Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650

Riding a Heavy Motorcycle

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BMW K75 motorcycle on a foggy, rural road.
The BMW K75 is a heavy motorcycle.

A Heavy Motorcycle is Not a Scooter

Writer’s block. Riders’ block. If you can extend your patience just a bit perhaps I can shed some light on the problem. Or opportunity. Whatever is happening, I always hope a ride on the Vespa scooter or BMW K75 motorcycle will raise the curtain on a swirling mind.

Standing along the road, gazing on my motorcycle poised in the fog, I’m keenly aware of how exceptionally different the K75 riding experience is from the scooter. Size. Weight. Demands on body and mind. It’s all different and I know it though I possess a remarkable ability to delude myself into thinking it’s just a big scooter of some kind. For a few minutes, I stand amidst a fantasy landscape where skill and experience are meaningless. I can do anything.

There’s a thrill riding this 550-pound machine. New. Unexpected. The motorcycle demands my full attention. It reminds this 65-year-old body that it’s not as strong as it seems when riding the Vespa. I feel the challenge in my mind and in my gut.

It’s a wonderful way to start the day.

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Another Turned Page: Autumn Scooter Riding

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Vespa scooter along a rural road in autumn.
Enthralled by the dazzling light and color of autumn.

Autumn, the magic hour of light and air of the year.

The dazzling power of autumn sunshine quickens the spirit. The helmet visor is often up to absorb the energy that temporarily dissolves care and concern to nothingness. Autumn scooter riding is magical. I’ve been riding and witnessing the world but giving voice to the experiences has eluded me.

I’ve been riding, consistently these past few months, but I’ve not given voice to experience nor story. Why? Because autumn is the season in which I notice the march of time, of the world, and of myself. Another turned page of my life. The world is crisp, golden and I’’m hypnotized by the leaves fluttering to earth. But something is different now. Friedrich Neitzsche wrote, ” Notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.”

My soul is restless. It happens this time of year.

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Frozen in Place

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Two black dogs in a garden setting
My two Belgian Sheepdogs demand daily action. They keep me moving.

Keep Moving

The scooter and motorcycle stand in the garage. Quiet. Unused. The battery may be dead in my camera and I’m hoping the chipmunks haven’t gnawed on my helmet lining. I feel a long way from riding right now. I’m frozen in place, lost in thought, disconnected from the things I love. It’s often this way as autumn approaches. Perhaps the sun’s energy patterns change and affect the ways neurons fire in my brain. Or sensing the approach of cold weather I just begin to shut down.

Or so it seems. Doing nothing, accomplishing nothing, frozen in place.

The truth is somewhat different. I’ve been riding the Vespa and the K75. A lot. And I’ve made many photographs. Have my darkroom running as well in support of another project. Five rolls of film are hanging downstairs awaiting contact proofing.

And I’ve been reading. And watching Netflix. Watched Inside Bill’s Brain, the documentary series on Bill Gates. Thinking about global warming and the role of nuclear power. Specifically the Traveling Wave Reactor. And each morning the dogs drag me into the world.

But I feel frozen in place despite evidence to the contrary. A storm front is moving in. I hear thunder. Otherwise I would tell myself, “You need to go for a ride.”

Sometimes things are just strange.

Full flounder ahead.

Moto Hang: A Gathering of Riders

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Paul Ruby at a Moto Hang
At the Moto Hang — Paul rode my K75 while I piloted the Vespa.

Another Moto Hang

For those who don’t know, the Moto Hang is a gathering of riders of all sorts of two and three-wheeled vehicles. It occurs on the first and third Wednesday’s of the month in warm weather and moves to a different location each time.

I’ve been lax in my posting of things related to the Moto Hang events this year. As it transitioned away from the Boalsburg Moto Hang to one hosted at a continuing array of locations the charm of the old barn where it used to happen — in my head at least. Or that’s my excuse. So I’ll try and catch up now.

It continues to be a gathering of riders. Like-minded men and women with an ongoing fascination for motorcycles, scooters and riding.

This past week I rode the next of the last regular Moto Hang gathering on my Vespa scooter. My friend Paul borrowed the K75. Just a short, eight mile ride to the home of Jason and Lori Lettiere — hosts for this occurence of the Moto Hang.

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Mistakes and Lessons on Riding

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Two motorcycles on a gloomy morning parked at a scenic vista
The beginning of a day of mistakes and lessons on riding.

Jo Hays Vista

It’s rare that my first riding mistake comes before I leave the driveway. And humbling to realize after years on two-wheels I’m still capable of making decisions that come back to haunt me. I had just pushed the motorcycle out of the garage, pulled it onto the center stand, and rushed around to make sure the doors were locked and the dogs were content before my departure. With the BMW K75 idling in the driveway I felt hot in my First Gear Kilimanjaro riding jacket despite the thermometer indicating 63F.

The weather forecast indicated it would rise quickly to 70F. And there was no rain in the forecast so I didn’t need the heavier jacket or a rainsuit. Substituting my summer mesh jacket I made my first mistake — I was not prepared for any change or variation in the forecast.

The entire day would be one of mistakes and lessons on riding.

Just nine miles later atop Jo Hays Vista my error was apparent. A t-shirt under a mesh jacket and a bit of mist in the air felt cold. Unlike Paul’s BMW K1300 with full faring, heated grips and seat, and his leather jacket to ward off the moisture and cold, I just hoped for the promised increase in temperature and some of the fabled heat from the K75 fuel tank.

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Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650

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