Scooter in the Sticks

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

Vespa on Wet Roads

by 10 Comments

Vespa on wet roads

Note to self:  Roads are slippery when wet.

Gray, gloomy and a mist-cum-drizzle situation as I heaved tennis balls around for the dogs this morning.  Since it wasn’t cold I decided to go for a ride.  I know what’s involved having a Vespa on wet roads. As I backed out of the driveway my boot slipped on a bright yellow maple leaf reminding me of the challenge of wet roads.

Unlike many rides the one this morning had a list — pharmacy, non-specific ride, Vespa dealer for motor oil and filter, and then home. Enough rain had fallen that any superficial oil and grease were washed away and a close eye on the pavement revealed few leaves that could hamper traction but a close eye was required for most of the ride.

Vespa parked at Pennsylvania State GamelandsKnow your surroundings.

While the Vespa on wet roads was my primary focus I was aware of other potential risks. In less than 48 hours these woods will be crawling with deer hunters.  Pennsylvania’s two-weekSo firearms season for whitetail deer will see somewhere in the neighborhood of 750,000 hunters in the woods on Monday.  Despite wearing a florescent yellow riding jacket, I tend to avoid riding through our state forests for awhile.

Vespa on wet roads

The Vespa on wet roads.

Water gathered quickly on the camera while making this photograph but not enough to prove a dangerous soaking.  With the temperature steady at 49F during the entire ride managing the traction challenges along with any physical discomfort was simple.  Shedding just a bit of normal speed was enough to manage the ride.

Wet winding country roadSo many great roads to ride in central Pennsylvania.

I have so many pictures like this.  The “s” shape informs the Scooter in the Sticks logo.  Pennsylvania is the land of winding roads.  Any ride, whether in the rain or snow or on a sunny day, can provide a myriad challenge to a rider’s skills.  Those same challenges work to provide a thrilling ride along with the possible danger. When asked why I ride in less than ideal weather I respond on managing risk and how I enjoy riding too much to stop.  But when I think about it — the road in this picture (and many like it) and what it means holds the key to why I ride.

Maybe you have your own reasons why you make decisions to take on added risk.

 

 

Cool Morning Riding

by 6 Comments

With one last hot gasp summer surrendered to the crisp air of autumn.

Vespa GTS scooter in Nittany ValleyTemperatures in the low 50s makes for some cool morning riding.  The chill makes me sit up straight, squeeze the grips a bit harder, relish the dazzling clear air.  Together they lead me across still pathways as I make my way to work.

As some riders start to think about winterizing machines I’m doing the same thing — only with a focus on riding rather than storage.

Vespa GTS scooter in parking lotThe light is already low in the sky when it’s time to head home.  Not long ago the sun would still be beating down on the scooter when I arrived.  Now it waits in the remains of the day.

Tree in farm fieldEverything looks strange to me this time of year.  Shimmering with life but as it lingers at the edge of decline.  I’ve passed this tree many times, a solitary bellwether the persistence of life.  There have been other trees, standing as this one, until I pass one day and it’s gone, victim of lightning or chainsaw, fate or whim.  Each a reminder of the changing nature of existence.

Vespa GTS scooter in fieldRiding makes everything ok, or at least feel that way.  Wandering on two wheels distills what’s important to a few simple things — the road surface, the road ahead, and the people and things I might encounter.  During the time astride the Vespa not much else matters.

Just me and the tree.  All part of cool weather riding.

Riding in the Rain

by 26 Comments

Are you comfortable riding in the rain?

Vespa GTS scooter in the rainI don’t worry (much) about getting caught in a sudden shower when the air is warm and home isn’t too far off.  I knew there would be a slight chance that a storm front would pass through when I left home but I was willing to take the chance I would get wet.  Riding in the rain and staying dry can be a critical issue when it’s not warm outside.  For me, anything under 80F can turn chilly when you’re soaked and moving along over 40mph.  I have a Rev’It rainsuit in my topcase that I’ve still never used but it’s there for those times when being wet and cold can become a problem.

The bigger issue for me today was the road surface.  It was slippery as the rain just seemed to spread the oil and road film around making handling dicey in places.  It never really rained hard enough or long enough to clean off the road.  This is where an ABS braking system would be a nice tool to have.

The ride home was uneventful in terms of safety and handling.  Aesthetically, it was fantastic to be out in the rain — really makes you feel alive sometimes.

Vespa GTS and Honda Nighthawk on streetIn town an hour before the rain started everything was quiet — unusually so for a Sunday afternoon in State College, Pennsylvania.  Made this picture as I left the scooter in one of the five motorcycle parking areas available in town.  Normally I park a few blocks away but the Last Cruise, an annual car show and through town cruising ritual closed off the roads in that part of town.

I was reminded once again of how the years are passing by.  I remember when the Last Cruise started.  Seems like a couple years ago.  Turns out this year was the 30th anniversary.

What the hell happened?

Dark Shadows

by 6 Comments

This post is not about the television show or movie named Dark Shadows.  The old TV show does inform some of my “darker” thoughts though..

Vespa GTS scooter moving into the gloomIt’s not often that I ride through an area that feels creepy, as if something bad has happened, spirits lingering with malevolent intent.  I don’t believe in ghosts but there are times when the complex chemical workings of my body and mind get the best of me.

On the morning I made this photograph I could feel my skin prickling.  My hand was in my pocket on my phone wondering how quickly I could dial 911, wondering if there was any cell coverage.

Camp Antler -- an old hunting camp near Livonia, PennsylvaniaIn the darkness just off the road sat Camp Antler, an old hunting camp that could serve as a cinematic location for another episode in the Hannibal Lecter series.  Or perhaps one of the woodsman’s cabins on the grounds of Collingwood.  Kim and I had been discussing one of the local missing person cases where the person just vanished.  My mind was telling me they would find them here.  Or someone else.

The phone wasn’t needed and as quickly as the feeling surfaced it faded when the Vespa entered the sunshine a few miles up the road.  Faded, but not forgotten.

Dark cloudsThe weather seemed odd for a couple days.  The clouds conspired to force uncomfortable thoughts about life and death.  I swore I could feel the blood pumping past the drug eluting stent near my heart.  Looking up I couldn’t tell if the clouds were closing in our the sky was opening up.  That unsettled feeling stuck with me for days despite engaging the Vespa riding prescription for ailments of the heart and mind.

Vespa GTS scooter with Mount NittanyMore than once on the way to work the world seemed empty.  I wondered if the earth was passing through some strange electromagnetic field that triggered my hypothalamus to secrete odd hormones that were affecting my imagination powers.

angel in a gardenWalking through our garden at dusk often triggers thoughts of spirits and creatures etched carefully by books, movies and television shows.  I would not be surprised to see Barnabas Collins as I passed by this old garden angel.

Vespa GTS scooter with Triumph Tiger motorcycleIn the parking lot at the hospital I found safety with the herd — in this instance parked next to a Triumph Tiger motorcycle.  I was early for cardiac rehab and there were few people around.  Surely the vampires were back in their coffins and the werewolves were asleep in the fields and forests.  And in minutes the dark shadows departed.  Perhaps 21 minutes on an elliptical trainer is the antidote for an imagination run amok.  Or a serious Alpine pass program on an exercise bike.  Or maybe I just grew tired of the mental exercising that often takes place when I’m thinking about things.

When I came out 90 minutes later the sun was shining and the world was a pleasant place.

But I miss the drama…

Sheltering from Rain

by 15 Comments

BMW R nineT in rain
For the first time ever I parked beneath an overpass to wait out a passing rainstorm.  I’ve seen other riders huddled under bridges or at gas stations to avoid the rain but I’ve always ridden on.  To be fair, part of the motivation for waiting was I did not want to get the new BMW R nineT wet so it would remain reasonably pristine for photos.  But the bigger issue driving the need to be sheltering from rain was lack of preparation.

Normally when I ride I have rain gear with me.  On this machine there was no place for gear, tools, or anything else that would not fit in my pockets.  There’s another reason though why I’ve never sought shelter from the rain — I’ve never really been caught in a dangerous downpour.

The next day I was in the van when a dangerous downpour presented itself.  Like sheltering from rain the previous day I was close to pulling off the road for the first time because I could not see the road ahead and pools of water were forming on the road surface that made hydroplaning a real possibility.  Again, like with previous rides, driving and riding through rain wasn’t a reflection of fortitude or courage on my part, I just had not faced a serious weather event that required a decision to be sheltering from rain.

Steve Williams motorcycle selfieI have to say there was an unexpected payoff to pulling off the road to wait aside from the selfie I made while sitting in the dirt.  The sudden, forced isolation coupled with no knowledge of how long it would last was sobering — a lesson in loss of control.  When I ride I kid myself that I am in control when the reality is that I am at the mercy of other drivers, weather and fate.  I merely have limited control over myself and my machine.

Sitting along the road in riding purgatory offers an opportunity to experience some rather intense isolation.  Or perhaps separation from the world is more precise.  Either way you’re left with your thoughts as you sit on the earth.  With a smart phone in your pocket it would be easy to medicate any uncomfortable feelings of being alone with the myriad tools for escape it provides and I did indulge with radar maps from Weather.com and a few pictures posted to Instagram.  But I did recognize the opportunity to experiment with my reaction to sudden isolation.

Boredom, anxiety, and a desire to have control were all mixed together leaving me feeling oddly unsettled.  I like to think riding is a meditative process but while I sat watching the rain and wondering when I would get my life back I wondered if riding wasn’t more escape than meditation.

By the time the BMW roared back to life I had found a calm place, one that was accepting of whatever would come along.  But even that was probably an illusion since I had to only wait an hour, the air was warm, there was no pressing need to be anywhere and I wasn’t hungry.  A few changes in circumstance would challenge the calm.

I have to think having a ride interrupted by weather is uncommon since so many riders are fair weather adventurers.  But some of you that ride into the abyss surely have found yourselves sitting and waiting.

What did you find waiting for you?