Scooter in the Sticks

Learning to See

September 6, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 8 Comments

As the day began to darken I stood in the driveway watching the sky as the dark clouds swept overhead, the grey descending like a thick blanket masking sharp edges of the world so only soft shapes and tones remained. “The light is nice right now,” emerged from my lips and intended for no one, just talking out loud to myself. The photographer inside was weighing possibilities, factoring time till dark, making a mental note of the tripod in the topcase of the scooter, struggling to decide if I should venture out to make some photographs. Part of me wanted to go inside to make a cup of tea and watch season 8 of Trailer Park Boys. Another part was trying to remind me that a photographer takes pictures, they don’t think about them or talk about them. Finally, thankfully, Kim, who was nearby in the garden said, “Go. Go take pictures. You never know what you’ll see.” That idea is at the heart of learning to see creatively.

Kim is right. She’s almost always right when it comes to the mental gymnastics I go through related to creative thought, inertia, and production. Sitting here now I know that she’s largely responsible for me being able to put more than a few words together in an intelligent manner. Without that influence I would still be a photographer, selling my expertise to the highest bidder with little ability to reflect or share what I was thinking, feeling or seeing.

There is no substitute for working if you want to improve your skill or output with a camera. If you want to make good pictures you have to be out there shooting. The more you shoot the better you’ll become. That may be oversimplifying things a bit but working, especially when you don’t want to or when you’ve convinced yourself there’s noting to see, those are the times that you need to step out.

A passing rainstorm swept away the heat and humidity leaving the evening at a cool 68F as the light escaped in the west. I didn’t see anything to shoot but I did get out on the road, on the Vespa, and let my spirit fly for a bit, let my eyes wander across the landscape should the piano picture appear (that’s the one you like enough to put in a frame and set on the piano. A technical term used by photographers over 50).

You’ll never know what you’ll see so it’s best to have a camera at hand and experience the world so you don’t miss the visual gifts that abound.

Sentimental Journey

August 30, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 22 Comments

You never know what you’ll experience once to take to the road. Even the roads well traveled. Like peeling an onion, riding through the same places with an eye to the narrow gravel lane bearing off into the woods, or the cracked concrete street leading into a strange neighborhood, wandering deeper into the familiar can yield some unexpected treasure. Just as the Vespa floats through the world my thoughts can drift along at once in the present and the past as it conjures forgotten feelings and memories kindled into life by an unlooked-for sight. One those days a ride becomes a sentimental journey.

Last weekend I found myself riding deeper into places that I’ve passed a hundred times. I understand the notion “I’ve already ridden there,” but at the same time realize you never really have. By that I mean there is always something more to see right at your feet. I don’t have the time or opportunity to make epic rides. Most of the time I’m limited to what I can pack into an hour or two, or during a ride to work, an errand to the grocery store. And I’ve learned how to transform those into something more than they might seem to the casual observer. Absorbing what’s in front of me now, what’s revealed on the rides I take, are likely in line with what some consider an active alternative to the grand journey — slow travel. Slow travel is, for me, a focus on squeezing experience from the moment rather than collecting miles and sights. It’s not for everyone but I feel everyone can probably get something from the change in mindset.

The Vespa scooter is a perfect foil for my slow travel adventuring. With no interstate highways to burn up or great distances I consume I can wander at a pace that allows me to see wildflowers and listen to the trill of summer insects in the forest. There are a few sounds whose mental recall provide almost instant relief from the pain of a day — one is the rolling of waves on a shoreline, and the other the sound of crickets, katydids and cicadas in the forest. Each time I shut the engine off and wander along the road I have the chance to reinforce those memories. You never know when you’ll need them.

There is no right way to ride, no perfect machine, no ultimate journey. Every rider makes their own choices for their own reasons and it accounts for the wonderful diversity of experience that’s so obvious when riders get together to tell lies. There are times when I ride that I feel I’m in another world, alone, and with a blank canvas in front of me. I’ve ridden on this road along Spring Creek hundreds of times and still stop almost every time because there is still more to see. And the memories of living in this place are breathtaking at times as those experiences spin up together with the knowledge that the years of my life have slipped by so quickly and there is more that I want to see and do. It’s times like this that I find I’m on a sentimental journey.

During the ride I passed by the University Park Airport where the “Sentimental Journey” was parked, a B-17 Flying Fortress that had been flying over the valley for the past couple days. The WWII bomber was their as part of a visit by the Commemorative Air Force out of Arizona. Visitors were able to go inside the plane and if you had the cash you could go for a ride. When I was in college I used to work as a black and white printer in a darkroom. One of the full time guys had been a gunner on a B-17 and flew a number of missions out of England until his plane was shot down over France. I’ve not seen this fellow in many years but seeing the plane brought a rush of memories of his stories. Would never have anticipated them when I left in the morning.

My own sentimental journey…

The video below is from CAF Airbase Arizona provides a dramatic view of “Sentimental Journey”, a reminder of the airplane that played a big role in the war in Europe.

Triggering Curiosity

August 23, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 10 Comments

Usually a ride on the Vespa cures any ill, the acceleration into flight strips away concerns and distractions and transforms darkness into light — at least with the normal noise and chaos of living. Riding can trigger curiosity and change my whole outlook on life. Saturday morning found me on the road, dodging the raindrops, pushing the scooter onto he little narrow paths that crisscross the area, focusing on the challenges of dirt and gravel, mud and water.

Whenever my mind’s not right I slip off onto less traveled roads to explore and let my mind wander in new directions. Rain threatened all morning as I passed across the valley towards a series of chores. The drama of the landscape never fails to excite, even on these little rides.

Mount Nittany looms in the middle of Happy Valley, a familiar icon for the Penn State faithful. As a young geology student I learning it was an inverted, truncated geosyncline. Or something like that. It’s been 42 years since hearing those words so I could have mixed them up a bit.

Everything is so lush right now with the consistent rain we’ve had this summer. Little pathways wind through tunnels of foliage and provide endless opportunities to explore without needing to travel very far. The only complaint I have is it only takes a few moments for the Black Flies to find you. Those beasts get into your helmet and can drive you a little nuts.

A last stop in a wet, dank tunnel beneath Interstate 99 before surrendering to the necessities of the day. Looking at this picture I’m reminded again at how little riding I actually get done because I’m in a constant search for things to look at which for me means stopping. Some riders make 5o miles in an hour. More often than not I’ll only accomplish 10. Or less. Someone once referred to me as a dawdler though I thought it more accurate to be identified as a curious toddler.

No wonder a motorcycle doesn’t make much sense.

Deer Strategies for Riders

August 19, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 18 Comments

On Monday morning when the alarm clock launched the radio I was brought into the world with a story about a couple on a Harley who slid their motorcycle 300 feet in an attempt to avoid a whitetail deer. In my half awake, mostly drifting state I still had the presence of mind to question the details of the event. And wonder about riding strategies for deer.

Deer are everywhere here. Everywhere. And despite their tendency to move more at dusk and dawn, they can be found bounding across the road at anytime of day. Anytime. The rider claimed he had to slide the bike to avoid the deer. Is sliding the best option for avoiding deer? And how fast do you need to be going to slide a Harley Davidson motorcycle 300 feet?

By the time I was riding to work my brain was still chewing on the story, turning the details over and over and pondering a few more questions. Knowing the road and location where the accident happened, a place where I have seen dozens and dozens of deer, why would a motorcycle be traveling at said velocity at 6:17 p.m. — a prime deer traffic time? And in one of those moments of clarity I dropped the mental inquiry realizing it was as pointless as asking why someone rides without a helmet or any other choice that varies from my own. We each are endowed with the power of making our own choices. Managing the risk of wildlife collisions is part fate and part rider choice. I like to focus on choices.

The remainder of the ride to work was spent thinking about how people manage the risks involved with deer, or wildlife of any kind. A recent inquiry from a reader in Australia detailed the lasting effects of an unfortunate encounter with a wallaby. Deer, groundhog, dog or wallaby — you don’t want to have encounters.

To be completely honest, I couldn’t come up with many strategies related to deer. If I had to list the biggest risk I face as a rider it would be Bambi. I feel comfortable that the speeding drivers, cellphone users, and incompetent motorists can be fairly managed. But my doe-eyed friends, they are unpredictable. Sort of like the guy who has a heart attack just as he is about to pass you and suddenly you have a head-on encounter with destiny. So with the heart attack and the deer all I can come up with is to slow down, learn the type of environs that deer like to use to cross a road, and pay fierce attention during the times of day that deer are most active. Oh, a remember during hunting season all bets are off. The deer are making mad dashes until the guns grow silent.

Thinking about the 300 foot slide, one hundred yards of Harley inspired sparks, that’s impressive. Thankfully the rider and his passenger survived and were taken to a local hospital when they could be treated and hopefully ride another day.

Riding across the farm lane on the way to work where the dazzling sunlight in the open fields provides expansive visibility and few places for all but the most determine deer to hide I felt reasonably safe and unlikely to do much wildlife induced sliding.

But how do other riders manage or rationalize their choices regarding riding behavior in the face of wildlife obstacles? Maybe there’s something I can learn.

What About Rain Riding?

August 17, 2014 by Scooter in the Sticks 19 Comments

Should I Ride a Scooter or Motorcycle in the Rain?

The soft light that paints the bedroom walls on a rainy morning is like a sleep drug, seducing the weak deeper under blankets and pillows. Only a desire to ride the Vespa tears me from the next of dreams and into the day. Still, looking out the window at the rain I ask myself, “Should I ride in the rain?”.

At best, rain riding on a scooter or motorcycle in the rain means additional work — physically and mentally. For a recently escaped prisoner of sleep a decision to ride in the rain is not easy to make.

While walking the dog I tested the road surface to see how much of the slippery scum that collects during normal road use was still there or if enough rain had fallen to wash it away. Giving the road some test kicks with my riding boots confirmed that the roads were wet but not slimey. So off I went towards town using detours of my own creation. By the time I stopped to look at Mt. Nittany the rain was beginning to clear.

Riding Risk in the Rain

Out in the sticks the bigger issue with rainy roads is the country debris that can find it’s way into a rider’s path; dirt and mud from trucks and tractors, hay, grass and other crop debris that’s fallen onto the road, and my favorite roadway nightmare — liquid manure that’s dripped from a wide range of manure conveyances. All of these things combined with a little rain can present like insidious traps designed solely to introduce rider to pavement.

This morning was a tough call. I wanted to ride but was resisting the extra gear that makes rain riding tolerable. One last check of the weather radar on my smart phone an I decided to take the risk.

Visibility, Traction and Other Issues

Aside from the traction issues related to rain a rider must keep in mind the changes in visibility. If drivers don’t see you in the daylight who knows what they see in the rain. As much as I love to see the weather changing as I ride I turn up the dial on watching the behavior of others on the road. That’s everything from the teenage driver talking on their phone to the squirrels and groundhogs darting across the road.

Riding into State College, Pennsylvania this morning was a small gift brought on by the decision to undertake a rain ride. I may not always be excited by the prospect of a ride when I’m in bed but once I’m on the road, whether rain, or sleet or dark of night, I absolutely love it.

So, what about rain riding? If anyone asks me if they should ride in the rain I’ll have to tell them I have no idea. But ask me if I should ride in the rain, I can only answer, “Hell yes!”.

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Should I Ride a Scooter or Motorcycle in the Rain?

Riding Risk in the Rain

Visibility, Traction and Other Issues

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Scooter in the Sticks