Scooter in the Sticks

Rider Indifference

March 19, 2021 by Scooter in the Sticks 54 Comments

While I can’t recommend it, an Emergency Room visit does break up the monotony of daily life. No heart attack this time, instead a foot injured by an overly exuberant dog. As my father always said, “It’s hell to get old.”

Shaking Rider Indifference

*NOTE* This post has been pressured by rider and hair stylist Billy Blades. I avoid him. He’ll tell me my hairstyle is something out of the 1980s. He rides a Goldwing. Can I really trust him? 😃 *NOTE*

One morning my dog Lily knocked me down some steps in the garden while we were playing with the tennis ball. It hurt but I thought I would walk it off. By dinner time I told my wife I was going to the Emergency Room. X-Rays showed no breaks. The doctor said “severe contusion” and sent me home.

Aside from that sort of diversion, my days begin and end with a sameness that is hard to understand. This must be what prison is like, an interminable counting of days where one day is the same as the next. It’s easy to understand how life could descend into a comfortable indifference fueled by streaming video, music, and books. Despite blue skies and sunshine the world feels empty and alone.

I’ve struggled to find balance between the reality of my day-to-day life and the mental construction of it. The gulf between the two is great. And rather than work toward some construction of a bridge, I’ve fallen into inactivity and indifference. As if I’ve been condemned to live on an island with no prospects or resources. This must be why I’ve been stricken with rider indifference.

Of course this is utter bullshit. A result I can only point to because of the hypervigiliance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are reasonable actions to take. But there is also the false apocalypse built from too much time and too little activity — physical, mental, or spiritual.

So I think it’s time to make an inventory of reality and imagination in hopes that I’ll emerge from the endeavor moving into life again.

Mid-Winter Moto Maintenance

February 8, 2021 by Scooter in the Sticks 16 Comments

Vespa GTS scooter in the snow — Vespa GTS scooter in winter.

Moto Maintenance Laws

Minimalism is the term I most often associate with my approach to moto maintenance. I conduct my riding life with two-wheeled machines in the belief that there are four laws of maintenance. They are:

I suspect all riders fall into some mix of all of these with varying levels of personal satisfaction from the processes involved with each area of moto maintenance. Or maybe you have your own set of laws.

Added to the mix are my own special personality quirks and defects which command my engagement or adherence to any of them. Plainly stated, I do as little maintenance as possible to keep the machine running and safe. With that in mind, I recently did some mid-winter moto maintenance.

Days of Snow

February 3, 2021 by Scooter in the Sticks 12 Comments

Vespa scooter on snow-covered driveway — Rolling the Vespa out into the snow. (Back in February 2015)

Is This a Good Idea?

There was a time when days of snow would have led to some sort of riding attempt on my Vespa scooter. I was young. Fresh. And stupid perhaps. No longer do I roll out the scooter into the fresh snow to “see how it does.” I know the answer to that question. Now I make different choices.

Regarding the question, “Is this a good idea?” I’m leaning towards no.

A Winter Ride

February 1, 2021 by Scooter in the Sticks 21 Comments

The following words and pictures were written and created by my friend and fellow Vespa rider, Andy Heckathorne. His winter ride experiences offer vicarious adventure as I sit at home with a hot cup of tea.
Steve Williams

Vespa GTS scooter on snowy road — Vespa GTS300 on a winter ride near Madisonburg, Pennsylvania.

In Trying Times, I Need to Ride.

I need the thrill of exploration and the shock of freezing temperatures. I need the healing sounds of a mountain stream. I need to face the winter sun and see the hot pink behind closed eyes. And I need to feel the sun on my face. I need a winter ride.

Passing unknown friends during a winter ride with a wave of unity, embracing my tribe of “Fellow Travelers,” I feel at home. My senses sharpen as I scan the monochromatic landscape craving color and gratitude, and finally finding both. I need the hours of solitude a ride can provide where I can reflect on the gifts I’ve been given in life and ponder the who I want to be in this world.

Entering the State of Strange

January 29, 2021 by Scooter in the Sticks 8 Comments

Vespa GTS scooter in autumn forest — Riding into autumn and the state of strange.

Amish Hunters

Few things are as strange as passing an Amish man in camouflage hunting gear, wielding a compound bow, and riding a pink scooter brought me into the state of strange. One of the odd views during a late autumn ride.

I should have realized I had crossed into the state of strange. Instead I continued to believe I was taking part in an idyllic meandering through the forests of central Pennsylvania. As a defense against the worsening pandemic I compartmentalize concerns, facts, fears, and experience to allow me to move through the world as if everything was fine.

I can’t help thinking now about missing the warning signs of my heart attack of nearly six years ago. Or that the state of strange in which I now live is the new normal.

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Shaking Rider Indifference

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Moto Maintenance Laws

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Is This a Good Idea?

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In Trying Times, I Need to Ride.

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Amish Hunters

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Scooter in the Sticks