m getting older. I should be more careful. Then I caught myself. I spent summers welding inside steel barges in heat like this. Now I’m supposed to be too delicate to ride a motorcycle because it’s 90 degrees? Please. So I geared up, hit the starter, and rode anyway.

The heat was real, but so was the smile on my face the entire time.

I ran my errands, stopped for tea and a cookie, and sat there watching the heat shimmer off the pavement, feeling more alive than I have in weeks.

I’m 72 years old. I still know my limits. And I’m nowhere near ready for the rocking chair. If that makes me stubborn, so be it.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Falling in Love With an Empty Road

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2001 Kawasaki W650 parked in a driveway.
A routine start to breakfast with the W650.

A Benign Beginning

There’s nothing special or unusual about riding to my friend Paul’s house to join him for a ride to breakfast. They’re generally destination oriented by some route chosen for it’s scenic views of the landscape and as lightly traveled as possible. And with the Kawasaki W650 and Harley 48 gravel roads are off the ride menu.

Two breakfast destinations were in my head but the “best” choice remained elusive. Strange how much space a dining choice can occupy in a brain. To quiet my mind I’ll often repeat these two rules — RULE 1: “Don’t sweat the small stuff. RULE 2: It’s all small stuff.”

Difficult rules to follow or even believe. Embracing them calls into question the importance I attach to so many things. And my attachments often just make me miserable. While many things may require my attention, few rise to the level of the importance I create in my head. Like where we should have breakfast.

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My Stubborn Brain

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Glass block wall at the Bing Diner.
I see a little light but can’t see the details. A glass block window at Bing’s Diner.

Why I Hate This Road (And Can’t See Clearly)

Often I can’t quite see the truth. My stubborn brain clouding the view and leading me to make hasty, irrational decisions. There are myriad examples of stubbornness in my life ranging from the food I’ll eat to the roads I’ll ride. My stubborn brain is impervious to reason and a master of deflection and denial in pursuit of what it wants. I’m never sure if my brain and I are one or just two opposing forces.

After some wrestling and consternation I pointed the Kawasaki W650 motorcycle in a direction I normally resist, dismiss, and largely detest. That’s east on US 322 for any destination near or far. Tolerable in a car, miserable on two wheels. I know. I’ve ridden it many times with the same seething disgust. So many cars going far too fast. I hate being triggered to mutter complaints about my fellow man.

Reality or just my stubborn brain being an asshole?

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Cold Versus Cool Motorcycle Rides

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2001 Kawasaki W650 motorcycle parked at a Sheetz store.
Dave arrives on his Triumph and our journey to breakfast begins.

Less Than Ideal Weather

It’s nice to be invited along on a ride. While I’m not always able to go, I always appreciate the offer. On this morning I was free to join Dave on a 39 mile ride to McVeytown, Pennsylvania to have breakfast with some of his riding buddies. The fact that the thermometer was stuck in the mid-30s was less than ideal. And the ride provided a number of opportunities to discern the difference between cold versus cool motorcycle rides.

It was cold. Not the best time to be riding a naked bike with no heated grips. And Dave is not a cold weather rider so I’m sure he was doing some second guessing as well. But when friends and breakfast are dangled before you logic and good sense take a back seat.

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Riding in a Little Rain

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A 2001 Kawasaki W650 motorcycle parked in the rain.
All alone in the rain.

Choices

In addition to the certainties of death and taxes something else can be added to the list — we always have choices. They may not be good choices. Or pleasant. But they’re always there when needed. Like riding in a little rain.

Since retiring and not facing the changing personality of daily fluctuations in weather I tend not to choose to ride in the rain, snow, or bitter cold. But sometimes opportunity and circumstance collude to tempt me out into the world on a scooter or motorcycle. And on this day, a heavy overcast with barely a sprinkle convinced me that the risk of riding in a little rain on my 2001 Kawasaki W650 was a good choice.

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