A grey cloak has been pulled over central Pennsylvania for the past few days forcing a rather dramatic decline in the number of scooter and motorcycle riders on the road despite temperatures remaining in the 65F to 75F range.  The skies have threatened rain and squeezed a few sprinkles of water and an occasional drizzle but otherwise the road is open for those ready to embrace the grey.  Some of the most magical scenes are shrouded in the dim, dull light.

I suppose there are strong reasons not to ride on days like these.

I don’t want to get wet.
Hard to argue with that because even with good rain gear you will still likely get a little wet.

It’s dangerous to ride when it’s wet.
Again, hard to argue with that statement.  I refine it a bit myself and acknowledge the risk on wet roads and in the rain do increase.  It requires an honest evaluation of conditions, experience, skill, and willingness to assume the increased risk.  That process comes through practice and is definitely now something any of us does naturally.

I don’t want to get my scooter or motorcycle dirty.
Yes, it will get dirty, the chrome will have water spots.  What can I say?

For me, aside from the quality of light on these grey days, one of the attractive reasons for riding is the lessening of traffic in general, at least on a weekend.  It’s not just riders who stay at home, a lot of people take to the couch on the grey days.  I remember some years back the kids and I went to a water slide park on a day like this.  The temperature was in the 80s but it looked as if it was going to rain.  We went and were pleasantly surprised at how few people were there.  Instead of long lines to the tops of the slides we could slide down and run right back to the top and slide down again all day long without waiting for anyone.

A side benefit of grey.

Traffic is so light, especially moving into the Rothrock State Forest, that I can park the scooter in the road for a picture.  Underneath the forest canopy protects the road from some of the rain that washes away the slickness that develops when things first get wet.  The pavement stays damps longer and you need to be careful on these tame looking paths lest the scooter rotate onto the ground.

Photography is far easier on a grey day where the light is completely diffused with no huge range of contrast from direct sunlight battling with deep shade.

This picture represents the biggest risk I took during this ride.  Wandering off into the woods for a picture I almost walked into one of the thickest patches of poison ivy I’ve encountered.  The magic of photography belies the darkness from which the picture was made.  Lots of light on the road but nearly black under the trees.  I’m glad my eyes had adjusted enough to see the poison…

The ride ended with me having the chance to photograph one of the plants that Kim has helped me learn to appreciate, Verbascum thapsus, or what some refer to as great mullein or common mullein.  It grows throughout the United States but was brought into the country in the 1700s from Africa.  On a grey day it looks great to me and almost pushes the ride from my mind.

So the grey shrouded ride ends or ever narrower paths.  And it never did rain.