riding Archives - Page 2 of 24 - Scooter in the Sticks

The Dark Thoughts While Riding

August 10, 2020 by Scooter in the Sticks 28 Comments

Vespa GTS scooter on gravel road. — Ribbons of gravel on a morning Vespa ride.

Reality and Fiction

Early summer morning rides when there’s a hint of fog in the air is a welcome change from the normal occurrence of blue skies and sunlight. There’s a shift in how I respond during a ride and tend to seek less traveled paths. And sometimes that shift opens a door to some of the darker thoughts that simmer in my mind. The dark thoughts while riding.

Most of what I write in regard to riding is positive and reflects the joys and restorative power I find while being on two-wheels. Despite this taking place in the relative safety of civilization in central Pennsylvania, there are times when imagination takes over to create a fictional world.

Thankfully the Vespa is quiet. Quiet enough to hear the roar of the pickup trucks with their loud, rusty exhaust systems. Time enough to vanish from the road and avoid any unfortunate encounters with the marauders and road bandits who’ve grown from the pandemic depression. I remember when I could ride these roads unmolested.

Returning to the Moto-World

May 28, 2020 by Scooter in the Sticks 12 Comments

A rural, central Pennsylvania farm landscape — The world I stepped away from two months ago is different now upon my return riding a motorcycle.

Out of the Garage and Into the World

It was a cool, gray day in my little part of the world. Somehow it feels a little different than it did just two months ago when I parked the scooter and motorcycle.

I don’t know how those of you who retire from riding in September and don’t return to it until spring manage. After a six-week riding hiatus due to pandemic restrictions in Pennsylvania I was experiencing no-moto cabin fever.

Still, I felt restricting myself from riding the Vespa and K75 was prudent considering all the unknowns at the time and my own unique immune system quirks which squarely place me in the high-risk category of humanity. One day before the stay at home order was to expire in Pennsylvania I pushed the motorcycle out of the garage and into a new world.

It seemed like an eternity since my last ride.

I tentatively returned to the road riding a motorcycle. My BMW K75.

The Physicality of Riding

December 2, 2019 by Scooter in the Sticks 21 Comments

Vespa GTS scooter along the road on a murky morning. — Out early on a wet, cold morning gets the blood pumping.

Riding is Not Exercise

I’ve struggled to rationalize it otherwise, but the cold stare of reality shows few qualities of exercise while riding a scooter or motorcycle. Yet there are strong physical qualities that, for me, raise riding to a physical act of purpose and action. I was reminded of this effect while riding the Vespa to breakfast on a cold, murky morning.

It was wet but not really raining. A mist that was cold enough to cause visor troubles and have a hand continually wiping it clear.

Riding was an ongoing physical act.

Scooter and Motorcycle on a Perfect Morning

July 24, 2019 by Scooter in the Sticks 16 Comments

Scooter and Motorcycle along highway — Scooter and Motorcycle pause along road on the way onto the Allegheny Plateau.

Sweeping Roads on a Perfect Morning

The plan was breakfast at a hitherto unvisited cafe in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. The Everyday Gourmet. Unlike most breakfast rides that generally require less than an hour on the road, this one would require scooter and motorcycle twice that time. Enough to transform serene thoughts of life and liberty to pure, hunger fueled obsession.

I knew I should have had a bowl of Cheerios before leaving the house.

It was a fine morning though and traffic was generally light. Our route would take us on roads neither Paul or I had ridden before, always special, and the weather moved from clear air, to mist and on to blue skies and sunshine.

Stopped along a road that climbed into the Allegheny Mountains I was reminded of how beautiful this area is. It’s easy to lose sight of that and focus on all the things that make it less than perfect.

On this morning — it was perfect.

Riding Enlightenment

June 26, 2019 by Scooter in the Sticks 30 Comments

Vespa GTS scooter on rural road on a sunny day. — A perfect morning for a ride. Cool air, fluffy clouds, and rain that would hold until later in the day.

Sunny Morning Enlightenment

Every ride is different. If they weren’t, I would have lost interest in riding a long time ago. My attention can’t be held by the machine I ride. It’s just a tool necessary in being a rider. In the pantheon of cosmic questions, albeit a minor one, is “Why do I ride?”. The answer isn’t important but it has fueled some mental gymnastics on my identity as a rider. On this day I experience a little riding enlightenment.

Scooter rider? Vespa rider? While enjoying a morning ride I realized there’s a difference between someone who identifies with a particular riding machine and someone who’s a rider.

I’m a rider. I just happen to ride a Vespa scooter.