Scooter in the Sticks

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

Exploring a Mysterious Road

by 12 Comments

A Honda Trail 125 motorcycle parked at a scenic vista.
The goal in my mind’s eye.

Can I Get There?

There’s a road not far from here that I’ve spent considerable time thinking about, looking at maps, reviewing satellite imagery, and searching for first-hand accounts of whether it’s passable.

I know where the road might lead — to the ridge top where I have ridden many times. And I know a short stretch that reaches through a farm field at the bottom. But what lies between is unknown. I’ve been told it is now private property. Some suggest a property owner has bulldozed a barrier making in impossible to cross. And some say it is just too steep and rough to navigate. I’m left with the question, “Can I get there?”

I recently stumbled on a mountain biking site where riders share information and saw a nugget of intelligence about the Pennsylvania Furnace Road — rough but passable. No one seems to care if you ride through. Satellite images appear to show the road going through someone’s front yard and being a gentleman I don’t readily trespass so close to someone’s home. Especially when so many people here carry and are protective of their property. Still, the report said “passable.”

That’s all I needed to reach out to Paul and ask if he wanted to take a long ride to breakfast on our Honda Trail 125 motorcycles.

Continue Reading

New Tires for the Royal Enfield Himalayan

by 5 Comments

Set of two new tires for a Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle.
The tires finally arrived after an extended search.

Indecision and Extended Searching for Tires

At the last Pennsylvania Safety Inspection for my 2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle the mechanic pointed out cracks in the rubber and let me know that next year they wouldn’t pass. Two trains of thought immediately ignited. The first, driven by a sometimes irrational frugality, urged me to keep riding and wear them out despite already recognizing the rear tire no longer had the bite it once did. Especially on muddy roads.

The second train of thought led immediately to searching for the perfect replacement tires. An exercise that can easily become obsessive as I race from site to site, review to review, in the mistaken belief that there is a perfect tire. The whole time blind to the fact that my barely amateur wanderings on the bike mean that pretty much any tire with suffice. But the belief that there is a singular best choice can really dog my thinking.

Eventually two Dunlop Trailmax Mission tires arrived at my door.

Continue Reading

Riding in Pennsylvania’s Magnificent Forests

by 12 Comments

Looking up into the forest canopy.
Peering up into a canopy of hemlock and fir trees.

Surrounded by Trees

Every rider finds themselves blessed (or cursed) by where they live. Long ago I knew living in the middle of the vast forest lands of central Pennsylvania was a gift.

In 1681, when King Charles II gave a nearly 29-million-acre expanse of old-growth trees to William Penn, clearing a Royal debt and ridding the Crown of a troublesome Quaker religious movement by sending them across the Atlantic, I’m enjoying the benefits of that deal today.

Nearly 60 percent of Pennsylvania is still forested and provides a seemingly endless supply of dirt and gravel roads to explore. And for me, they begin just two miles from my front door. For my friend Paul and I, those roads are always beckoning.

Continue Reading

Riding-Based Winterization

by 9 Comments

Vespa GTS scooter parked along a rural road on a foggy morning.
A pause to admire the fog and the scooter.

Accepting Colder Weather

It’s no secret that I ride in cold weather. There may be a growing element of secrecy regarding my feelings about doing it. While the 2006 Vespa GTS 250 scooter is still ready and willing to head out in the coldest weather I cannot make the same claim. Each year as winter approaches I feel a greater resistance to abandoning the warmth and comfort of home so I can continue with my annual riding-based winterization program.

The idea of parking the machine for five or six months did not sit well. Too many warm days during the winter that I would want to ride. And plenty of freezing days where the roads were dry. Twenty years ago I swear I never felt cold. Now I am chilled lingering too long in front of an open refrigerator. But if I am going to avoid draining fuels, pulling batteries, or adding Stabil to tanks, I need to keep riding.

The best method for me now is to start early, ride often, and ease into the cold.

Continue Reading

Remembering Summer Rides

by 23 Comments

Motorcycle rider taking in the view in the Appalachian Mountains.
A view in Pennsylvania’s Rothrock State Forest of the Appalachian Mountains during one of my summer rides.

The weather has turned markedly colder and the shortened daylight triggers some biological reaction that doesn’t feel great. Looked back to brighter, warmer, days and rides enters my thoughts more frequently now. Rather than gird and prepare myself for riding in colder weather I’m spending more time remembering summer rides. Like this one with my friend Dave that was merely a ride to breakfast. Just not the closest place or the most direct route.

Continue Reading