Scooter in the Sticks

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

Halloween

by 10 Comments

A few thoughts on Halloween with liberal influence and borrowing from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”.

Vespa GTS along a forest roadDarkness There and Nothing More

The Vespa moved through the forest, on through the gloom and past the dying ember of the summer, while we pondered weak and weary, this is it and nothing more.

Just a few miles from this spot stands the Eutaw House.  Some folklore experts say Edgar Allen Poe spent the night on his way through the area and in that place inspired to write The Raven.

Dark and alone I strived to still my beating heart, was I hearing was it there, that tap, tap, tapping in the air.

Vespa scooter at Egg Hill ChurchEgg Hill Church

The silence was unbroken, no whispered word or echoed murmur, standing, listening but nevermore.

Some say this church is haunted though experts have debunked the story.  Still, coming upon it as the day grows dim and the wind picks up it’s hard not to feel a chill run through me.  For a moment I wished I had gone a different way.

Egg Hill ChurchOn This Home by Horror Haunted

No raven was still sitting, nor speaking, tapping or shrieking nevermore.

Still, the graveyard outside the Egg Hill Church feels sad and lonely.  Graves from the 1800s.  Another from 2005.  And I’m left wondering of this place that looks so out of place in this modern world, perhaps more at home on the cover of a Black Sabbath album.  But the scooter swiftly moves along, the place sits silent as we go toward Halloween.

The Vespa flies from my soul and whispers softly “Nevermore”…

Fear on the Road

by 5 Comments

But I love Halloween, and I love that feeling: the cold air, the spooky dangers lurking around the corner.
Evan Peters, American Actor

Fall rural landscape with leafless treesLest Imagination Runs Away…

Riding my Vespa scooter through the countryside I began thinking about Halloween.  It didn’t take long for my imagination to begin creating scenarios straight out of the scary stories of my youth yielding a sense of fear on the road.

The healthy, life preserving fear of operating a two-wheeled vehicle, motorcycle or scooter, on the road remained intact.  Respecting, understanding and accepting the risk related to riding and performing accordingly is, at least for me, an essential element of being a competent rider.  But sometimes my imagination runs off…

The bare trees on empty landscape seemed ominous and twinged with foreboding — as if something bad had happened here.  My brain replayed scenes from old horror movies that would leave me spellbound late on a Saturday night as I would watch Bill Cardille’s Chiller Theatre on channel 11 WIIC in Pittsburgh.

Fear, Halloween and being scared was a lovely combination.

Vespa GTS scooter on rural road in central PennsylvaniaTurns in the Road

The weather has been sublime.  With few physical challenges — cold, rain, snow — both the scooter and my imagination could wander through a pre-Halloween landscape.  I’m surprised how often roads play a part in our collective imagination as places of danger.  Not the obvious traffic related stuff, but instead the pathological to supernatural occurrences.  A few movies that fuel the frightening possibilities of the road:

  • Duel — Steven Spielberg’s 1971 directorial debut featuring a truck that terrorizes a driver on the road.
  • The Car — Eliot Silverstein’s 1977 film of a mysterious car which goes on a murderous rampage, terrorizing residents of a small town.
  • The Road — John Hillcoat’s 2009 film of a father and son braving life on a road through a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
  • Walking Dead — AMC’s zombie series (and cable TV’s all-time most watched series) where you know every time a character heads out on the road something bad is going to happen.

I carry a lot of psychic baggage in my head available quickly to concoct a chilling idea of where the road is leading me.

I wonder if kids today are still watching scary stuff on TV after their parents go to bed…

Vespa GTS scooter on rural road with red barnWandering Down the Road

The ride wasn’t nearly as scary as my imagination might create.  The day was mostly a slow, languorous journey through the fine, warm central Pennsylvania countryside. That’s a fine place to be.

But a rider always needs to be wary of the sudden appearance of a zombie.  Or a witch casting a spell that might cause said rider to trade a magnificent Vespa for a URAL or worse…

Appreciating Warmth

by 19 Comments

Vespa GTS scooter near Bald Eagle State ParkAdjusting to the Cold

The march toward winter continues.  My spirit hasn’t accepted the change yet.  And my body resists both and cold and the ritual of donning heavier riding gear.  The lingering gnaw of a still tweaked back doesn’t help.  The world is dim and grey.

I have nothing good to say about any of it.

It’s easy to understand why men and women park their scooters and motorcycles for the winter and walk away from any joy or enlightenment that riding can present.  When the thermometer was pointing to 29F a few mornings ago I was asking myself why I would ever ride when it’s that cold.  Some would say I’m coming to my senses.  Or a grudging acceptance of the aging state of my body.  I see the wisdom in both.

Still, I want to ride despite everything.  Not riding is a decision I’m not ready to make.  It seems a surrender more ominous that merely parking the Vespa for a few months and doing something different.  It’s a turning point.  One of no return.  A realization that I’m leaving something in the past.

Forever.

Lest this post grow dark and dreary there is something positive which grows from the cold — appreciating warmth.

Appreciating warmth.

When the body awakens from the lull of warm weather the contrast between cold and warmth is startling.  Wrapping a cold hand around a heated grip is a luxurious feeling.  Or better yet around a cup of steaming hot tea.

Riding in cold weather teaches me to appreciate the lovely gift of being warm.

Life Tempered by Vespa

by 21 Comments

Steve Williams portraitCan You Spell Razor?

Seems as if things have gotten to the point where I shave on the weekend.  Work, life, everything piles up to force choices.  Last night someone told me I look like Steve Jobs.  I don’t see it.

I was staring into a 16mm lens when our photographer snapped this picture.  He was reminding me how the camera works as I was recalled to action for a photo assignment.  It wasn’t on my list of things to do when I arrived in my office in the morning but sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

Vespa GTS scooter on a foggy morningQuiet Commute in the Fog

Riding to and from work provides a fantastic opportunity to quiet the mind before the day spins up.  The weather has been warm and misty this week with some lovely fog to ride through.  Just down the street from home I took a moment to take in the sunrise before continuing on to the office.

This scene would look equally nice with a motorcycle.

Senator Tim Kaine at the Berkey CreameryIce Cream at the Penn State Berkey Creamery

Senator Tim Kaine made a campaign stop at Penn State today.  After a speech to students at the Hetzel Union Building he made a quick stop at the Berkey Creamery for some ice cream.  It’s always interesting to observe how these events unfold from the staff and press corps to the work of the Secret Service. I could see a lot of agents and assume there were others that I didn’t.  Security was more intense when Senator Obama was campaigned for President.  And even stricter when I photographed President George W. Bush.  When President Clinton was here there were snipers down the hall from my office.

There’s a lot of energy in these events.  As a photographer, especially one not engaged in the business anymore on a daily basis, the crowded jostling of the press corps is a unique experience as everyone pushes for position. Behind me were a dozen or so photographers, videographers and writers.

Vespa GTS in an autumn sunriseLive Free or Die

New Hampshire’s state motto seems an appropriate life strategy when things get particularly chaotic.  Riding the scooter can shine a light on what’s important and what’s not.  I still marvel and how easy it is to break life down into the simplest of components.  Live free or die makes total sense.

The warm weather is departing as autumn advances toward winter.  It’s all happening too fast.

Scooter in Fog

by 18 Comments

Lone tree in the fogMemories in the Mist

Every dog I’ve owned for the past 25 years has peed on this tree.  I’ve walked past it hundreds, if not thousands, of times and it seems unchanged.  I can’t say the same myself. Riding to work on another foggy morning the Vespa seems to have a mind of its own — turning and taking me where it will.  It’s especially strong with a scooter in fog.

Fog.

It’s not an ideal riding environment.  Perhaps dangerous.  Definitely presents more risk that any rider, scooter or motorcycle, should consider.

Vespa GTS scooter and traffic in fogFog and Traffic

I believe there’s no single right decision regarding riding in fog.  Or rain, darkness or wind for that matter.  Some riding skill books suggest only riding in warm weather during daylight hours with nothing affecting traction or visibility.  That path has the least risk.  One could go further and add no rush hour traffic, no heavy traffic, no high speed, no ill cared-for roads.  The list of risks is long.

Very long.

I was talking with a friend yesterday who moved from central Pennsylvania to a place north of New York City.  He described the difference in riding as one of anxiety producing risk where speed limits are ignored and everyone is in a competition to get ahead.  Literally.

Different risk.  Different choices.

Standing along the busiest route to work on a foggy morning I realize there are unique aspects of my riding environment that allows me to mitigate my risk more than my friend in New York.  For those considering riding in fog here are some things in play for me:

  1. Other drivers are largely non-aggressive.  If I slow down for the fog they do as well and not pressure or tailgate.
  2. There are plenty of opportunities for me to pull over and allow traffic to pass and then get back on the road.  This isn’t possible in other parts of the country, especially in more urban areas where traffic never breaks.
  3. There are many ways to get where I’m going.  Often roads with little to no traffic.

Vespa GTS scooter in foggy forestScooter in Fog

I can’t resist.  The visual stories are too strong.  My imagination overpowers reason and I find myself in magical realms.  When I grow up perhaps it will be different.

There’s fog on the mountains this morning.  The clock counts down to a trip to the chiropractor and then a day of script writing.  The fog sirens are loud though.