Exploring life on a Vespa Scooter and Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.
Recognizing the GiftAwoke on Thanksgiving Day to the gentle prodding of dogs, their noses intent on bringing me in to a new day. At 16 degrees my footsteps on frozen ground and over patches of snow and ice felt almost warm due to the dazzling sunlight cresting the horizon at sunrise. As the dogs raced through the garden I said to myself, “Thank you for giving me another day.”
The first heavy snow of the season has come and gone. And so has my interest in riding. The snow is melting and with it wet, dreary fog has developed. It’s the sort of weather that lends itself for mysterious photographs and mystical scenes across the landscape. But I’ve left the Vespa scooter in the garage. Pulled this photo from a ride a couple years ago. Things look much the same now save we’re having a little more fog.
Fog and riding a Vespa scooter. Usually a perfect mix for me. But not today. Or even this week.
I have been thinking about it though. Read through an old post that reflects on the winter riding experience triggered by a ride to work at -8F. If you’re interested in riding after everyone else puts their scooter or motorcycle away, you may want to read SUB ZERO RIDING EDUCATION.
Say Hello to Cold RidingI knew soon it would become dramatically colder, if only for a few hours. And last Sunday morning was this year’s introduction to the cold riding season. The forecast when I went to bed suggested temperatures in the upper 30s. When I looked out in the driveway in the morning the frost on the cars indicated something different. 32F and sunny.
Wasn’t sure I was ready to ride at that temperature yet. For me, the cold riding season requires a slow approach, a few degrees at a time to let my mind become comfortable with the unavoidable cold you notice after months of warm weather. It’s something that requires a few Jedi mind tricks to overcome.
The self portrait in the window on the way to Saint’s Cafe shows evidence of two new features — a wool cap that keeps my head warm after removing the full face helmet, and my faithful insulated leather gloves from LL Bean. They bridge the gap between warm weather and the time it becomes necessary to install the Tucano Urbano muffs.
My friend Paul and I planned a short ride in the country culminating in breakfast and a return home. Can’t always go on long adventures. For awhile it seemed like I could never manage much more than a few dozen miles at a time.
So breakfast as the goal and a short ride as the approach would have to be enough as we gathered on Main Street in Boalsburg.
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