Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding Interruption Due to Snow

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A fresh snowfall overnight — just four or five inches but enough for me to opt out of riding today.  I’ve ridden in this kind of situation before but only to prove I could or to test out my winter tires when I bought them.  With nothing to prove to myself the angels of my better nature reminded me of how greatly the speed differential is between four-wheeled vehicles and two-wheeled vehicles in snow.  Seems like every SUV owner feels they can drive even faster in snow because they have four-wheel drive.  And on a motorcycle or scooter, well, you know how slow you have to go in snow if you’ve tried it.

So I’ll stay home and admire the landscape.

And walk Junior.  He and I did a trip to the park so he could tear around in the snow, seek out other dogs to play with, and try not to lose the ball in the snow.  Succeeded in every objective.

All that’s left now is to lie on the couch and get fat…

Gerbing Electric Gloves: A Pleasant Surprise

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My electric gloves are dead.  They died a slow death over the past couple months but last week during an 8F morning ride I knew they were done.

My friend Paul gave them to me for Christmas in 2007 and in the subsequent four years they have seen a lot of use; probably more than most riders ever use them.  I wrote of that joy in a post titled 18F and Gerbing Electric Gloves. 
As I was preparing to toss them in the trash I decided to check to see if the heating elements could be repaired.  Or even easier a bad connector.  Being of sound mind I retrieved a little used multimeter from the toolbox and set to work to determine if something was wrong with the gloves themselves or the connector coming from the battery.
A strong arc on one of the probes indicated to me that I was getting power to the connector so I abandoned that line of research.
A quick continuity check on the gloves themselves indicated failures in both.  Checking for repair service on Gerbing’s web site indicated a lifetime warranty on the heating elements.  A LIFETIME WARRANTY!
My sense of joy was dashed when I read that I would have needed to register the purchase four years earlier.
Shit — I never register anything.  Still, I had to try.
An extremely pleasant voice answered the phone at Gerbing customer service.  I described the problem and asked about repair service since I knew I hadn’t registered the gloves.  When the woman on the other end of the line said she would check in the database to see if I was registered I knew I was done.  A new Aerostich catalog had just arrived, maybe they have some new electric gloves.
“Steve Williams” I sheepishly responded when asked for my name.
“Gee, we have a lot of Steve Williams’s in our database.” she replied.  
Williams is a terrible name to have if you’re trying to get a handgun or wade through registrations of any type.  The first because mostly we’re criminals and second because there are so many of us.
“What state do you live in?” was her next question.  
When I answered she proceeded to recite my address, phone number, place of employment, blood type, sexual preference and favorite chocolate.  I looked out the window and thought I saw the sunrise.
“Holy shit,” I thought. “I must have registered the gloves.”  
Great news from Gerbing.  They gave me a return number and said they would either restore the gloves to their previous toasty state or replace them with a brand new pair.
A real surprise to someone who is always expecting to get ripped off at every turn by capitalists everywhere except for L.L. Bean and Walmart.  Always bring Vaseline to Best Buy.
So the gloves are now in Tumwater, Washington and I am roughing it with conventional gloves until they return.  So far the temperature hasn’t dropped below 25F, easily managed for the comute to work.  But longer rides will have me on my knees praying at the muffler.
Still, I’m a happy camper.  I’m getting something for free!

Cold Weather Preliminaries

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Preliminaries. Making ready. Husbanding ones resources. Getting into harness. Ugh.

Buckling on the armor in cold weather is a chore. No way around it. On Sunday morning the thermometer pointed to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Out came the long underwear, wool socks, sweater, windproof jacket, jacket liner, wires for electric gloves, winter riding jacket, winter riding overpants, boots, balaclava, full helmet. By the time I have all this on I’m tired and ready for a nap.

If you want to ride in cold weather, all mechanical and riding considerations aside, the need to shield flesh and bone is considerable. Especially without windshield, heated grips or hand guards. Yet over and over I find myself on the road, attired like Randy (a tick ready to pop) from a Christmas Story.

I didn’t feel up to taking the camera along so I made a series of pictures with the iPhone and processed them with the Instagram app using the Early Bird filter. Click on the image to see a version large enough to see the individual images — the frost covered vehicles in the driveway, the Christmas wreath in the window of Saint’s Cafe, in State College, Pennsylvania. Just another cold, Sunday morning ride on the Vespa.

And as much as I grumble getting ready I am so glad to be on the road…

Weather and the Calculated Risk

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At 5:15 PM when I left my office the Vespa was coated in a glistening sheen of ice. How I got there and what I would do next was a result of calculating risk. Standing by the scooter I could see traffic moving on wet, slushy roads. Heavy skies reduced light levels. With temperatures hovering near freezing and moisture in the air I knew visor fogging would be an issue. My brain was working, trying to calculate my next action.

Weather is predictable to a point. In warm weather unexpected changes in temperature or precipitation are challenges most often met with gear adjustments and minor changes in riding. Unexpected changes in cold weather involve more risk and can’t be overlooked.

I stood outside with the dog in the morning weighing the pros and cons of riding to work. The forecast called for two brief periods of snow or sleet followed by rain later in the evening. The road was dry and the skies looked heavy but no hint of moisture yet. I made the decision to ride to work knowing that it could get worse when it was time to go home. I had my usual backup plan ready — park the scooter in the parking garage and take the bus home.

By mid-afternoon what I thought would be a passing flurry or shower of sleet had developed into something more persistent. I kept an eye on the street outside my window and the progress of traffic. I was already calculating risk. When I walked outside at the end of the day it was decision time.

The accumulation of sleet and snow in the parking lot would be heavier than anyplace on the ride home. It was the safest place to test for traction and just a tiny bit of throttle pushed the rear wheel sideways. Head up, eyes forward, and gentle throttle would be the rule of the ride.

Two stops would slow me down, one for fuel, and a second for cash at the ATM. Walking back to the scooter with a pocket full of money I met a good Samaritan. A neighbor saw the scooter and me and thought I might need a ride home. My experience on the road for the past four years have brought many would be good Samaritans. It’s nice to know that help is available if needed. In this case I politely declined and thanked him for the offer.

By the time I pulled into the driveway it was almost dark, I was tired, and the sleet was still coming down. The ride home was not as bad as other unexpected winter rides but it did require constant attention and adjustment. And more than a few four-wheeled vehicles had to practice patience as I made my way down the road slower than they would like to go. Definitely below the posted maximum speed limit for ideal conditions. Not many people look at those signs that way.

For those of you who have not been caught on the road when snow or sleet appears the pictures look more daunting than the actual ride. I made a careful assessment of the road surface and knew there would be adequate traction, options for ways out of situations with other vehicles, and enough experience to negotiate other hazards on the way.

I suppose the lesson here is to look beyond the image of sleet and snow and really see what is there.