Scooter in the Sticks

My Dog Junior and the Daily Rider — March 12, 2001

March 13, 2011 by Scooter in the Sticks 12 Comments

The last ten days worth of images from the #DailyRider and #MyDogJunior collection that I send out daily via Twitter. Shooting and tweeting is pretty easy. Preparing these posts is work!

The past week has been hectic and I just haven’t had time to finish the post on the Piaggio MP3 with the sidecar rig. Maybe tomorrow. And I have other posts in the works too.

March 12, 2011: Late afternoon ride and a stop to take in the view of Mt. Nittany, a Penn State icon.

March 12, 2011: Junior’s first visit to the dog wash — a canine version of the self service car wash. The spring thaw meant a muddy dog. Now we have a fluffy clean dog.

March 11, 2011: Friday evening drive home from work. The wet and gloom and transporting Junior to doggy daycare has kept me off the Vespa.

March 11, 2011: Early morning walk. Junior contemplates cookies.

March 10, 2011: I’m too lazy to gear up to ride in this stuff. iPhone and Lo-Mob.

March 10, 2011: Hey Junior, why the long face? Made this with the iPhone. Straight out of the camera.

March 9, 2011: Dreaming of warmer days and motorcycles.

March 9, 2011: Junior in the morning. Made this shot with the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone.

March 8, 2011: Evening at home with Rider magazine. Another iPhone shot and Lo-Mob app.

March 8, 2011: Junior portrait with iPhone and Lo-Mob app.

March 7, 2011: Fresh snow. No Vespa.

March 7, 2011: Junior at the Pennsylvania Military Museum. He looks at home with elements of an armored division.

March 7: 2011: Junior watching the sun go down. He’s a thoughtful dog.

March 6, 2011: Heavy rain early meant another day with the truck. Shot this with the iPhone and Lo-Mob app.

March 6, 2011: Junior is impervious to rain. The iPhone is easy in bad weather.

March 6, 2011: At one point in the day I thought I might brave the rain and go for a ride when I got home. But it turned to snow and went downhill fast. Another iPhone and Lo-Mob image.

March 5, 2011: Testing the Piaggio MP3 and sidecar in Moshannon State Forest. iPhone and Lo-Mob app.

March 5, 2011: I got Junior in the sidecar but without more training I wouldn’t trust him not to leap out for a squirrel, dog, or other target of choice. So he just posed like he lives in that thing.

March 4, 2011: The Vespa and a Zeppelin. The big Victory bike is, well, I guess an acquired taste.

March 4, 2011: Early morning ritual involving camera and tennis ball. iPhone and Instagram app.

The Vespa and the Zeppelin

March 5, 2011 by Scooter in the Sticks 15 Comments

After work I rode over to Kissell Motorsports to pick up the Piaggio MP3 with the sidecar. I remembered Jack Riepe’s comment about wanting to ride a Zeppelin, an erudite way of wagging an accusing finger at the eclectic connection of sidecar to MP3.

When I saw the actual Zeppelin in the parking lot the iPhone appeared and documented the occurrence. The Zeppelin, common name Victory, was very large, very shiny, and looking like something from Blade Runner. What I was about to ride looked like something more likely to appear in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

My Dog Junior and the Daily Rider — March 3, 2001

March 3, 2011 by Scooter in the Sticks 2 Comments

Below you’ll find the Daily Rider and My Dog Junior pictures from February 24, 2011 through March 3, 2011. If you don’t want to wait for me to compile them here you can see them right away when I send them out via Twitter. Just subscribe to ScooterNSticks.

I don’t have to tell you to click on the picture to see the big version right?

March 3, 2011: Made this picture this morning in the garage with my iPhone. Someone had made off with the Vespa engine cover and I got a new one. Nice and shiny.

March 3, 2011: Junior in the garden.

March 2, 2011: On the way home from work. iPhone picture with Lo-Mob app.

March 2, 2011: Early morning portrait of Junior in the neighborhood.

March 1, 2011: Piaggio MP3 with sidecar. I’ll be taking this out for a test ride. Stay tuned.

March 1, 2011: Early morning walk. Junior sees his shadow. Oh no.

February 28, 2011: Late evening in the driveway.

February 28, 2011: Early morning, heavy rain.

February 27, 2011: Late evening, downtown State College, PA with the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone.

February 27, 2011: Junior pays homage to his ancestors who served in World War I for the French hauling machine guns, as sentries, and messengers. Shot at the Pennsylvania Military Museum during our morning walk.

February 26, 2011: Vespa stopped at Subway to pick up lunch.

February 26, 2011: Junior in the woods on a morning walk.

February 25, 2011: Triumph brochure on my desk. Things that dreams are made of.

February 25, 2011: Junior sopping wet in my truck. Ready to go to Sporty Dog Daycare.

February 24, 2011: Vespa engine case sans chrome cover. Someone stole it.

February 24, 2011: Junior as he looks when he is nosing me for attention when I get up in the morning. iPhone image.

A Piaggio MP3 with a Sidecar

March 2, 2011 by Scooter in the Sticks 24 Comments

I stopped at Kissell Motorsports after work today and Craig Kissell showed me this Piaggio MP3 with a sidecar. A lot of people have been suggesting I get something like this so Junior and I can adventure together. Now that the opportunity has presented itself I’m not so sure. Would Junior really stay in the sidecar or would he leap out at every squirrel and dog?

And he doesn’t have any Doggles!

Regardless, I’ll take this rig home with me on Friday and see what it’s like. Anyone have any advice for a sidecar newbie? Or riding with canines??

Check with Kissell Motorsports if you’re interested in this unique set up.

A Saturday Morning Ride

February 27, 2011 by Scooter in the Sticks 9 Comments

Winter clings stubbornly to the day and the driveway. Moving the Vespa from garage to street remains a short adventure through ice and snow. With part of the day above freezing the frozen coating retreated. Still, I think the clairvoyance of the groundhog is in doubt. Seeing the Vespa reflected my my truck reminded me of the grimness of winter. At least in my mind. As Orin O’Neill suggests on his blog Scootin’ Old Skool, “Enough already.”

A ride would likely vanquish the gloomy thoughts.

Riding at 33F feels absolutely balmy after weeks and months of more frigid air. But even at this temperature the donning of riding gear can appear a near overwhelming obstacle. Woe to the rider who puts everything on only to realize they forgot to insert the wiring into their jacket for their electric gloves. More than once have I found myself grumbling over such an oversight, wires, ski mask, and decide to proceed without.

Always a mistake.

Mostly I meandered today relishing the complete disconnection from the world — just me, the Vespa, and a landscape indifferent to my presence. Without fail, a few miles and the gloom and cares evaporate. A thought passes of purchasing a Triumph. I remember something I have to do at work. My stomach growls. All is right in the world.

Standing in the middle of the field, looking at the scooter, thinking about longer rides, I wish the temperature would rise just a little. At 40F I can ride all day in luxurious comfort.

There are times when I walk as much as I ride, exploring streams and roadsides, just looking around, thinking of nothing.

Parked the Vespa on the bridge in the distance being careful to leave room for a manure spreader I passed a mile down the road. Nothing ruins a good ride faster than an unfortunate run in with a manure spreader.

Walmart parking lot. My first destination. The 3 Prints Project is still going but we’ve put film on hiatus for awhile, likely a gloom motivated decision, and are working exclusively in digital. Since I don’t have one of those fancy Epson 3880 Photo printers I have been sending my digital files to MPIX.com. They do good work, inexpensive, and fast. Not as good as a person could do making their own inkjet prints but I have no interest. Fine printing in the digital world is a bridge too far. At least today.

Anyways, I figured I would give Walmart a try. With four files on a USB jump drive I made a beeline to the photo center. Ten minutes later I walked out of the store with prints in hand, every bit as good as MPIX. Some more experimentation is in order.

No ride is complete without a stop somewhere for food. Or something. Cafe Lemont was on the way home so a cup of tea, an amazing cookie, and a small notebook is all it takes to keep me happy. At one point I look up and make a picture, drawn to the color, light and umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. I try and imagine Jack Riepe of Twisted Roads sitting here. Then I try to imagine world peace. Coming up empty on both counts I return to my writing.

Ran into a local physician and Ducati rider. He and his wife were enjoying the atmosphere though did not arrive on two wheels. His Streetfighter and her Monster are waiting for warmer days.

Toward the end of the ride, early afternoon, the thermometer hovering in the mid-30s and the sun trying to burn through the clouds made the Vespa sparkle for just a moment. Long enough for me to make a picture and smile at my good fortune to be on the road.

Thoughts turned towards home, an afternoon with Kim, a walk with Junior, dinner, and the finale of season eight of Project Runway courtesy of Netflix.

That doesn’t sound too macho. Maybe it explains the Vespa.

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Scooter in the Sticks