Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.

Autumn Melancholia

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Royal Enfield Himalayan on an autumn ride.
The weight of autumn melancholia is bearing down on me as I pause during a ride making another video.

Freud defined melancholia as a state of stuckness, about living with a loss so impoverishing that it paradoxically enriches you. Being melancholic, then, isn’t just about having the blues; it’s also about holding on to a lack that feeds you.

Two dogs racing through a field.
My dog Junior chasing a Border Collie through a field on a rainy day.

Autumn Melancholia Antidote

The photograph of our dog Junior in a game of chase is one that always makes me smile and tears away whatever might be weighing on me. He was our first Belgian Sheepdog and has been gone just a little over a year. When I see the image I’m reminded not only of the good life we offered him, but also the great gifts he gave us as well.

He was a fast friend, ever present companion, and always reminding us to squeeze a little more out of life. Exactly what’s necessary to combat the autumn melancholia that descends on me this time of year.

And even though the loss of Junior was rough, his absence oddly helps me along now.

Two Belgian Sheepdogs.
L-R: Lily and Aiden. Our Belgian Sheepdogs.

Dogs. Always Dogs

Lily is Junior’s niece. And Aiden is his great nephew. I see many qualities of Junior in Aiden.

Lily was to be our last dog but she became despondent with Junior gone. We didn’t want to go through raising another puppy and were concerned at our age that a young dog could outlive us. While talking with the Belgian breeder who we’ve gotten all of our Sheepdogs from she indicated that her current AKC Champion (Aiden) had been injured and could no longer show. She would love to be able to place him with us. Making the decision to take four-year-old Aiden into our family was a fine decision. For Lily. And for us. And as a show dog in a home of show dogs Aiden spent a lot of time confined or crated.

Coming to our home would be the first time he had “run of the house.” The breeder told us he would have a much nicer life as a pet. And I can say that he’s fully embraced being a dog here and taking advantage of every opportunity to be a house dog.

And both Lily and Aiden can, among other magical qualities, chase away the autumn melancholia!

Existential Angst

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Existential angst portrait

Man in the Mirror

I haven’t posted since September 11th. I blame existential angst. I was already feeling off, a vague yet persistent feeling that something was wrong. The past stirred and the future loomed, each reeking havoc on the present, the only place I actually live and breathe.

I see the struggle in my face. There’s less laughter and song. I’ve begun to look like I feel.

I’ve been riding. There is no dust on the Vespa scooter or BMW motorcycle. And my cameras have seen heavy use. But the existential angst, a gnawing anxiety, has stripped me of the desire to write. To share. To do anything other than escape the trials of the moment.

With no end is sight, I push the scooter out of the garage and ride away. Each time wondering if something different will occur.

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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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Light and Shadows

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Valley Girl SweetsValley Girl Sweets

Not sure if there’s a point to this post. It was a beautiful day to ride, a small ride in the magical autumn light of long shadows and mild, fragrant air that lulls the spirit into a relaxed state before the jarring blow of cold weather. The light and shadows of late afternoon.

Perhaps I’m writing to remind myself of the warmer days. Or gird for the cold to come.Continue Reading

Outlaw Riders

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scooter and motorcycle along a rural roadLong Shadows of Morning

Dazzling light and crisp mornings are a perfect way to start a ride. With the air temperature hovering in the low 40s (Fahrenheit), my friend Paul and I set out to find breakfast. Him on his 2016 BMW R1200 RT and me on the Vespa — an odd pairing only if you’re concerned with the optics or the BMW rider wants to greatly exceed the speed limit. I suspect there are other things that would suggest a problem.

We departed Boalsburg, Pennsylvania with a goal in mind — breakfast at the Spruce Creek Bakery in Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania. Downhill a dizzying 344 feet in elevation. I made a note to be on the lookout for altitude sickness on the way home. And for Marine One in case President Trump, like Jimmy Carter before him, decided to visit Spruce Creek to fish for trout.

It’s a serious ride.Continue Reading