Scooter in the Sticks

Mount Nittany

September 29, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 6 Comments

State College, Pennsylvania photographer and videographer, Mike Houtz, sent me a magical image he made on Sunday morning of Mount Nittany at sunrise with the valley shrouded in fog. I’ve been riding in that fog for the past couple weeks and posting pictures on Scooter in the Sticks so with his permission I’ll share the image to give you a bird’s eye view of the place where all my rides begin.

Mount Nittany rises out of the Nittany Valley and serves as an icon for Penn State. I first set eyes on it 45 years ago and has become a welcome sight as I make my way home. My Vespa and I live in the fog on the right side of the picture. For Penn State Alumni and the Penn State faithful I figured you would appreciate this majestic view. For the rest, this is one view of central Pennsylvania and a great place to begin some great scooter, motorcycle or bicycle rides.

I’ll let Mike decide if he wants to share how he made this photograph in the comments. I’ve seen other aerials of the mountain that are just as good. Now if I can just get him to make a picture of my Vespa…

You can see more of his work at Michael Houtz Photography. If you are interested in a print for your Penn State collection I’m certain Mike can oblige.

Hauling on a Vespa

September 28, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 20 Comments

Meet Gordon Harkins. He owns a red Vespa GTS 300, has a folder full of action photos from Penn State football team’s losing effort against Northwestern, has his parking permit on the wrong side of the scooter, and utilizes the Vespa in much the same manner as I do — for utilitarian purposes. Like transportation to our Sunday morning get together at Saint’s Cafe.

A Vespa scooter is marketed as a chic, urban mode of transportation but for many of us it also has a different role — the utility Vespa — a functional mode of transportation capable of all sorts of duty. Thought I would share one of the more common roles mine takes as a grocery hauler. Here’s the store list this morning:

From WalMart:

Journals
Pointy Q-Tips
Dental sticks

From Wegmans

Loaf of bread
Butter
Bagels
Cream cheese
Red pepper
Potatoes
Cuke
Lettuce
Frozen fruit — blackberries and mangos and raspberries
Mango and Lemon Sorbet popscicles
Red onions
Asiago cheese
Frozen pie shells
Tomatoes
Half gallon of milk
Pine nuts
Frozen dinners
Evaporated milk

So here’s how the Vespa handles the assignment…

First stop at WalMart. The journals, pointy Q-tips and dental sticks go in the topcase. Still plenty of space for groceries.

Five bags of groceries after shopping at Wegman’s in State College, Pennsylvania. I make sure things are bagged carefully so nothing frozen goes under the seat. The Vespa has a number of carrying options:

Topcase
Underseat
Pursehook
On top of the seat using bungee cords
Front rack

Barely scratched the surface of capacity today.

Three bags of groceries were stuffed into the topcase on top of the journals — the milk, butter, cream cheese and frozen stuff.

Everything else except the loaf of bread went under the seat. The bread hung from the purse hook where it would be away from any engine fumes. I have great respect for good bread and don’t want a Sunoco version.

So there you have it, a little sample of the utility Vespa. I could have carried six more bags of groceries without any problem. Nine if I had my backpack. Even more if I had more than my normal assortment of four bungee cords.

Ain’t life grand…

For a more romantic example of things you can haul on a Vespa check out BRINGING HOME THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Experiencing the World

September 27, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 6 Comments

A crisp fall morning, dew clinging heavily to soybean pods as sunlight works to burn away morning fog, these are the things that kindle the desire to be riding into a new day. The journey from bed to the road isn’t always easy; the desire to sink into bed just a bit deeper, a while longer is strong. Following my disposition I would probably never see a sunrise or experience the mysteries of dawn. This morning I had chores to do but was glad to be out on the road to be experiencing the world.

Writer Joyce Carol Oates has commented on the concealed benefits of chores:

As a farm girl, even when I was quite young, I had my ‘farm chores’ – but I had time also to be alone, to explore the fields, woods and creek side. And to read.

I have to agree — riding my Vespa to do chores and errands almost always provides those things.

A longer than normal walk with an insistent dog got me on the road later that I would have liked. The sun had already burned off the heavier fog that can completely shroud this area. It did not diminish the quiet though to be alone with my thoughts and explore the place where I live.

Autumn is screaming. Farmers are chopping corn and the leaves have already dropped from the ash trees next to my house. Before long there will be snowflakes in the air. Still, it’s worth stopping and looking around. I remember the first time I make a photograph of this particular field nearly twenty years ago and it still holds the same visual attraction. I’ve parked the Vespa here many times so I could walk around and wonder what I’m seeing.

Opportunities to explore and make photographs were hampered this morning by the influx of traffic into the valley for Penn State’s homecoming football game. I didn’t want to cope with the tens of thousands of vehicles that fill the roads and streets during the run up to the game so I put the camera away and turned towards State College, Pennsylvania to take care of a few errands.

Had to stop to make one last picture before heading into the gauntlet of football traffic and hopes of a loaf of Gemelli’s french country bread. No luck on that score then on to Wiscoy for Animals for a back of bird food and on home to relax. It’s dark now but the effects of the ride linger. Can’t wait for the morning and one more chance to move through the world…

About Wolves

September 26, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 3 Comments

“We have doomed the wolf not for what it is, but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be –the mythologized epitome of a savage ruthless killer – which is, in reality, no more than a reflected image of ourself.”
― Farley Mowat, Never Cry Wolf

Wolves. They have nothing to do with riding a Vespa or motorcycle though through the years they’ve entered my mind while riding through some of the remote forest areas of Pennsylvania where shadows can harbor ghosts of mountain lions and wolves. Howling images for white wolves and incantations of trophic cascades piqued my interest in this video that presents a view of wolves as ecosystem architects rather than the savage predators depriving ranchers of income and hunters of game.

It’s worth watching.

There are no wolves or mountain lions living wild in Pennsylvania. That’s what the experts I work with at Penn State tell me. The rational part of me believes them but there is a reckless romantic part that wants to believe they’re keeping the truth from me to protect the few that still walk the woods in secret, silent like ethereal phantoms drifting like mist across the landscape. Riding through dense forest as the light slips away I glimpse them, an instant of thrill and recognition of what was and what may be.

This video provided more to the story of wolves. And it fueled a bit more fantasy as well…

Riding a Vespa on Gravel

September 26, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 7 Comments

Made this picture of my Vespa GTS 250ie on the way home from work. Fortune provides myriad paths to ride from the superslab to grass footpaths. A favorite is the gravel roads leading across Penn State’s east side farmlands that wind through field and dell as the sun sinks low in the sky. On top of the lovely scenery is a chance to practice riding in the loose stuff, gravel that changes from packed hardness to loose mounds of limestone that make the Vespa float and stumble like a Saturday night drunk. Years and miles of practice have done much to boost my confidence in riding a Vespa on gravel.

More than a few have asked me about it raising concerns ranging from dropping the scooter to grit and dust being sucked into the engine. While it’s certainly possible to dump the scooter in the gravel (I have some friends that have done it with their motorcycles) I’ve not yet done it myself. I’ll credit a careful, chicken-like approach, to all things new related to riding. I go slow, sometimes stopping to assess the situation, ponder approaches, and then get back on the scooter to slowly engage. I can remember the first times I rode on gravel and thinking it was absolutely the worst decision because of how uncomfortable it felt. Keeping at it, practicing, exploring gradual increases in speed and technique, led to a comfortable existence on gravel.

The same approach was employed for the motorcycles I’ve ridden in similar environs though bigger tires and wheels have a marked advantage over the little tires on the scooter. I know motorcycle riders like to think there’s a hierarchy of skill that has a motorcycle higher up the evolutionary scale but when it comes to gravel and any kind of off-road riding, the scooter is at the top of the pyramid. It’s just harder to manage.

Every ride to work is an opportunity to practice something. One day it might be letting go of some nasty thinking, another how to squeeze a little more speed out of a gravel road ride…

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