Scooter in the Sticks

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

Fueled by Desire

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Vespa GTS scooter on gravel farm roadRestless on the Road

A ride can begin without goal or expectation — just a twist of the throttle and touch of the bar fueled by desire for movement and motion, a flash of vision as the landscape sweeps by.  And before long you’re miles from home.

Sunday morning began in uncertainty for I wasn’t sure if I wanted to ride, walk with my camera or just go to church.  There are days when I feel restless yet unfocused, at least regarding a plan of action.  At sunrise I was in the garden with the dogs making photographs between requests to heave a tennis ball and recognitions of glowing portions of our naturalized landscape.

Photography is a compulsion, a condition I recognize requires periodic purging lest I become irritated by visual overstimulation.  It’s as if my eyes collect more information than my brain can manage and the camera serves as a tool too download and provide space to function.  I’ve taken part in group photo sessions where a number of camera wielders in a single location all work to “photograph” the place and later share what they saw.  Seeing that work gives you an idea of how differently people see the world.

I suffer by the visual.

The Vespa scooter and I traveled south down the valley toward Spruce Creek along winding roads and farm paths.  The combination of light and sky, field and road agitated the eye and led to a growing ride fueled by desire to see and experience nothing in particular, everything in general.  What started as no ride at all quickly turned into something I had to force to an end due to time and other commitments.

Deja vu — standing on the gravel road looking off toward the lone tree; I’ve been here many times to make a photograph of the tree from this same perspective.  I have a contact print in my office of a view made with an 8×10 Zone VI camera.  And probably a dozen images of a Vespa or motorcycle including an early one made during an Altoona trek on the LX150.

By the time I arrived at this place near Seven Stars, Pennsylvania I had stopped a dozen times to make photographs and was in a rhythm that I can’t call riding or photography — just a ritual dance with camera and scooter.  It moves in fits and starts. It’s fueled by desire for recognition, understanding and something I can’t define.

The “ride” a private experience and responsible for my reluctance to ride with others — in part embarrassed to put my compulsive behavior on display, but mostly because I’ll grow annoyed finding anyone in the way of eye and camera, scooter and road.

I made about seventy photographs during the ride and have been sifting through the experience, making notes, looking at the pictures, wondering what it was all about.  Perhaps something will come of it worth sharing.

For now, just a single image made with my iPhone and processed with Google’s Snapseed app.  A Vespa on a gravel farm road under a sky of drama.

Just the way I like it.

Destination for Next Ride

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Vespa on gravel roadWhere Am I Headed?

After a month of posting daily to Scooter in the Sticks I need to pull off the road for gas and look at the map. Not sure where I’m headed or what I hope to see along the way. Riding home from work today had me thinking about a direction.

And that it’s still cold.

For a long time I’ve been content to let things unfold without plans or interference on my part. It’s how I decided to participate in the Brave, Bold Blogger Challenge 2016. That and a sometimes no-well-thought-out response to ideas and projects that “seem” creatively challenging.

I won’t rise quickly to paint the bathroom, but 29 posts in 29 days – count me in.

Being completely honest, I learned a lot about myself, my ideation and writing abilities, and was rewarded with some interesting web data about reactions to post subjects and frequency. Not sure if all bloggers do this but I monitor traffic on a variety of blogs and websites of which I admire the voice and content and measure my traffic against them. There’s no real reason to do this, I’m not selling anything or trying to attract sponsorship opportunities. Perhaps it’s the little part of me that harbors some inkling of competition.

So when I received a message a few days ago about what I was trying to accomplish here and how I may be able to do that without posting frantically I was left wondering what my goals are with Scooter in the Sticks.

Goals.

Goals?

Makes sense only if I connect the time I spend riding, making photographs and writing as a means to an end. Can’t that be the end itself? A labor of love.

Maybe.

When pushed I can devise a goal: Create an engaged readership to which I can market my Scooter in the Sticks book. If I ever write one.

Or: Share the cosmic experience of riding a Vespa.

No?

Vespa GTS scooter and pile of dirty snow and iceAllure of Abjection

Behaviors are hard to break. Riding home today I had to stop to look at a large, filthy pile of snow. I could never pass up a pile of trash along the road, tailings at a mine or debris collections of almost any kind. “Evidence of something” echoes in my head as the collective call of discovery.

I first heard the term “abjection” in art school as discussions took place around some of the more controversial art in America boiled — artists like Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, Louise Bourgeois, Carolee Schneemann, Collier Schorr and others upsetting the status quo of beauty.  But that depressed, gloomy look of certain places was always attractive — beauty is in the eye of the beholder. These piles of dirty snow are as lovely as the sweeping dunes of White Sands.  Maybe I’ll travel another photographic road.

Where the road leads now I can’t say. A glut of Vespa maintenance tasks await along with a spring cleaning of the garage and reassignment of a snowblower. So any plans may drift in limbo for awhile.

The next ride could be interesting.

Vespa GTS and US322 road signsJust Ride

Sometimes seeing a sign that says “East” or “West” can trigger a strong desire to just ride into the sunset. (Or sunrise depending on choice).  I’ve been itching to put hundreds and hundreds of miles behind me to embrace the cleansing nature of a long ride.  The wind slowly dries my brain of the sloshing thoughts that do more to irritate than enlighten and can transform an easy commute into a tedious mental exercise.

“Just ride” has been ringing in my head.  My friend Paul has been offering opportunities and plans.  Maybe it’s time for the next ride.

Blog be damned for the moment.

Eating Oranges

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Navel orange held in gloved handAppetite Suppressant

There’s something about a pair of dirty old deerskin riding gloves that transforms a luscious navel orange into an ugly orange orb hardly fit for eating.  As much as I like my old riding gloves — they haven’t aged gracefully.

For a long time bananas were by fruit of first choice for a Vespa ride.  Easy, compact and delicious.  Monkey grips. But lately I’m been reaching for the orange.  Eating oranges helps keep me away from unhealthy roadhouse choices.  I mus always remember, an orange a day keeps the doctor away.

Hmmm, that doesn’t rhyme…

Vespa GTS on a winter rideSunshine Replacement

Not every winter ride takes place in the sunshine.  Drag an orange along and you have all the sunshine you need in a bright little ball.

Eating oranges makes a ride just a little sweeter.

Scooter for Everyday Living

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If you have doubts about the utility of a scooter for everyday living I think this video will change how you think about them.  It’s a look back at scooters in the early 1960s in Great Britain.

After watching the video I was surprised at the size and scope of the scooter culture that had developed and wondered about the barriers for a similar embrace of a scooter for everyday living in the United States.  Low fuel prices coupled with a general tendency for people to want bigger, more powerful machines and it’s easy to understand why we don’t see more scooters.

My Seven Types of Riding Weather

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Steve Williams with his Vespa GTS scooterConsidering the Weather

Weather is a constant consideration when riding though the precise nature of the weather affects how much attention I give it.  Even during the warm months the local weather can change dramatically during the day.  More than once I’ve been caught without adequate protection when a hot day turned remarkably cool after the sun went down.  Or tree lined roads winding along cold water creeks were far cooler than the open road under full sun.  Move into the cooler months and on into winter and at times I feel like a meteorologist.

To think about all this I divide riding weather into seven categories to help physically and mentally prepare for a ride.  It’s almost instinctual now but the mental checklists help avoid being caught in circumstances that are uncomfortable or dangerous.

Motorcycle rider cooling off on a 100F dayHeat

Made this photograph on my way home from a BMW rally in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.  A bright summer day with brutal temperatures at and above 100F.  I soaked myself thoroughly from heat to foot with water before leaving the rally for the 90 mile ride home.  Less than 10 miles out I was bone dry, parched and sweating profusely.  The wind blast at 55 mph was hot and miserable and had me stopping every ten miles to down another bottle of water.

When I see the forecast indicating temperatures above 80F I make sure I have lots of water and wear fully vented riding gear including gloves.  I also make sure to stop often regardless of my desire to tough it out.  Dehydration comes on fast in high heat.

And remember, all of these weather accounts are unique to me.  Every rider will have a different level of physical and mental tolerance.  What’s important, I think, is for you to find yours.

Vespa GTS scooter in the rainRain

Riding weather that calls for rain has me thinking of gear, temperature and the estimate of rainfall (intensity).  Staying dry is more critical in the rain at 35F than it is at 80F but both can fell an unprepared rider when fingers and joints get cold and cease to function as expected.  And if my core gets cold that spells danger because I’ll be focused on trying to fight the cold rather than pay attention to the road.

Riding in the rain can be pleasant if there’s not a lot of traffic to content with.  Estimating what will be encountered on the road is an important consideration for me.  And like most bad weather or situations that impair visibility — I have to slow down.  Easy for me but seemingly difficult for other riders and most drivers.  That mismatch in speed on the road is something to think about.

Vespa GTS scooter in the fogFog

I love riding in fog because of the visual mystery and magic in presents.  I also realize the risk is greater that other drivers won’t see me.  Or me them.  As with rain, I consider where I’ll be riding, the amount and speed of traffic, and the density of the fog.  There have been a few rides where I should have stayed home because I couldn’t see 50 feet in front of me.  That’s not a common fog here in central Pennsylvania.

Vespa LX 150 in winter at Seven Stars, PennsylvaniaCold

I consider cold weather to be anything below 40F down to -15F. That’s the cold weather riding range for central Pennsylvania. Physically it’s easily managed with the right gear. Mentally it’s more difficult and fraught with myth, fear and demands on expertise and behavior.

Cold affects a body.  If you can’t keep the cold air out and your body warm best stay at home.  It also affects traction.  Tires that are nice and sticky in warm weather can be surprisingly slippery on cold bare pavement.  It requires an adjustment in riding approach, even with a scooter.

All of this holds down below zero.  The only thing I’ll add is that I worry about the battery in real cold weather, especially if the scooter is sitting while I stop to eat.  To be sure I always have enough starting power I always carry an AntiGravity battery in the topcase.

Vespa GTS scooter on snowy roadSnow

Snow is generally, for me at least, the unfortunate occurrence when you ride in the cold.  I don’t often venture out when it’s snowing unless I’m absolutely convinced the nature of the snow and the amount is manageable.  Wet snow around the freezing mark is more treacherous than dry snow at 20F.  Having snow tires on the scooter makes a big difference as well.

My advice on riding in the snow?

Don’t.

sheet ice on the road during a Vespa scooter rideIce

This is just plain unpleasant but like snow something that can occur when riding in the cold. Personally, I prefer snow over ice but that’s just me. This scene appeared the morning after a warm thaw on the previous day with lots of water running across the road in lots of places.  During the night that water froze solid creating awful challenges to navigate walking over let alone riding.

I had to flat foot a step at a time with the engine off to get the Vespa across these hazards.  Can’t imagine doing it with a tall or heavy motorcycle.

If you’re riding, especially on a long trip in the winter, you’ll likely encounter things like this.  If you whip around a curve and encounter this, well, you’ll probably meet the pavement.

Vespa GTS scooter on a rural road in summerPleasant Riding Weather

This is my physical sweet spot for riding – 40F through 80F.  I can deal with any typical weather presented short of a tornado or lightning storm with two sets of gear — warm weather and cold.  The expertise has been honed from slow and deliberate experimentation and with it the requisite mindset to keep myself safe.

If you’re a Memorial to Labor Day rider you’ll likely only have to deal with heat and rain.  Push far before or after those dates and you’ll need to think about a lot more potential situations.

I have my own taxonomy and definition of riding weather conditions.

Do you do something like this too?