Scooter in the Sticks

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

Riding a Vespa Scooter in Winter

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Vespa GTS scooter on a snowy roadVespa Scooter in the Snow

This photograph is from a snow storm ride last March.  Strangely, I enjoyed the challenge of it.  And importantly, I wasn’t cold.  But things change.

And it’s affecting my winter riding.

The scooter is willing but the rider is weak. Riding a Vespa scooter in winter isn’t rocket science. It’s just a matter of configuring the machine in a way to help accommodate the cold. Could mean a windscreen, Termoscud apron, winter tires, heated grips or any of a wide range to tricks and solutions to address the special circumstances encountered when you ride a Vespa scooter in winter.

Or a motorcycle or any other device or machine that exposes you to the elements.

That’s the easy part. I know how to do those things. And I have a pretty good handle on the mental stuff as well. All the subtle and not so subtle adjustments you have to make to your riding style. Or techniques you develop to deal with unexpected or sudden encounters with snow or ice.

Check. I’m good with that stuff.

But there’s one last thing that’s just killing me. I can’t get warm.Continue Reading

Vespa in Winter

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Vespa GTS scooter on frosty roadCold Start

I’ll try to resolve two truths that seem in opposition with each other. One, I don’t like being cold. And two, I choose to ride through the winter. They only seem opposed because most riders think you can’t ride in cold weather without getting cold.

That’s the challenge. Or part of it anyway. The Vespa in winter.

A few mornings ago I headed out with the thermometer indicating 29F. Cold enough to remind me it’s not as simple as I thought. Riding in cold weather demands work. For me, in these three areas:

Gear — the stuff that keeps you safe and warm.
Skill — the ability to manage the cold and the risk of snow and ice safely.
Mental — the drive to ride regardless of the weather.

Gear and skill are essential but the easiest to acquire. Money, time and practice will get you where you need to be.

The mental stuff — that’s a different story. After twelve years of winter riding — it’s only gotten harder.

When I started riding in the cold I could physically endure a lot more than I can now.
Thinking back to sub-zero rides, warming my hands with headlights and exhaust gas makes me shiver. I could do things then by force of will. Now my body can’t, or won’t go where my brain wants to lead it.

Despite the blue skies and bright sunshine it was cold enough, especially in shadowed areas, to have a little frost and ice on parts of the road. I had to tell myself to slow down and not assume the bright sky meant dry pavement.Continue Reading

Vespa Snow and the Fading Days of Winter

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Vespa snowVespa Snow

More snow during the night — not what a rider wants to see in the morning.  A quick walk to the end of the driveway showed the street to be mostly wet.  Coupled with the promise of the temperature rising above the freezing mark another winter ride on the Vespa seemed in order.

Looking at the snow covering the car, trees and house had me thinking the snow-covered hills and trails outside of town would be a winter wonderland.Continue Reading

Vespa in Freezing Weather

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The Vespa starts right up in freezing weather, my brain not so much…

Vespa in freezing weatherAt the beginning of the cold-weather riding season an adjustment is in order — for me at least.  I don’t worry much about the Vespa and instead focus on the subtle ways my mind works to avoid the cold.  Perhaps it’s merely a form of homeostasis that struggles to preserve comfort.  As the years progress and a new season of cold arrives I have to work a little harder to ride the Vespa in freezing weather.

Accept the Obvious

Some might say I’m in denial and that my mind and body is trying to tell me not to ride.  Or that I really don’t enjoy being out on the scooter of a crisp, bright morning in bracing air. The resistance I’ve encountered from others to cold-weather riding ranges from philosophical beliefs on the subject bordering on fanaticism to garden variety disbelief or head-shaking at the thought of riding when it’s not warm.

I got up this morning with only a sense that I could ride.  As I moved through the morning rituals to prepare to depart for work the clear skies and lack of wind allowed me to slowly move toward a two-wheeled departure.  By the time I came back in the house after 30 minutes of dog action I was moving my riding gear toward the cast-iron radiator to begin warming up.

After making the photograph of the scooter with the frosty window I paused to walk out to the road and think about ice.  At 27F, despite the dry weather of late, riding would demand an extra measure of observation and care in riding.

Vespa parked in morning sunAlone with Your Thoughts

A stop on the way to work to visit the chiropractor for some final touch-up work on my back.  In the office, thinking about how long it has taken me to recover after this latest lumbar event, I could hear my father saying, “It’s hell to get old boy.”.

Boy.  My name forever with my dad.  I don’t remember him ever calling me anything different.  Even when introducing me.  “That’s my boy.”.

Funny what comes into your head when you’re alone.

Vespa GTS scooter on gravel roadRising Above Freezing

On the way to work the temperature quickly climbed above the freezing mark and combined with the bright sun to bamboozle my brain into thinking it was warm.  I’ve had a few concerns since my heart attack about how well I would be able to handle cold-weather riding but so far it’s not been an issue.  The only thing I’ve had to wrestle with is the usually mental resistance that I generally categorize as laziness.  The more I ride in the cold though the hardier I become.

Bring on the winter — I’m ready to ride the Vespa in freezing weather.  Big talk for someone sitting in an easy chair in a toasty living room.

The next few days promise some warmer weather so I may see some fellow riders but I won’t hold my breath.  The few I’ve spoken with already have Stabil in their gas tanks and are storing their machines in anticipation of spring.

A sad state of affairs.  I think…

 

Seasons of the Soul

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Vespa GTS scooter on a forest road

Struggling to focus my thoughts about a cold morning ride in the central Pennsylvania forest I heard my wife talking out loud about a book she was downloading — The Seasons of the Soul: The Poetic Guidance and Spiritual Wisdom of Hermann Hesse — and everything became clear.

It was 38F when I woke with a steady wind and forbidding sky made riding the Vespa scooter seem foolish and when it began to snow only the simpleminded would venture forth from the coziness of a warm home.  It’s the kind of thinking that the cold season provokes in me — a sacrifice of mental wellbeing for physical comfort.    The mental process is indicative of one of the seasons of the soul.

Vespa GTS scooter parked outside the Ski Patrol office

The light over the Ski Patrol office at Tussey Mountain Ski Resort is a sure sign winter is near. Lately it’s been dark when I get ready for work and dark again when leaving the office for home which makes the sun more distant than the season already does.

With my cold weather gear in place and my brain coaxed into place the pilot light of desire bloomed into a hot flame as I moved through the winding forest roads of Rothrock State Forest.  And I thought about something I read about how a person might think about how their life is going.

Of the ten messages shared the first stayed with me — you’re alive!

Regardless of what has happened or will happen, being alive is better than the alternative.  And it’s a precious gift far too easy to take for granted.  Being on the road gives me the space to think about all the moments that should be seen with gratitude rather than those that haven’t happened.

Or weather that’s not warm and cozy.

Vespa GTS on a narrow gravel forest road

I’m alive.  I’ve survived a serious heart attack and the accumulation of age on my body.  I can’t do the things I once was able and some dreams are in the rear view mirror.  But still there is mystery and adventure ahead because I don’t know what’s around the bend.

Riding on these narrow little forest roads is fun because I never know what I’ll see — a flock of wild turkeys or a bear, or a glistening sliver of water tracing through a cathedral of hemlock trees. There’s no place I would rather be.

An infant reaching toward the camera

The road took me to my granddaughter Emma and I like to think her reaching toward the camera is really her way of saying, “Grandpa, give me the keys to the Vespa.”

By the time Emma is old enough to ride I’ll be 76 years old.  It’s possible I’ll still be around but there’s no predicting what will happen.  I’ve still not wrapped my head around the natural cycle of life with my daughter and granddaughter.  I understand it but at some level it remains impossible that the world has spun round so many times.

Vespa GTS scooter near Meyer farm.

A scene on the way home, one of the many winding rural roads that the scooter can soar along like a bird.

I’ve always felt it important to feel passion for something.  It doesn’t really matter what, just something that keeps the mind and body in motion and not surrender to the television or easy chair collecting regrets like so many extra old socks.

The Vespa, my Vespa scooter, is like bacon to my dogs.  I want it.  I almost drool thinking about it.  At 1:16am it seems entirely reasonable to go for a ride into the night just to be on the road. I have no right to have such desire.  I have no idea if other riders feel this way.  But I know it’s a good thing and keeps the fire of being alive bright regardless of the seasons of the soul I may find myself amidst.

My god, what a great day it’s been…