Scooter in the Sticks

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

My Winter Riding Checklist

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Vespa GTS scooter between snow covered carsVespa Scooter in Snow

Winter riding, especially in the snow, generates the most interest and traffic on Scooter in the Sticks.  I’m uncertain if that’s true because it’s like watching an accident, or people are searching for reasons to try it themselves, or something more or less profound.  Regardless, this activity that I find so satisfying resonates.  With that resonation in mind I thought I would share the mental checklist I go through before venturing out into the snow.  I made all these pictures this morning and started gathering my checklist thoughts on the road.

There was snow on the ground when I got up this morning with more on the way until changing to sleet and freezing rain.  That transition was many hours away.  When I made the above photo I had already made the decision to ride.  Shoveling snow and cleaning the cars could wait until later.  A rider has to have their priorities straight.Continue Reading

Basking in the Warmth of Electric Gloves

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My Gerbing G3 Electric Gloves — all nice and warm again after replacing the lead wire from the battery.  Simple repair. Disconnect the two leads from the battery, clip the cable ties holding the cable that runs back to the engine compartment and up under the seat where I connect the gloves.  Pull the bad cable, thread the new one into place, connect the leads to the battery and I was ready to venture into the cold night for a test ride.

I love test rides.

The temperature was 31F when I left the house.  Adequate for evaluating the performance of the gloves and making sure I didn’t introduce any new electrical problems.  Gerbing says these gloves will heat to 135F when the outside ambient temperature is 32F.  I know this because my Aleta got a pair of G3 gloves today for riding her Yamaha Vino and I read the specs.

That sounds impressive until you factor in the wind hitting them while riding.  At 45mph 31F feels like 13 degrees.  It follows that the glove’s heating temperature would decline as well.

Regardless, riding through town and looping around the valley my hands were plenty warm.

I do love riding at night.  Found myself thinking ahead to a moonlit night over a snow covered landscape.  It’s so bright that you hardly need a headlight.  But I’m getting ahead of things.  Snow isn’t suppose to arrive until tomorrow.

So one more thing to cross off my to do list.  I can ride without too much concern about keeping warm now, at least not until the temperature hits single digits.  Then my feel become an issue.

It’s always something.

Holy Shit It’s Cold

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19F this morning for my ride into State College, Pennsylvania to meet my friends Paul and Gordon at Saint’s Cafe to talk about photography, life and whatever else emerges.  Sunshine helps mitigate the cold — probably more a state of mind than any actual change in temperature.

I wasn’t excited to ride this morning when I crawled out of bed but kept moving in that direction until I finally plugged in my Gerbing electric gloves, flicked the power switch, and headed down the road. Electric gloves are nice!

Electric gloves are nice until they quit working.  About four miles into my ride I noticed the warm, toasty feeling depart and a cold, numb feeling creep into my fingertips.  Looking at the power switch I saw the light was out — no more juice.  I already knew the problem — corrosion on the connector.  I’d been tinkering with it for awhile rather than just swap it out with a new one and led me to this conclusion: “Holy shit it’s cold”.

When the temperature drops below 30F I need those electric gloves if I don’t want to engage in periodic huddles around the headlight or muffler.  Paul gave me a new lead and connector and tomorrow I’ll install and be back in business.

Hot tea and a bagel did much to soothe aching cold hands but my riding spirit was already in good shape.  There’s just something about riding in the cold that yields unexpected dividends for me…

The Vespa is Ready for Winter Riding

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Braving the cold in an unheated garage, tools strewn across the concrete floor, the scooter is now ready for winter.  Tires, oil, antifreeze, all changed and checked.  Surveying the mess I am reminded of how disorganized I can be.  I’ll never have one of those workshops that appear in The Garage Journal.

A quick ride to make sure the wheels don’t fall off and the oil stays in the engine.  The Heidenau K66 SnowTex tire’s aggressive tread pattern and extra sticky grip provide a little more security on cold, wet and snowy roads. They feel weird at first, like riding on big balloons.  That feeling quickly disappears.

The weather forecast calls for 19F in the morning with snow showers.  I’ll look in the mirror tomorrow morning and ask that guy if he wants to ride.

Cold Weather Riding: Getting Your Head Into the Game

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As the temperature continues to drop and the weather becomes a bigger concern for a rider.  A cold, wet morning on the way to work when I saw an intrepid commuter.  Riding in this situation is more than just enduring the cold, it’s wrapping your head around a new way of riding.  One focused on managing a new exposure to risks.

I just put the snow tires on the Vespa and will change the oil, check the antifreeze, and generally get the machine ready for winter in the morning.  My body is ready for another season of cold weather riding.  Now I just need to get my head in the game…