Scooter in the Sticks

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

Let It Snow

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black dogs in the snowPlay With Us Daddy

Except for the dogs nothing was going to stand between me and a ride on the Vespa.  Each day begins with a moment of revelation as I push the blind aside to see what the world is offering.  Some mornings find a faint, hot glow from the sun yet to breech the horizon.  This morning it was a blanket of white, dragging me into a cold place where body and spirit contested with a strong, serious desire to ride.

Like helpless children, the dogs need me for food, water and a serious amount of action.  I can pace across the garden in myriad pathways collecting steps on my iPhone that easily consume a mile or more as I throw tennis balls for the dogs, wearing them out, draining the energy gathered through the night.

I swear they know my plans to leave them behind, looking at me with imploring eyes, “Play with us daddy”.  Watching the the sky and thinking about a ride on the Vespa I could hear the rider in me chanting, “Let it snow…”.

Vespa GTS scooter along snowy roadSnow on the Road

In minutes, my riding world moved from wet with incidental snow to snow and the road is getting slippery.  For a moment as I stood along the road trying to keep the camera dry and considering the road surface I started to grumble about winter.

I have had enough.

The evaluation of weather and road was inconclusive but without any striking warning signs.  So on I went.

Snow covered farm field with treesSnow Covered Rural Landscape

Riding has its own rewards with a chance to witness the world just being one.  The snow covered landscape presents a world of quiet solitude that I find energizing.  When I see scenes like this I wish I could paint because a photograph just doesn’t adequately reflect the magic of a place — the energy and thrill of being alive — wind and cold and snow striking skin, firing neurons and bringing the brain into communion with the world.

I knew I would enjoy the ride.  Let it snow.

Vespa GTS scooter in a winter wonderlandVespa in a Winter Wonderland

There are times when I look at the scooter along the road and I feel as if I’m in a fantasy — a sudden beautiful moment that I can only describe as a gift.  It’s an experience born of moving slowly, stillness, and generally an incompatible experience from what I read in motorcycle magazines where speed and breathtaking performance are the focus.

But how many horsepower do I really need to ride?

 

Vespa GTS scooter and Mount NittanyA View of Mount Nittany

The weather moved quickly through the valley and after an hour or so the roads and paths were wet with the temperature hovering in the mid-30s.  The biggest challenge was keeping the visor clear of fog.  At some point during a ride the “adult” in me steps up to spoil the fun and guides the Vespa toward errands and chores.  I’ve not yet found a reliable way to ditch that guy.

He does have his advantages including always having enough cash for a stop at a cafe on a cold morning for tea and a biscuit.  And with one last, long look toward Mount Nittany I started toward home, satisfied with a small ride on a snowy morning. Thirty miles of road time can be some fine medicine.

Is this the last snowy ride of the season?

Swiftly Craved Ride

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Vespa GTS scooter in muddy field at duskWings of Desire

Cold, raining and the approach of night — individually each reason enough to stay home and safe.  Yet off I went on the wings of desire, a swiftly craved ride striking me from the warm embrace of a reclining chair, mind sudden burning with one thought — to be on the road.

It’s been weeks since I’ve been on the Vespa, illness sapping strength and desire and rendering me a mortal, non-riding man.  How dim that life…

And suddenly the desire to ride flamed again.  Who can ignore that call? Even if it leads to a field of soft mud…

Vespa GTS scooter in Boalsburg, PennsylvaniaFading at the End of the Day

I’ve walked this sidewalk in Boalsburg hundreds of times in all weathers and times of day; with dogs and friends, view cameras and Leicas.  It’s home and I’ve yet to tire of it.  Can’t fathom to call to stop the Vespa and stand again looking; as if it’s the last night of my life.

I can only think I’ve been inside for too long.

Vespa GTS scooter at a Sunoco stationPragmatism

A fuel light on the Vespa’s instrument cluster returns me to earth and the local Sunoco station to add some high octane fuel to the tank.  Part of me wants to keep riding — east or west, it doesn’t matter whether other than to stay on the road.  But there’s business to attend to that I can’t, or shouldn’t ignore.  The cold, damp air has started a cough, another pragmatic reminder that a swiftly craved ride may mask another goal — completely recover from the illness that’s dogged me for nearly two weeks.

So off home in the dark for food and work and chores — each made a bit more handsome as seen from the vantage point of smiling rider.

Do you suddenly stand up and venture into the gloom for no good reason other than a craving to ride?

Coming Back Into View

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forsythia blossoms in shady gardenEmerging from the Flu

After eight days of the flu the world is coming back into view.  A walk in the garden this evening with the dogs, noticing the forsythia blossoms in the shady deer den — a private place where Kim and I can sit with journals and tea.  Until today I could only slog through the space solely in duty to canine companions.  Still coughing and feeling a lack of energy it’s heartening to notice there are beautiful things in the world.

Triumph Street Twin motorcycle

Photo Courtesy of Triumph Motorcycles

Triumph Dreams

Forced to bed, drifting between delirium and reality, I spent some time thinking about motorcycles — the Triumph Street Twin specifically and how it might fit into my Vespa riding world.  In an email exchange with moto-journalist Frank Melling he shared an illuminating comment:

 You can ride a Street Twin coast to coast, and risk your license all the way, and the bike would eat up the miles. Equally, it is as a docile as your Vespa and will amble around in third gear at 30mph without a complaint.

I’m pictured those words for days and wonder what the future holds…

Belgian Sheepdog in pine needlesImploring Action

Junior showed remarkable patience with my lack of attention during the past week. He’s also attuned to my recovery and senses a change which can only mean more action and activity.  Good for him.  Good for me.

Assortment of wrenches and toolsWrenching Coming in to View

It’s time.  In the short term I need to repaint the muffler, change the engine and hub oil and filters, new sparkplug, and check the other fluid levels.  And a couple months out I’ll need two new tires, belt and roller change, steering adjustment and a flush of the coolant.  Not sure at the moment what I’ll do and what I’ll leave to the professionals.

Belgian Sheepdog puppyTapping Into Young Energy

With just 14 months under her paws, Lily the Hammer is bristling with energy and a cheerleader striving to keep me moving.  That youthful energy is contagious sometimes — for me and her Uncle Junior.  She doesn’t want anyone slowing down.

Things are coming back into view — we’ll see what a new day brings…

Gratitude and Things Stuck Up Your Nose

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She said it would be a momentary discomfort…

array of medicationsA Pile of Gratitude

Other than the minutes I was actually having a heart attack these past few days are the worse I’ve felt in a long, long time. I knew something was different when the nursing staff donned masks and gloves to work on me — both at my family doctor’s office and at the hospital lab.

A nasal virgin, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw the long swabs in the technician’s hand.  “You may find your eyes tear a bit” she said, before pushing the first toward my brain.  First came the sense that it shouldn’t be there, then the acknowledgement that she reached the end followed by the simultaneous realization she was still pushing further as discomfort changed to a slight burn to a sharp pain.

“That wasn’t so bad.” she said as she readied the second.  I understood now why she wore a mask — so I wouldn’t recognize her in public.  A series of throat swabs were equally distressing.  The encounter reminded me of conversations with riders who ventured out in the winter not fully understanding what they were about to encounter.  I thought I was getting a blood test.

As much as I could the past few days, mentally straddling the real world and a netherworld, I’ve been thinking of the changes in my life the past few years.  The medications in the photograph represent the sum total of medical science bearing down on me.  Some I take daily to stay alive, some weekly to keep my body from chewing its joints apart, and others specific for the matter at hand.  It’s stunning what they represent — I’m wearing out.  And unlike a Vespa that wears out I can’t trade myself in.  So my doctor and I keep tinkering like old mechanics to keep me running.

I’m grateful for the medical care I can access.  The situation is just another event on the path that I need only accept and figure out what to do next.  As I write my sinuses are just beginning to clear enough that I don’t have to breath solely through my mouth.

Silver Lining to Being Sick — Sort Of

There is a bright side to the sleeping and laying around — there’s been opportunities to dream.  I’ve looked at and read about the new Fujifilm X-Pro2 Body Professional Mirrorless Camera and plotted out an entire system.  And while imagining life with the new Triumph Street Twin motorcycle I found myself in an email conversation with moto-journalist Frank Melling who did a great review of the bike.  He’s got a new book out that I’m planning to buy that recounts his story of motorcycling and journalism.  The book, A Penguin In A Sparrow’s Nest: The Story of a Freelance Motorcycling Journalist looks like a fine read.  I’ll write a bit more about him when I’m out of the desert.

So no riding, just trying to recover before anything bad happens.  I’m grateful to have the chance.

Lost in Delirium

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Some rides are the product of illness — a projection of being lost in delirium.

Can a person ride motorcycles (or scooters) in their eighties?

For the past few days I’ve been swept up in a chain of illness (a cold or flu) and have lost touch with the routines and rituals that normally keep me grounded — walking the dogs, working and riding the Vespa.

I hate being sick; suppose everyone does. While drifting between sleep, delirium and mindlessly watching online videos I came across an old favorite — five aging men deciding to ride motorcycles again. I’ve posted it before.  When I close my eyes I want to ride again.

For a few moments I thought I could push through the illness but dizziness raised its hand to remind me of my current predicament.  I’m sure Kim would have added her input, “You don’t ride when you’re sick dummy.”

So I’m left again practicing patience, something I never do well with, and hoping whatever illness I have passes quickly.

If you’re feeling your age take a moment and watch the video.  It’s nice to think at 80 we might still have choices…

Scooter in the Sticks

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

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