Scooter in the Sticks

Exploring life on a Vespa, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Honda Trail 125, and a Kawasaki W650

Long Vespa Ride

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Amish bakery near Smulton, PennsylvaniaLured by Baked Goods

I have no idea what to write. Only a handful of photos from a recent ride. A ride fueled by a desire to be on the road and in the world. No goals. No destination. Just the need to recharge my spiritual batteries. To take a long Vespa ride.

At this point in my life you wouldn’t think I would need to justify or rationalize why I’m getting on the Vespa. Oddly though, I find myself at times struggling for a reason. Perhaps desire is enough.

I sat at the end of the driveway for a few minutes wondering which way to go. I was reduced to left or right. Growing impatient I muttered to myself, “F*ck it” and turned left.

All I was doing was keeping the Vespa in motion, confident that some plan or idea would surface. As the scooter rolled along familiar pavement I remembered a conversation with a friend about an Amish bakery. A plan emerged and 40 minutes later found myself surveying boxes of Bear Claws and cream filled donuts in a self-serve bakery along Smulton Road in Smulton, Pennsylvania.

No one was around. A can with cash sat on a table to accept payments. All the regular donuts were gone — the telltale chocolate rings evidence of the prize I was after. I left without sampling the more complex cream filled offerings.Continue Reading

Finding My Way

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feet up and relaxingFeet Up and Relaxing

Twisting the throttle as the scooter leaves the driveway is like turning a knob and pulling open a door to a secret room. Pulse quickens, eyes wide, body vibrates in a primal reaction to the unknown. At its best, riding is a reminder of what it means to be alive at the most basic level — one fueled by the senses and written by the mind. Each moment sings and for a short time, I feel comfortable in my skin.

Like a thirsty man in the desert spying the chance for water, you would think every opportunity to ride would be obsessively grasped — quenching some existential craving that can’t quite be explained.

Or perhaps a lack of honesty keeps that knowledge hidden. Isolated and distant. Or maybe there are some explorations riding can’t make.

So I find myself indolent, lost in thought, wandering on foot or slowly rocking, feet up and wonderings where I am.Continue Reading

Enthusiastic Amateur

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Vespa GTS scooter on a foggy roadLEARNING TO RIDE

Each of you reading this should know, if you don’t already, that I’m not an expert on Vespa scooters, riding or anything pertaining to the management and maintenance of machines and devices. I ride, learn and try not to be an Enthusiastic Amateur.

The other day I was riding in the remains of morning fog. On the road two hours too late to really experience the full magic of the ground hugging clouds, I wandered from one side of the Nittany Valley to the other in hopes of entering a surreal landscape.

Later, looking at the photographs of the Vespa facing a world that the fog could conjure, I thought about what I’ve learned about riding, riding in fog and other weathers and how much I want to avoid being an Enthusiastic Amateur.

That label was explained to me by an art director I had the good fortune to work with at Penn State — the late James J. McClure. He assigned that term to individuals who presented themselves as photographers because they had an expensive camera, made pictures in far flung places, and managed to make correct exposures and create images in focus. A parallel with scooter and motorcycle riders has not escaped me.

Jim went on that the Enthusiastic Amateur lacks a deeper interest or understanding of the process they were part of or the ability to integrate it into their own seeing. They don’t grow as a photographer. It remains a technical performance of steps never to be questioned or pushed to another level. Their achievement — images that are simultaneously technically proficient and almost always boring. Or predictable. Their work is an endless repetition of a familiar, comfortable set of steps.

McClure was always after, “Surprising and Delightful.”Continue Reading

Aimless Wandering

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No Destination

Lately, I’ve been engaged in days of aimless wandering.  Some on the Vespa through fog shrouded forests. Others on foot during daylight and night.  No destination in mind, just allowing myself to drift through the landscape, admiring the world, and wondering what it all means.

Aimless wandering requires a measure of letting go, at least a little, of goals and expectations.

At home, I’ve been tinkering with this website, attending to performance issues and shortcomings that I’ve largely ignored.  Examining page speed on the GTmetrix site I was shocked to find how poorly the site was performing.  After a few days of intense education I managed to cut the response time in half and achieve passing grades on the test.  Continue Reading

Everyday Exploring on a Vespa

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Vespa GTS scooter along rural roadNot Much to Say, No Where Special to Go

The past week I’ve been wandering.  Sometimes with purpose.  Other times aimlessly. Each ride has been an exercise in following a whim, a feeling, going where ever the current takes me. Riding a Vespa scooter certainly makes it easy to embrace that sort of thing.

As many of you know, summer is not my favorite time to ride.  Sunny days just look sort of plain.  Boring.  And they’re often hot.  Mileage drops this time of year along with my posting frequency.

The Vespa scooter doesn’t shrink from sunshine or heat and would be happy to pound on down the road for weeks, months and years.  Wandering around the rural roads near home, I realize my mind wanders as well.

All part of everyday exploring on the Vespa.Continue Reading