Scooter in the Sticks

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

Is It Time to Stop Scooter Riding in Winter?

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Is riding a Vespa in winter only for the young? I wonder…

An April Snow Squall

It’s hard to figure that one day the temperature is 70F and a couple days later it’s snowing again. That’s the kind of April we’ve had.

I went for a ride during the last squall to run a few errands and I was left with the feeling that I’ve had enough winter riding. Perhaps it is age, or a particularly bad day mentally, but whatever was in play had me bemoaning the difficulties of riding in winter.

On this ride it was particularly cold — right around the freezing mark. And the snow wasn’t piling up on the road. But the temperature, moisture, and slush had an effect. The visor was difficult to keep clear and the slush was bad enough that I could feel a wheel slip now and then. I just was tired of the fight.

I made a video of my reactions and thoughts about winter riding. It may be my last. Or at least the last ride in snow I make. I say that now. Who knows what next winter will bring.

15 Years of Winter Riding

Stubborn Winter and Riding

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Snow and ice on car windshield.
Fresh ice and snow dashed any hopes of riding.

Riding Hopes Dashed

Before I opened my eyes I could hear the snowplow clawing along the pavement, telling me there would be no time on the scooter or motorcycle today. I’m weary of the cold air biting at my flesh, the gray skies drowning the color from my sight, the realization I’ve become a prisoner of the harsh whims of nature.

The dreaded wintry mix had arrived and there was nothing I could do. Winter and riding regress into memory and on into myth. I’m so tired of it all.

Yet I realize I am powerless over the weather. Winter and riding are merely a pipe dream of an adventurer growing smaller in my rearview mirror. I’m sliding toward fair-weather riding and I don’t like it.

I need to ride.

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A Winter Ride

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The following words and pictures were written and created by my friend and fellow Vespa rider, Andy Heckathorne. His winter ride experiences offer vicarious adventure as I sit at home with a hot cup of tea.

Steve Williams
Vespa GTS scooter on snowy road
Vespa GTS300 on a winter ride near Madisonburg, Pennsylvania.

In Trying Times, I Need to Ride.

I need the thrill of exploration and the shock of freezing temperatures. I need the healing sounds of a mountain stream. I need to face the winter sun and see the hot pink behind closed eyes. And I need to feel the sun on my face. I need a winter ride.

Passing unknown friends during a winter ride with a wave of unity, embracing my tribe of “Fellow Travelers,” I feel at home. My senses sharpen as I scan the monochromatic landscape craving color and gratitude, and finally finding both. I need the hours of solitude a ride can provide where I can reflect on the gifts I’ve been given in life and ponder the who I want to be in this world.

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Reacquainted with Winter Riding

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Snow covered garden
The view in our garden the morning after the first big snow storm in two years.

Underestimating the Cold

A clear, sunny morning after fresh snow clouds my judgment. The cold and snow seem light and a mere trifle to deal with. It’s that thinking that leads me to underestimate the cold and wander out of the house unprepared for what nature has in store. Every year I step into the same trap after the first snow. And because I usually decide to take a ride on the Vespa scooter, I have to get reacquainted with winter riding.

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Scooter Porn and Other Tales

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Vespa scooter porn picture at sunrise
Scooter porn or documentary evidence of a cold morning ride. Perhaps both.

Scooter Porn at Sunrise

A strong beam of sunlight sweeps across the landscape. The Vespa is paused along the road, engine running, heated grips growing warmer in the sub-freezing chill. Frost crunches underfoot as I walk across a pasture searching for the right composition for another portrait of my Vespa GTS scooter. Pulling off leather gloves to use the camera puts bare flesh to the cold metal body of my Canon G15 camera. Hands chill quickly until the composition and exposure are right and I make a photograph that feels like that morning on the road.

Scooter porn. I’ve become what my mother pleaded with me not to do when I told her when I dropped out of college that I was going to be a photographer — someone who shoots porn. And now it seems I’ve become a producer and purveyor of scooter porn.

I’d decided the previous evening that I was going for a ride in the morning because the weather forecast promised a high of 40 degrees. A fine day for a winter ride. But just a few miles from home I was already wondering when the bright sunshine would drive away the sub-freezing air.

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