Scooter in the Sticks

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

Chasing the Flurries: A Small Vespa Adventure

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A 2006 Vespa GTS 250 scooter parked in a field as it begins to snow.
The last stop for a photograph before returning home.

Wading Through Weather Decisions

Deciding to ride continuously throughout the year requires some honest looks in the mirror. It’s easy for me to equate what I was able to do 15 years ago with how I am today. And when today means I’m 70 years old I had best be rigorously honest about my riding abilities and limits. I’ve told myself that there will be no more riding in snow and probably no riding below the freezing mark. Seems a reasonable boundary to embrace. So how is it that I found myself riding through a series of snow squalls with the thermometer hovering at 32F? Was it a bad series of assessments based on the weather forecast or did I let my pride and ego get the better of me?

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Winter Vespa Ride

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Vespa GTS scooter on a rural road in winter.
Seeking a passable day for a winter Vespa ride.

Waiting to Ride

After days of watching the weather forecast and the road surface in the front of the house, I deemed it time to go for a winter Vespa ride. Over the years, winter riding has become almost normal. Before retirement, daily commuting on the scooter often meant navigating cold weather and the things that come with it. As I’ve gotten older the physical challenges of cold temperatures have increased and my riding window has contracted. No longer will I venture out for a winter Vespa ride when snow is falling. Or if the roads are covered already with snow. There’s no need to get to work and the adventure of navigating those conditions has largely evaporated. Still, I love to ride and can’t fathom a riding doldrum stretching from October to May. When the roads are dry it’s easy to manage the cold. I may not ride in sub-zero temperatures anymore, but there are plenty of 20 degree days in which I can easily ride in the winter.

After monitoring road conditions for days I decided it was time for a winter Vespa ride.

It was 28F when I left the house. No wind and bright sunshine. My head-to-toe winter gear had me wearing my winter hiking boots, thermal underwear, jeans, armored overpants, T-shirt, wool sweater, First Gear Kilimanjaro riding jacket, neck gaiter, and a full-face helmet. More than adequate protection against the cold. And with muffs on the handgrips along with heated grips, my regular insulated leather gloves kept my hands toasty.

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Days of Snow

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Vespa scooter on snow-covered driveway
Rolling the Vespa out into the snow. (Back in February 2015)

Is This a Good Idea?

There was a time when days of snow would have led to some sort of riding attempt on my Vespa scooter. I was young. Fresh. And stupid perhaps. No longer do I roll out the scooter into the fresh snow to “see how it does.” I know the answer to that question. Now I make different choices.

Regarding the question, “Is this a good idea?” I’m leaning towards no.

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Just Another Snowy Vespa Ride

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Dog running through snowDogs Love Snow

My dogs love snow.  They don’t seem to tire of it or complain about the weather.  They have lessons to teach.  Me, I’m complaining.  Just when I thought the snow was done for the season I woke to six inches of the white stuff.  If it wasn’t so beautiful I would have been despondent.

Lily raced through the garden, everything heavy with wet snow, with typical reckless abandon.  As I trudged along I knew I was going for a ride.  The temperature was right — a hair above freezing which would me the roads at worse would be slush or slightly snow covered.  Perhaps even just wet.  So one last winter riding adventure.

This must be the last real snow of the season.  So of course it was time for a snowy Vespa ride.Continue Reading

Rage Against the Dying of the Light

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Snow covered carSnow Again: Dying of the Light

After a few clear days I can hardly stomach more snow. Dylan Thomas wrote, “Do not go gentle into that good night but rage, rage against the dying of the light.” While I can’t say the snow feels like death, I do feel the rage at the dying of the light. Again.

The East has been hit by one more winter storm. While we only got six inches of snow it was enough to dash the spirit and ground the Vespa scooter.  Riding a scooter in snow is tricky business.Continue Reading