Scooter in the Sticks

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

A Merry Vespa Christmas 2022!

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Riding on Christmas Eve

I left the house with the thermometer hovering at 6F. Cold but manageable with the right gear. It’s a tradition to ride on the day before Christmas and this year was no exception. I confess my aging body doesn’t deal with the cold as well as it once did and I suspect the time will come when I choose the easy chair over the scooter.

There were some patches of scary ice on this ride. One patch that caused me to turn around and go another way. You can have a look at a video of the ride on my YouTube channel.

But what I really wanted to do is wish you a Merry Christmas if you’re reading this. And my best wishes for a safe and healthy New Year!

Prescription: Royal Enfield Himalayan and Autumn

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2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan in a rural autumn landscape
Unwinding with an autumn motorcycle ride.

A Change of Scenery

A riding rhythm has eluded me for the past two months. Maybe more. The usual drive to get on the motorcycle or scooter just hasn’t been animating my decisions. Instead, i’ve lost myself in too much television. Too much sugar. Too much sleep. Staring out the window at the changing autumn landscape, wondering what was wrong, it occurred to me the prescription was simple — get on the Royal Enfield Himalayan and go for a ride.

Anywhere. Just a change of scenery would alter how I feel.

And it worked.

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Riding Disruption

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COVID-19 rapid antigen test
A simple test for a complex problem

For Whom the Bell Tolls

After two and a half years of careful conduct, I’ve succumbed to the virus that has turned the world upside down. For me, the news that I tested positive for COVID-19 was slightly more worrisome because of my drug suppressed immune system. Along with several other unfortunate medical conditions.

It means there will be a riding disruption. It’s funny how that weighs on my mind.

After reviewing my behavior I can only account for the infection because I have become less resolute in wearing a mask. My history before the pandemic shows annual bouts of flu, colds, sinus infections, and pneumonia. Wearing a mask the past couple years eliminated all of that suffering. I was already a bit of a loner and didn’t congregate with people. So the mask was a sort of Holy Grail.

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Singular Focus While Riding a Motorcycle

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a chocolate chip cookie
A talisman of singular focus.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

How is it that a chocolate chip cookie is so important to me?

Is it really a talisman of some mindful focus on the present moment? Or merely a reflection of a lifelong addiction to sugar?

I choose to believe the cookie’s oversized importance points to something greater than sugar. A magical draw toward the present. A jumping-off point where I abandon the past and the future and exist now.

Of course, all of this may be a delusion brought on by a rhinovirus that woke me at midnight after hours of sleep, my body sluggish but my mind racing.

Still, there’s something to my singular focus on a cookie.

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When Vespa Riders Gather

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Three modern Vespa scooters in a parking lot.
Evidence of something. A Vespa Primavera and two GTS scooters.

The Magnetic Attraction of Vespa Scooters

If I were adept at mathematics I might create an equation that describes the phenomenon of attraction between these metal machines. Newton, or Einstein might be able to illuminate it. I merely marvel at the scene of suggesting Vespa riders gather.

Like a soft force in the Universe.

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