Scooter in the Sticks

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

Dreams and the Tyranny of Adults

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Steve Williams thinking about dreams and the tyranny of adultsCafe Thinking

This morning I picked up a new battery for my daughter’s Yamaha Vino scooter. Traveling mechanic — it’s what dads do. Waiting for the battery to arrive allowed for a leisurely stroll around the collected Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda machines and imagine a road life with them:

  • A tedium of smooth roads and highways passing by faster than a brain can process with the Goldwing.
  • Backaches and hip cramps with the sportbikes.
  • The stink of chrome polish with the cruisers.
  • Mending bones and physical therapy with the dirtbikes.

Honda RuckusHonda Ruckus

And then, glistening like a perfect, wet sand dollar on a remote beach stood the Honda Ruckus. Shiny and black with a simple splash of red, the Ruckus promises uncommon experience to anyone courageous enough to abandon their ego and fear of how they’ll look to other riders.

In my dreams I have a Honda Ruckus. It’s on my list. There are rides in my head.

Dreams are a powerful part of being human yet I hear little from others about their dreams. Lost are the open and excited conversations from childhood where we would proudly exclaim, “I’m going to be a cowboy!” or “I’m going to be a baseball player!”. Somewhere the confidence to express dreams has been smothered by adulthood. Perhaps it lies beneath Henry David Thoreau’s thought that “Men lead lives of quiet desperation”. Perhaps our dreams have been squelched by expectation, fear and the need to conform.

Like any thought entering consciousness they can’t be controlled and should not create anxiety or guilt. They are after all just thoughts. So it is with dreams — just more organized and powerful stories our minds concoct to imagine our experience in life — possible or not. I’ve imagined lives as musician and athlete, artist and writer, rich man and poor. And I’ve imagined life with a motorcycle. Many motorcycles. But there is one that stands out at the moment. A BMW K75.

1992 BMW K75 motorcycleDream Bike — 1992 BMW K75

There is a page saved in Evernote that contains a listing for this motorcycle offered by MAX BMW Motorcycles in Connecticut. I have a dream that one day there will be one in the garage alongside the Ruckus and the Vespa — a riding option for a need I do not know or understand.

Rationalizing dreams leads to the death of youth and the enslavement of adulthood. Or so I think at this precise moment as fingers tap on keys. In ten minutes the thought would be lost lest I write it down. If someone wonders “Why blog?”, perhaps an acceptable answer is to try and remember dreams.

Dreams are medicine and hope rolled together but they’re not universal. My dreams are not yours and sharing them is an act of faith because there are many adults in our midst that strive to bring a dreamer back to reality. I do it myself though I try hard to accept the dreams of others. If I can’t, at least I can try to keep my mouth closed. There is a time for critique and discussion. Just not when dreams are on the table. Husbands and wives, friends and relatives, parents and children — take heed and respect the dreams.

I wonder how life would have been different if I joined the circus…

What’s in a Name?

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Steve Williams blogger

photo by Frank Armstrong

Inception

If you’ve wondered why I’ve been posting so much the past few weeks there is a simple answer – I made a decision to take on a challenge to create 29 original posts on 29 consecutive days – one for each day in February.  To make the posting challenge easier  (or more difficult), a topic was predetermined for each day of the month.

While browsing motorcycle blogs I stumbled across a reference to a challenge proposed by the author of Toadmama.com in a post titled Brave, Bold, Blogger Challenge 2016. The challenge was offered as a way to cope with the motorcycle blogging doldrums of late winter:

Why is it that February, the shortest month, often feels the longest? Really. It always, ALWAYS takes forever to get through February. And this year, there are 29 days!

And so the blogging challenge came to life.

Leica M6 with Tri-X film and contact sheetsSticks and Carrots

I respond best to the sticks.   Forced goals and deadlines however arbitrary work for me.  In art school I had to show up twice a week with new photographs.  Quality and content didn’t matter – working mattered and showing up with new prints was the expected evidence.  No matter how terrible the worked seemed the forced routine honed my creative muscle and sharpened my skills.  I continued it for a long time with the 3 Prints Project — a personal challenge to expose and process two rolls of film every week and make three finished prints.  I’m pondering another photographic challenge.

So taking on the blogging challenge seemed like a good investment.

Today’s theme, day 23: “Meaning behind your blog name”.

glowing sunrise view of Vespa GTS scooterScooter in the Sticks

The blog began like an easy sunrise without drama or turmoil.

The origins of the name – I had nothing to do with it.  My wife Kim, in response to a question back in 2005:

What should I call this blog about my Vespa?

And without hesitation or thought, the words floated across her lips as if she was holding them for just this moment:

Scooter in the Sticks.

Kim lives amidst words. While writing this post she’s a few feet away holding three big books.

What are those?” I ask.

My synonym finders,” she says. “Well, one’s actually a rhyming dictionary”

Writers have those sorts of things.  She is always writing, investigating, thinking.  There are hundreds of journals stacked in the house with mysterious words and sentences, phrases and ideas.  All things I’ll never see.  Writers have their ways.

And from her mind sprang complete, “Scooter in the Sticks”. She did the hard part, she gave the gift.

The rest was up to me.

Moleskine Journals

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Old Moleskine journalsMoleskine Journals Around the House

Anyone investigating our home will find an extensive collection of journals.  Mine are worn and tattered Moleskine Classic Notebooks of various sizes, all crammed with notes and passages written when ever time and fortune permit.  Writing in journals is a habit I began as a teenager and have continued since.  I found Moleskines not long before I started to ride the Vespa.  They’re compact and durable and put up with a lot of abuse.

Moleskine journal and Vespa scooterLittle Black Book

There’s usually a journal in my topcase, under the seat or in my riding jacket pocket.  I carry them in my shoulder bag and have them stashed at home and work to support my need to scrawl thoughts and ideas on paper — a reliable cure for the mind chaotic.

Moleskine Journal opened to reveal textCollect My Thoughts Here

While walking dogs this morning I was perusing an old journal grabbed of a shelf.  It’s unnerving to open them and bear witness to the disjointed ramblings, spelling errors, errors in dates as appears on this spread where I introduce an entry with the wrong year.  I’m also reminded of how I abandoned cursive writing in second grade as a result of the system’s relentless desire to save me from a perpetual graphic and ink smeared left hand.

Had to read this entry since many, even blog posts or work related text can be, well, less than kind.  Reminds me of the supreme rule in our home, “Thou shalt not read someone else’s journal”.

Never.

Ever.

Journals occupy a sacred place which Kim and I both respect.  Meaning we can leave them around the house.

Do you journal?  If not, perhaps you may want to give it a try.  You may be amazed what’s piled up in your head.

Learning from Moto-Bloggers

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Steve Williams with his Vespa GTS scooter
Can you see how I’ve changed as a result of meeting three Canadian moto-bloggers at the beginning of August?  (Answer at the bottom of the page)
Meeting people whose skills and experience stretch far beyond my own is always a pleasure and I mark my good fortune at having the opportunity to talk with them.  I’ve met a handful of moto-bloggers since Scooter in the Sticks was born in 2005 and the lessons learned continue to inform what I do today.
In March of 2011 I had the opportunity to meet Dom Chang (Charlie6), author of Redleg’s Rides, while at a conference in Denver, Colorado.  I came away from that encounter with a better understanding of what commitment meant, drive, focus, passion and dogged persistence in the riding world can mean.  When I find myself stuck, unmotivated or generally floundering I’ll often say to myself, “What would Dom do?”.  No small gift from a moto-blogger.
And one other example — meeting Jack Riepe, author of Twisted Roads by Jack Riepe, at the BMW International Rally in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.  Riepe (officially pronounced “reep — eeee”) was presenting conducting a writing workshop at the event for less competent, capable or inventive moto-bloggers which pretty much means anyone currently writing in that genre. I left the event knowing how far my writing exists from real storytelling.  Always good for me to get a clear picture of where I sit.  And since that time I’ve come to call Mr. Riepe a friend.
So on to the arrival of David Masse from Montreal, author of Life on Two Wheels, the Scoot Commute; Bob Leong (aka bobskoot) from Vancouver, author of Riding the Wet Coast; and Karen (aka V Star Lady) from Ontario, author of Motorcycle Touring – Riding on my V Star.
Bob Leong's crocs

The pink Crocs on the sidewalk next to a BMW motorcycle are a dead giveaway to the presence of bobskoot.  Those shoes thread through many pictures on his blog and represent a sort of emblematic representation of him for me.

Vespa GTS300 scooter with motorcycles

The three converged on State College, Pennsylvania to meet me and I had hoped to show them some of the more exotic riding routes that a rider wouldn’t find without some assistance.  Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances meant I was only able to spend a few hours with them over the two days they were in town.

Bob Leong, Paul Ruby, David Masse and Karen - aka V-Star Lady.
Breakfast at the Corner Room in State College.  Bob, Paul, David and Karen posed for a quick portrait before I had to leave town.  Thankfully Paul Ruby was able to serve as host and show them around the area.  Bob and David had appointments with Kissell Motorsports to have some things serviced on their machines so the days were full.
But on to the lessons learned from these three riders.

David Masse and his Vespa scooter

Let’s start with David who is standing here with his Vespa at the KOA Campground in Bellefonte.

He probably doesn’t realize how strongly his attitude towards safety and care of his Vespa affected me.  When I rode out to visit with them before they departed for Maine my focus on the mechanical state of the Vespa and personal protection in terms of gear was in a state of flux.  Looking at the improvements and upgrades to lighting, horn, and other aspects of the scooter along with his steady commitment to riding with all the protective gear in place (ATGATT) affected me strongly.  Since then I have returned to riding with ALL the gear AND I have had all the outstanding service completed on my scooter, actually washed the Vespa, and have been investigating some of the safety upgrades he has implemented.

Thank you David for the example you’ve set.

Karen and Bob checking the air in a tire

I didn’t really know Karen but she mirrored David’s commitment to safety and the machine and it was obvious she paid careful attention to detail.  Here she is checking tire pressure utilizing a little battery powered air pump that bobskoot developed.  I chuckled at the time but his focus on gadgets influenced me to spend some money.

Bob showed me some incredible photographic tools that would make my photographic life on the road simpler — namely a useful, carbon fiber tripod and a wireless shutter release device that will open a new realm of possible photos.  I’ll post in the future more specific information about these items but suffice to say that I learned a lot from Bob in the short time we spent together.

All three riders are serious and pile up miles.  Bob has just returned home to Vancouver after looping through North America from Pacific to Atlantic and back.  You can see his route on SpotWalla to get a better idea of the epic ride he made.

I want to say thank you to Bob, David and Karen for sharing their experience and wish there would have been more time available so we could have taken a ride through some of the beautiful landscape of central Pennsylvania.

ANSWER: I’m wearing armored pants again.  Rather than letting the summer heat force my only pair — ones designed for winter riding — off, I purchased a vented pair for summer.  And the self portrait was made with the camera on a nifty new carbon fiber portable tripod (no more searching for the perfect tree stump or fence post) and using a great wireless shutter release.  Stay tuned for specific details on a future post.

SCTRCST.com – Scooter Internet Radio

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Steve Williams with his Vespa GTS scooter in winterVespa Rider in Winter

Since I am going to talk about me… I figured this would be the time to post one of the portraits my friend Paul Ruby has made of me during our rides. He says I never use them and he’s right. I explain why in the recent Podcast I was part of. One of the things I have thoroughly enjoyed as a moto-blogger (someday I hope to be able to bear the title of journalist but I have a long way to go on that count) is that I have crossed paths with so many other passionate riders, writers, photographers, and enthusiasts. Dave M of SCTRCST.com  is just one of those passionate people. I had the recent privilege of being interviewed for one of his podcasts. You can listen here to Episode 6, Part One. Just click the PicklePlayer or iTunes icon in the right-hand navigation.

Dave is a great interviewer and made the entire experience a pleasure. Check out his site at SCTRCST.com. He has a cool tool to leave voicemail on his site that he may incorporate into a Podcast. If you get the chance to do an interview with Dave you should grab it!

Thanks again Dave for letting me talk to you and your listeners.

Steve Williams riding his Vespa GTS 250

Photo by Paul Ruby

Vespa GTS on the Road

Paul Ruby made this picture of me not long after buying the GTS. Just getting the feel of things. The beginning a new journey.