Scooter in the Sticks

Boalsburg MOTO HANG

September 14, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 14 Comments

This coming Wednesday evening at 5pm is the next occurrence of the Boalsburg MOTO HANG. The weather forecast promises a fine ride so there should be lots of riders on hand. If you’re within riding distance stop by. A wide range of machines comprise the collective machine show including Harley, Triumph, BMW, Ducati, Honda, KTM, Suzuki, Kawasaki and of course, Vespa.

It’s not a club — just riders who like to get together to look at machines, share stories, and have a good time.

For a quick look at a past gathering check out the Boalsburg Moto Hang.

The MOTO HANG takes place at the barn behind the log house at:

203 East Main Street
Boalsburg, PA 16827

Scooter Riding Daughter

September 6, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 25 Comments

My scooter riding daughter got her first taste of fog this morning (I think) as we headed south to breakfast. I offered a few tips, watch traffic approaching from behind, clear your visor, and pay attention to everything, but I think she already deduced the risk.

No matter how often I look out across fog shrouded fields there’s a preternatural feeling that creeps into my bones, as if I’m a character in Game of Thrones and a direwolf will emerge from the mist.

I wish I could hold onto those flights of imagination. Maybe I should write a book.

Traffic was light to non-existent, at least until we got to the major east-west artery US Route 22 at Waterstreet. Our scooters, Aleta on her Yamaha Vino and me on the Vespa, wandered along slowly, ready for whatever might emerge.

Deer remain my single biggest concern since the only way to effectively manage that risk is to ride slow enough that if you see one you can evade and if you collide the impact is not catastrophic. Each mile I travel not seeing a deer is one mile closer to seeing one. Or at least that’s how my brain thinks about it.

The same logic applies to lottery tickets — each loser is one closer to a winner. Bullshit with lottery tickets and with deer.

A quick portrait during an early stop. Rider, gear, scooters, fog and a gravel road. What more do you need for a good picture?

The Vino’s 125cc engine is fine for most secondary roads but works hard to maintain 55mph so I try to find alternative routes to destinations. The old Huntingdon, Cambria and Indiana turnpike route still exists though little used now compared to the late 1800s. Another of the fine scenic byways in south central Pennsylvania.

The old turnpike route took us past Pulpit Rocks, a notable geologic feature and now a National Historic Landmark. I had never been through here before and plan to return to explore the rocks with a camera.

By the time we got to the Standing Stone Coffee Company in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania is was ready for something substantial for breakfast. This cafe is a gem in this neck of the woods and the Standing Stone Florentine breakfast sandwich was outstanding.

Everything tastes better after a long ride.

Everyone notices something different on a ride or in life. I saw two motorcycles parked across the street. Aleta noticed free WI-FI. As things wrapped up we had a discussion on the next leg of the ride. She wanted to ride onto Altoona to visit her grandparents but I needed to head home. Riding to Altoona would mean Aleta would have nearly 90 miles of riding ahead — alone on unfamiliar roads.

Ten miles down the road we stopped at a flea market, the last stop before I turned northward toward home with Aleta joining me. Both of us were feeling the pressure of the clock as the day wore on.

The last 30 miles were under a bright sun and blue skies with temperatures rising toward the mid-80s. Summer is fading in the rear view mirror and my preferred riding season is approaching. Passed my oldest daughter on the way into Boalsburg as she was running up the road but my attention was on a passing truck and a line of parked cars. Found out later that she was on her first run since giving birth to granddaughter Emma.

Maybe someday Hannah will give up the running shoes for a Vespa.

Photography Lessons

September 6, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 12 Comments

Kim is the creative fire in our home, the one who operates on a different perceptual plane. When it comes to photography she is way out ahead while I just keep doing the same things over and over. Last night she taught me another lesson.

Her pedigree is different than mine. She’s been a professional science writer, published fiction writer and relentless photographer. I remember a phone message on her answering machine from an editor informing her that a short story had been selected for their magazine award (cash) along with “I had to smoke a cigarette after I read your story.”

I don’t get that kind of reaction to anything I write.

After earning a living with a camera since the 1970s you would think I have things covered in that area but I’m still receiving photography lessons from Kim. I should add she’s also responsible for dreaming up the title of this blog — Scooter in the Sticks — and just recently devised the road icon in my logo.

Last night I was looking at a series of images she made using an effects feature on her Canon G16 camera. Being a creature of habit and perhaps a photographic snob I only use manual settings on my own camera — in this case a Canon G15. Real photographers don’t rely on tricks just like real motorcycle and scooter riders never trailer their machines to destinations. It’s that sort of thinking that keeps me trapped rather than free.

Kim set me free (again) last night.

I never knew my camera had effect settings, and if I did I probably wouldn’t have looked at them. But looking at her series of images set fire to my limited photographic imagination. Sitting in the chair I tinkered with the Toy Camera setting to make this self portrait.

It was murky outside this morning as I departed to run a few errands. Experimenting further with the Toy Camera setting I realized it works to deepen the emotional feel of an already emotionally charged weather event. To this point, the only time I saw something like this was with images made using Instagram on my iPhone.

Autumn is not far off now and I can’t recall what happened to summer. Leaves are already changing colors and falling at my feet. The days are moving swiftly and if I blink I fear snow will be falling.

Throughout the morning I continued to play with the Toy Camera setting. It won’t work for every situation but for certain subjects and intentions it is the right tool for the job. That’s a big revelation for someone like me who tends to use the same tool for everything.

A gift from a loving wife for which I’ve not devised the proper thank you.

There are days when the desire to ride far and fast is strong. Especially when the sun is not beating on my back and the world looks strange. Imagination percolates and I wonder about elves and zombies. With either, a Vespa is what you want to be riding.

The view from breakfast on the porch of Cafe Lemont in Lemont, Pennsylvania. Chili and sourdough bread while watching the world go by and a few minutes to do nothing at all. I’m still learning how to let go of everything without feeling guilty or keep busy. Hard to slow down with those thoughts in your head.

When you’re in a hurry you miss the details — of the road and your life. Slowing down seems at odds with everything our culture tells us. More, more, more…

I’ve been reading “The Effortless Life” by Leo Babauta, author of the blog Zen Habits. He suggests it’s helpful if you’ve ever wrestled with:

frustration
struggle
distraction
anger
impatience
unhappiness
relationships
goals
work
being present

This book seems to have been written for me…

Each time I stop to make a picture it’s can seem like a lesson in living. Or changing. If only to practice focusing and being less distracted. Or just being present for a few moments.

I’ve been smitten by the Toy Camera setting for the moment as life takes on a cinematic quality. Not sure where it will go but I know it doesn’t matter. One of the photography lessons I’ve learned from Kim is that there are no rules, no expectations, and I can do whatever I want.

That’s a good place to be when visually things look as if you’re riding toward an apocalypse…

One last stop to pick up a loaf of rustica italian bread at gemelli bakery in State College, Pennsylvania.

I’ve not plumbed the depth of the Toy Camera feature or looked at all the other choices. Who knows where these photography lessons will go next.

New Vespa Rider

September 5, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 12 Comments

In February I received a message at the Modern Vespa forum from a would be scooter rider. He had a plan and a long held dream of owning a Vespa. During the ensuing months he’s graduated from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course, purchased a Vespa, and rode to the Boalsburg Moto Hang with his son. And now we’ve also gone on a ride together.

Meet Steve Albrecht.

Steve joined Paul Ruby and I for a short ride — we had just a bit over two hours to scoot through the countryside. With so little time I didn’t want to stop much for pictures and instead keep riding. But a couple pictures were in order.

Steve is still displaying the “look” of a new Vespa Rider — that glow that comes from doing something you really enjoy. I remember it from the first ride to now and assume it will continue until my last ride.

At least that’s my plan.

Despite my plan to keep riding Paul is unable to resist the opportunity to eat requiring a stop in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania for a quick snack. I suppose riding and eating is an axiom that a new Vespa rider should be exposed to so they can factor it into their two-wheeled future.

Mathematical axiom: (Ride duration) x (30%) = (Time spent in coffee shops, cafes and restaurants).

Despite limitations of time and food diversions we had a pleasant ride under a hot sun through the hills and dales of central Pennsylvania. And we managed to get Steve’s sense of direction turned around which holds great promise for him on future rides — the chance to get lost.

Being lost is something I miss — it happens far too infrequently. Being lost on the road is a fine place to be.

Thanks for coming along on the ride Steve — hope your time as a new Vespa rider following along two old coots was a pleasant one.

Train of Thought

August 31, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 11 Comments

One of the most delightful aspects of riding is being alone with your thoughts. It’s curious how many problems can be unraveled while wandering down the road. A train of thought can be clear, direct and arrive at its destination quickly, or it can be a meandering slog up mountainsides and through jungles. These adventures are why I don’t listen to music while riding and generally choose to ride alone.

But even when riding with others, unless you’re using a two-way communication device, your thoughts are free to wander.

This past Saturday evening I received a text: “Call Paul”. A few minutes later it was decided we would head out of town for breakfast. The next morning the Vespa was ready to go.

The landscape is changing as fall approaches. The air is cool in the morning and a mix of fog and hazy hangs in the valley. Traffic is light as we near Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania. Paul polices the litter — an empty Newport cigarette pack on the road.

Our breakfast destination was Tom and Joes’ Diner, an Altoona, Pennsylvania tradition operating since 1933. As I stood looking toward the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament which rises over the city my train of thought raced back to the railroad heydays when the Pennsylvania Railroad ruled the world as the largest railroad in the country and at one time having an operating budget larger than the United States government.

For a moment I felt a twang of nostalgia for those smoking, hulking locomotives I remember from childhood.

The inside of Tom and Joes was packed with people – so many faces and bodies that you end up not seeing anyone. Case in point. My Vespa riding father-in-law was two booths away, something we determined on the phone later that day.

Forty-four years ago I began traveling through Altoona on my way to college — a long trip from Pittsburgh to State College. There wasn’t a lot between those locations except for Altoona. It was a lively, bustling city then. Now the hustle and bustle seems to have moved out to the shopping malls outside of town.

I’m not the only one following a train of thought. Paul is always on the lookout for the right old car. It’s as if some small part of his brain is always focused on the goal. We stopped so he could inspect this rusty old Cadillac. The kind of unique automobile that a place like Altoona might have available.

The railroad still is invested in Altoona though perhaps not at the same level as when the Pennsylvania Railroad employed over 250,ooo people at its height. The repair shops are still impressive even though they’re but a shadow of their former glory. And it’s Norfolk Southern today.

A few miles down the road at DelGrosso Park Paul and I parted ways as he stopped to see the foreign car show. My path led toward home.

The roads here are as varied as my train of thought. It’s nice to be able to choose from a series of routes to get to the same place. With mind still wandering and all roads leading home it was a fine way to end a Sunday morning ride.

Alone.

And with my thoughts.

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