Scooter in the Sticks

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

Winter Creeping into My Heart

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After watching the Dream Rangers video yesterday I could not keep myself from going for a ride this morning. Winter is slowly creeping into my heart and painting everything with a gray heaviness. A ride would chase away the cold.

The roads were mostly dry with salt and an occasional path of snow or ice. Staying on lightly traveled secondary roads allow for methodical management of these hazards.

Looking at the Vespa sitting in the ice covered scene above reflected exactly how I feel — I’m living in a world of cold. Maybe this is what Finland is like this time of year.

Returning home I realized I could ride a lot more than I do. I’m letting the cold weigh me down and whisper in my ear the many reasons to leave the scooter in the garage.

My dog Junior doesn’t let a little cold weather stand in his way of having fun. I need to take a lesson from him.

No more winter whining. Let’s ride.

Riding When the Rest of the World Doesn’t

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A couple weeks ago I stopped on the way to work to put on an extra layer to keep the cold away from my tender flesh. Less than perfect weather does seem like a good reason to stop riding when minor fashion adjustments make flying down the road a pleasure. It must be too much of an adjustment for a lot of riders.

Here I am in Maine. Sustained winds of 25 knots are blowing in off the ocean with gusts up to 38 knots. That’s around 44 mph for non-nautical types. A fresh gale. Rain stings when it hits your face. It’s hard to walk. And you hope nothing comes flying off the beach in your direction.

Just like setting off on the Vespa when the temperature plummets I head out on the beach for a walk to Perkins Cove about a mile away. I have the right gear. There is a fine little café where I can get in out of the weather and have something hot to drink. Arriving in Perkins Cove, wet yet satisfied in the same manner when I return from a winter ride, I find the café closed. Everything is closed and aside from a few storm peepers inside their cars there isn’t a soul outside.

The experience gave me an excellent opportunity to justify and rationalize my riding (and walking) behavior. Standing on a promontory looking out past the waves I remembered sailing through similar weather just 30 miles off shore on my way to Peake’s Island, Maine.

Maybe it’s a good time to re-evaluate risk.

Grey Riding

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I was struck how colorless the world can be during my ride to work. Makes sense how those shades of grey can pile on to your brain in winter. A glimpse of blue sky and sunshine is cause for celebration. The grey on the ground reeks havoc on the metal and machinery and I’m sure it was responsible for the failure of my rear brakes. All that salt silently chewing and gnawing as those fine machine parts. Perhaps I should wash the Vespa once in a while. I missed the blue moon at the end of December.

It was nice to ride without snow on the road. The only other two-wheeled vehicle in the parking lot was a colleague’s Yamaha Vino. He got the good space.

All Fog, All the Time

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It was suggested in a recent post on 2StrokeBuzz that it must always be foggy here in Pennsylvania since so many of my pictures are made in that magical atmosphere. Kim made the above picture through the window of our VW Jetta as we traveled to Altoona yesterday. We had just come out of some fog and there was more ahead. The weather has been strange this summer and perhaps responsible for the increase in fog. It is definitely is responsible for the emergence of Late Blight in tomatoes hitting tomato growers in Pennsylvania — the same blight responsible for the Irish Potato Famine of the 19th century. But I digress….

I love how the world looks in the fog. I feel the tug of photographic attraction when I wake to a fog-shrouded world (not talking intoxicants here). As a rider, I make a more considered response before venturing forth on the highway in fog. I made the above picture last weekend while riding the Piaggio MP3-250. The fog varied between what you see in the picture and slightly more dense. Moisture build-up on my visor didn’t help. The decision to ride was based on knowing that traffic would be light and people driving at reasonable speeds. So I decided I could manage the risks.

My friend Paul snapped a shot of me making the previous picture. Not all roads have such bright lines and generous berms. They help tremendously in fog to keep things safe. Or at least create a road landscape in which to operate safely.

For photography buffs reading I don’t often make my pictures while seated. I usually stop and look around for the good shot. But this one was a no brainer.

On another foggy morning a few weeks ago I made this portrait of the Kawasaki KLR 650 on a quiet, low traffic road. Since this is Happy Valley most people travel intelligently in these conditions. But I remain vigilant for out of town drivers…

Parting thoughts about riding in fog: Carefully judge the risk to be assumed. Gauge traffic, speed, road conditions, visibility, riding skills and experience, and apply all that to your own equation of how much risk you are willing to take on the road. There is always a possibility that things can go wrong on the road regardless of what you are driving or riding. It’s just that it can be worse on two wheels.

And I always caution people about how slow I am going generally because I am out looking for pictures. At the speeds I travel I usually have plenty of time to process what’s in front of me. And with eyes keenly aware of what’s behind me as well I feel comfortable in the fog…