Scooter in the Sticks

Antigravity Batteries

July 19, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 30 Comments

This post is not about the Vespa. It’s about the Honda Fit on the left side of the picture. And everything I’m about to share is my dog Lily’s fault. I happened like this…

On Thursday morning Lily, Junior and I piled into the Fit and went to the park. While there, she took a predictable dump and me, being the responsible dog owner I am, gathered up the logs in a plastic bag. Since there were no public garbage cans available for disposal I tied the bag off and put it on the floor of the Fit to dispose of at home. After some energetic tennis ball retrieval games we piled back into the car and went home.

Fast forward to Saturday morning when I get into the Honda Fit to look for my raincoat — I forgot the bag. Two days of roasting temperatures transformed the inside of the car into some sort of cosmic level fragrance center. It was bad.

Working quickly while holding my breath I get the windows down and abandon the car for later in the day.

Fast forward to Saturday evening when I go outside to close the car windows. As soon as I opened the car door and the dome light didn’t come on I knew what happened. Lily made me leave the key in the ignition in the on position all day long and killed the battery.

Bad dog.

Enter the Micro-Start Mini XP-5 from Antigravity Batteries. I bought one of these to keep with the Vespa so if I’m on the road and my battery dies I can just jump start the scooter. It’s about the size of my iPhone, comes with a nice little case that includes jumper cables and a variety phone and mobile device charger cords. For $99 I thought it was a good investment.

With a dead Honda Fit in the driveway I had a couple choices — move a lot of stuff around so I could get the van in a place where I could jump the Fit, or try out the Mini XP-5.

Took but a few seconds to plug the short jumper cables into the battery, connect it to the Fit, and turn the key. The car started right up.

Lily’s not a bad dog afterall.

This is the smallest battery made by Antigravity Batteries but it will jump start engines up to 1600ccs. The slightly larger ones will start a V8 engine a dozen times. Or recharge an iPad that many times. It’s a pretty cool piece of technology to have available should you need power.

I got mine from Revzilla.com.

Dark Shadows

July 16, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 6 Comments

This post is not about the television show or movie named Dark Shadows. The old TV show does inform some of my “darker” thoughts though..

It’s not often that I ride through an area that feels creepy, as if something bad has happened, spirits lingering with malevolent intent. I don’t believe in ghosts but there are times when the complex chemical workings of my body and mind get the best of me.

On the morning I made this photograph I could feel my skin prickling. My hand was in my pocket on my phone wondering how quickly I could dial 911, wondering if there was any cell coverage.

In the darkness just off the road sat Camp Antler, an old hunting camp that could serve as a cinematic location for another episode in the Hannibal Lecter series. Or perhaps one of the woodsman’s cabins on the grounds of Collingwood. Kim and I had been discussing one of the local missing person cases where the person just vanished. My mind was telling me they would find them here. Or someone else.

The phone wasn’t needed and as quickly as the feeling surfaced it faded when the Vespa entered the sunshine a few miles up the road. Faded, but not forgotten.

The weather seemed odd for a couple days. The clouds conspired to force uncomfortable thoughts about life and death. I swore I could feel the blood pumping past the drug eluting stent near my heart. Looking up I couldn’t tell if the clouds were closing in our the sky was opening up. That unsettled feeling stuck with me for days despite engaging the Vespa riding prescription for ailments of the heart and mind.

More than once on the way to work the world seemed empty. I wondered if the earth was passing through some strange electromagnetic field that triggered my hypothalamus to secrete odd hormones that were affecting my imagination powers.

Walking through our garden at dusk often triggers thoughts of spirits and creatures etched carefully by books, movies and television shows. I would not be surprised to see Barnabas Collins as I passed by this old garden angel.

In the parking lot at the hospital I found safety with the herd — in this instance parked next to a Triumph Tiger motorcycle. I was early for cardiac rehab and there were few people around. Surely the vampires were back in their coffins and the werewolves were asleep in the fields and forests. And in minutes the dark shadows departed. Perhaps 21 minutes on an elliptical trainer is the antidote for an imagination run amok. Or a serious Alpine pass program on an exercise bike. Or maybe I just grew tired of the mental exercising that often takes place when I’m thinking about things.

When I came out 90 minutes later the sun was shining and the world was a pleasant place.

But I miss the drama…

Riding Bitch

July 16, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 8 Comments

HOW TO RIDE BITCH from Alex Vivian on Vimeo.

Every male riding a motorcycle needs to study this video. If you are going to ask your wife, girlfriend or anyone for that matter to ride on the back of your motorcycle or scooter you should first explore the experience yourself. This video will show you how.

Maybe it’s a good rule of thumb to experience yourself anything you would ask another to do whether it’s riding bitch or anything else. Think about the things you would have to try…

Photographing the Amish

July 14, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 24 Comments

Riding through the agricultural valleys east of State College, Pennsylvania, Penns Valley and Sugar Valley to be precise, places you squarely amidst thriving Amish communities. On Sunday mornings evidence of their horse drawn buggies are everywhere.

As I rode along some quiet roads I thought about the times people having asked me why I’m not photographing the Amish.

There’s certainly an abundance of landscapes to help paint a romanticized portrait of the Amish. There are a handful of local photographers who have built careers out of such work. A few have befriended a number of Amish families to gain unfettered access to homes and people to produce some magical images of an idealized rural life. Bill Coleman is a notable example of a photographer who spent his life with the Amish.

Others are like predators, skulking along roads awaiting their prey with telephoto lenses, stealing pictures and souls from people who likely just want to be left alone. I’ve often wondered how we English would feel if we were being photographed in the same way as we picnic at a park or our kids play along a creek.

I don’t photograph the Amish — much.

On Sunday morning I was stopped along a road near Smulton, Pennsylvania to make a portrait of a lovely Verbascum plant. As I finished and turned to walk back to the Vespa I saw two Amish couples and their children, all dressed in their Sunday clothes, walking on the road toward me as they heading for meeting. All eyes were on me as I walked toward them with my camera in hand. I’m sure I was not the first Englishman they’ve encountered with a camera.

I raised the seat on the scooter, placed the camera away, and started the scooter. As I rode past they all smiled and waved as I said, “Beautiful day.”

While I know I have the right to photograph these strangers on a public road, I’ve never felt comfortable photographing the Amish, or anyone for that matter that doesn’t give their permission. At least not in a setting like this. I have photographed the Amish — for assignments at work where they were a part of a story and agreed to be photographed, or the occasional buggy passing by my Vespa.

Some miles down the road I could tell from the number of buggies and people walking along the road that a meeting place was near. A small group of children walked along, barefoot, on the edge of the road and I couldn’t help but think how simple yet difficult their lives must be. Having to deal with me and a camera just doesn’t seem fair somehow.

For me, the Amish are best left as images in my mind. So you’ll probably not see many pictures of them unless someone takes the Vespa for a spin.

28,000 Miles on a Vespa GTS Scooter

July 12, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 29 Comments

During a ride this morning I noticed the odometer on my 2006 Vespa GTS 250ie scooter rolled over to 28000 miles. Considering I seldom take long rides I was pleased with the miles I’ve gathered on the scooter. It also reminded me of the relative durability of the machine and I’ve seen reports on the ModernVespa.com forum of riders far ahead of me with 50K, 75K miles and higher.

Considering the abuse I’ve dished out through years of salty winter riding and many miles of dirt and gravel the Vespa has performed like a champ. I’ve gone through a lot of tires and oil changes, a fuel pump, a couple batteries, drive belts, brake pads, and that’s about it. Mostly wear items.

Since I bought the scooter I’ve ridden a lot of different machines from BMWs to Ducatis to URALs to Truimphs. And after all these miles on a lot of different machines and I still love the Vespa. For me, it’s the perfect ride.

Here’s hoping there’s another 28ooo miles in the scooter and in my old body!

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Scooter in the Sticks