Scooter in the Sticks

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

New Tires for the Royal Enfield Himalayan

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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.

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Riding in Pennsylvania’s Magnificent Forests

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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.

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Riding-Based Winterization

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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.

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Remembering Summer Rides

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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.

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Royal Enfield Himalayan on Dirt and Gravel

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2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan on a gravel forest road.
Is this the preferred environment for my Himalayan?

Dirt and Gravel

There was a week of unseasonably warm weather that I watched slip by due to things more important than riding. Finally, on a sunny, warm afternoon, a few hours before sunset, I decided to take the Royal Enfield Himalayan on dirt and gravel in nearby Rothrock State Forest.

The motorcycle has proved to be everything I hoped it would be — comfortable, capable, and a joy to ride. It is the right machine for me to finally explore all the dirt and gravel roads that crisscross the forests and mountains from the Maryland border north to the New York border.

I’m going to ride on all of them.

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