Empty Streets
Black Friday. Early into town for breakfast with a friend. Town seems deserted on what is supposed to be one of the busiest retail days of the year. It’s one thing to be alone on the road in the forests and mountains outside of town. But in town, well, it almost feels creepy to not see anyone.
Toy Duck on a Vespa Scooter
After breakfast I passed a toy store, Growing Tree Toys, and thought it made sense to browse their wares for something that might interest my granddaughter. Ducks are high on her list of interests so this fellow joined me for a little ride.
Ride Through the Woods
My back wasn’t up to a ride and to be honest, I sort of forced myself to take the scooter out at all. I have a pack of reasons why I should keep riding but few suggesting I stay off the machine and let my back heal a bit more. Recovery is slow but moving in the right direction.
I let the Vespa draw me along some forest roads to enjoy the last of autumn before the snow begins to fall. And on Monday an army of deer hunters will make riding in Pennsylvania forests a bit unnerving — even with a high VIZ jacket on my back.
Utilitarian Vespa Scooter
As transportation the Vespa scooter is outstanding. It gets from point A to point B without a fuss. And it’s indifferent to the type of road; comfortable on backroads, freeways or tours across a cornfield.
I don’t know why I keep choosing paths that bump along. My back is far more pleased with smooth pavement than bouncing around of the road. I did stop at a local body shop for an estimate to repaint the undercarriage of the scooter. Many winters of salt and much have made a mess of things. In a couple weeks I drop it off for a bit of restoration work…
Cafe Life…
I suspect for most of December I’ll be without the scooter. Opportunities to be alone on the road may give way to more work on other projects — ones I plan to work on in retirement. I’m still trying to figure out how that second career will unfold and where my “office” will take shape. I’ve considered cafes and coffee shops along with the local library. I’ve also thought about renting an office space somewhere so I’ll have a place to provide some structure to any new endeavors.
For now though, I just keep wandering, alone on the road…