Scooter in the Sticks https://scooterinthesticks.com/ Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650 Sat, 27 Jun 2026 15:43:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 71084491 The Honda CT 125 Isn’t Just a Trail Bike https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/the-honda-ct-125-isnt-just-a-trail-bike/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/the-honda-ct-125-isnt-just-a-trail-bike/#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11742 Lead Up to a Ride A few things are in play when I prepare for a ride and they are sometimes in conflict. Like deciding I want to ride the Kawasaki W650 but the destination takes me through miles and miles of dirt and gravel. I try to juggle riding the machines I have to […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/the-honda-ct-125-isnt-just-a-trail-bike/feed/ 4 11742 Is 24-Horsepower Enough for a Motorcycle? https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/is-24-horsepower-enough-for-a-motorcycle/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/is-24-horsepower-enough-for-a-motorcycle/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11719 Enter the Era of Downsizing Motorcycles YouTube is currently full of content declaring the virtues of moving to smaller machines. The reasons vary but the changes are happening. Mostly because so many riders are older and perhaps feeling how much heavier machines are feeling. I’m familiar with those feelings. The median age of an American […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/is-24-horsepower-enough-for-a-motorcycle/feed/ 8 11719 A Tiny Taste of Freedom https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/a-tiny-taste-of-freedom/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/a-tiny-taste-of-freedom/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11707 Do You Taste Freedom When You Ride? This portrait is different from other portraits made of the Vespa scooter. I made it with a tiny taste of freedom in my mouth. The word freedom is tossed at everything from promises made by salesman about new cars to politicians proclaiming it with shaking fists. Abstract descriptions […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/a-tiny-taste-of-freedom/feed/ 14 11707 Do I Ride to Escape Reality? https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/do-i-ride-to-escape-reality/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/do-i-ride-to-escape-reality/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11697 Glad I’m Not Young In a culture obsessed with looking, acting, and being young I’m definitely off course and on a different road. It’s taken some time but I’m comfortable in my skin and with the circumstances of each moment as it comes along. I’m not saying I don’t care about how I look or […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/do-i-ride-to-escape-reality/feed/ 12 11697 Falling in Love With an Empty Road https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/falling-in-love-with-an-empty-road/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/falling-in-love-with-an-empty-road/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11676 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 […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/falling-in-love-with-an-empty-road/feed/ 6 11676 Milk Runs and Other Excuses to Ride https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/milk-runs-and-other-excuses-to-ride/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/milk-runs-and-other-excuses-to-ride/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11666 Do You Need a Reason to Ride? Life often is chaotic. Full of the administrative tasks and duties that can run a person ragged. From going to the grocery store, the Post Office, on any of the other tedious errands that can consume a day, approached with the wrong frame of mind they become toxic […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/milk-runs-and-other-excuses-to-ride/feed/ 18 11666 My Stubborn Brain https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/my-stubborn-brain/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/my-stubborn-brain/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11639 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 […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/my-stubborn-brain/feed/ 10 11639 Embracing the Risk of Riding a Motorcycle or Scooter https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/embracing-the-risk-of-riding-a-motorcycle-or-scooter/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/embracing-the-risk-of-riding-a-motorcycle-or-scooter/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11580 Morning Fall — An Cinematic Reminder of Risk I’ve posted this video many times over the years. In part to remind readers of the risk of riding. But mostly as attempt to keep myself honest about it. Especially as I get older. It’s easy to slip into complacency and pretend the risk isn’t really there. […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/embracing-the-risk-of-riding-a-motorcycle-or-scooter/feed/ 12 11580 Friends That Ride Motorcycles and Scooters https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/friends-that-ride-motorcycles-and-scooters/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/friends-that-ride-motorcycles-and-scooters/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11614 Haunted by Ghosts Without this post becoming a treatise on psychological therapy, I should point out there are broken aspects of my character that having friends that ride helps cure. For years I thought no one liked me. It’s origins likely dwell in very early romantic rejections. Combine it with the isolation and solitude that […]

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]]> https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/06/friends-that-ride-motorcycles-and-scooters/feed/ 21 11614 Riding in Pennsylvania’s Magnificent Forests https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/05/riding-in-pennsylvanias-magnificent-forests/ https://scooterinthesticks.com/2026/05/riding-in-pennsylvanias-magnificent-forests/#comments Fri, 29 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://scooterinthesticks.com/?p=11563 Surrounded by Trees Every rider finds themselves blessed (or cursed) by where they live. Long ago I knew living in the middle of the vast forest lands of central Pennsylvania was a gift. In 1681, when King Charles II gave a nearly 29-million-acre expanse of old-growth trees to William Penn, clearing a Royal debt and […]

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