Riding at Dawn

There is no better time to ride than at dawn. To be present to watch the genesis of a new day. To be happy and alive and riding on the earth. Those minutes between the glow of light and the first rays of sunlight are magical regardless of how I experience them. Looking out across the landscape at a group of trees in the fog reminds me of how simple things are.

At dawn the roads are empty. I watch more for deer than for vehicles. The temperature was 62 degrees and chilly as it poured through my vented jacket and t-shirt. Stopping for pictures gave me a moment to warm. On this day the sun was scheduled to arrive at 5:50 and since I didn't get on the road until 5:40 I didn't have much time.

On Saturday morning I was off for a 60-mile ride to meet my father-in-law Bob and swap my Vespa GTS for his Vespa ET4. I was bringing the ET4 back for service at the local Vespa dealer Kissell Motor Sports. I was only 12 miles from home as the sun swept out across the landscape.

Patches of fog diminished the full force of sunlight and a few times disappeared as I rode through some areas of dense fog. Fog is challenging. My scanning behind me becomes as intense as ahead. Pre-planning exit strategies for things fore and aft are appropriate in these conditions. The fog didn't last long and the day was upon me.

Aside from a brief stop to inspect some water slides I rode directly to the meeting place and breakfast. Part of me wants to go back to those water slides when they're open. Seems wrong that they are wasted on kids. They can have fun with a cardboard box. I require a more refined experience.

The switch from the GTS to the ET4 was noticeable both in size of the machine and in performance. Acceleration was noticeably less, stability was reduced, and a comfortable cruising speed was lower. The human brain is a wonderful thing though and by the time I stopped at Gardners Candies in Tyrone for a treat the ET4 felt pretty much like the GTS.

I didn't stop much to shoot pictures on the way home. It was getting hot and the light was boring. I was reminded though of how easily the smaller scooter handles the road and can easily eat up miles all day long.

I'll make the trip again after the ET4 is serviced. At breakfast I met a friend of Bob's who has a new Triumph Bonneville that needs service. The next ride I may be shuttling a motorcycle instead of a scooter.

Rider in the Mirror

Most riders pay close attention to their machines; inspecting, checking, making sure everything is working as it should. But how often do we look in the mirror and make the same critical assessment of our riding expertise?

It’s rare for me to meet a rider who questions their skill or ability. More often I hear stories of feats of speed or disaster averted. Long trips, great rides and recollections of weather, roads and people. Consideration of how good a rider one might be just doesn’t come up. Self-assessment in general is a cloudy and sometimes painful process. A lot of ego is tied up with riding and denial may be easier than honest reflection.

A look in the mirror doesn’t mean much to me unless I have some standard or definition of what it means to be a good rider. One man’s good is another man’s terrible. Looking at myself I see some riding experience – around 17000 miles on a Vespa over the past three years in a wider range of weather and conditions. Two MSF riding classes. And a running pseudo-evaluation of sorts through Scooter in the Sticks. But that’s probably not the level of assessment necessary to really make sure I’m as good as I should be on the road.

I’ve noticed that as time on the scooter increases so does confidence. But that confidence may be unfounded and even dangerous. The once complete feet down stops get replaced by slow rolling stops at an intersection I’ve seen a hundred times. Or riding faster through familiar territory because I know what to expect. The guy in the mirror isn’t too bright. Still, there are things I consider positive.

Dress for the Ride

What does that actually mean? If I pretend to be an outlaw biker does it mean jeans, t-shirt, sunglasses, and boots? And if the need arises for head protection a bandanna neatly tied over the top of my head? Or shorts, t-shirt, and flip-flops for a sunny Sunday scooter ride? Both costume choices fit the stylization of some in those riding cultures. I’ve always thought physics trumps culture and make my own choices accordingly. Regardless of your choice of two-wheeled conveyance the physics are the same.

A body falling onto pavement at 45MPH pays the same price whether delivered from a Goldwing or a Vespa. A head meets a curb or tree. A knee or elbow bangs the asphalt. All possible events for any rider. Not inevitable but possible. When I look in the mirror the rider I see always has a yellow and black armored jacket, over the ankle boots, full helmet, gloves, and long pants (and usually armored ones on top of those). Dressed for the possible physics of the ride.

Noticing Stupid Things on the Road

I don’t mean bad spelling on yard sale signs or the price of gas. For me it’s: 1. speeders, 2. tailgaters, and 3. the oblivious driver (usually connected to a cell phone). I always think individuals engaging in those behaviors are just sort of, well, stupid. But what really gets me chuckling is seeing items 1 and 2 performed by a rider. I just don’t have the degree of faith in my fellows on the road to do it and am happy to report the man in the mirror free of those defects.

Strategic vs. Tactical Riding

I’ve always felt there is more to successful riding than good tactical skills – being able to physically manipulate a machine on the road. All that’s important but those skills are like individual puzzle pieces – without them being put together to form a bigger strategic picture they don’t add up to much. Looking in the mirror for a while I realize that I think a lot about the rides I take. Where I am going, the characteristics or the roads I will travel, traffic patterns, road hazards I am aware of and those I could possibly encounter.  Like the dump trucks that zip across the road at the quarry entrance in the picture below. When the weather is bad these considerations are even more intense. Riding may put me “in the moment” but my mind is constantly processing things into a larger picture.

How Do I Get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice, practice, practice. The rider in the mirror practices and experiments and pushes the skills envelop. I still seek out places to practice quick and sudden stops bringing the scooter to a halt right at the edge of skidding. I experiment with balance and slow tight turns. And I test my ability to manage the Vespa on a wide range of dicey surfaces. They keep my mind and body in tune with the machine.

Report Card

The rider in this mirror gets a C. I’m making good progress. I’m doing the things I should be doing to be a safe rider. I’m not trying to bring track skills to the highway or duplicate stunt skills in traffic. I want to continue to learn how to be capable and conscious of the things I can do physically and mentally to reduce risk and enjoy riding.

No Age Limit

From time to time I wonder how long I’ll be able to ride. It happened today while slogging along a grass road. Grass does a good job hiding ruts, groundhog holes, and other jarring obstacles for little scooter tires and nice taps and twinges to aging joints. It’s during those episodes that I can start feeling old.

This past year I’ve noticed subtle changes that affect riding. An active imagination can easily construct a doomed future. The end of riding and beyond. These changes come in the form of increased hand and wrist pain, reduced tolerance to cold, and increased resistance to riding in adverse conditions. When occupied in this mental arena I search for evidence of continued activity and accomplishment. At an art museum recently I was doing age calculations of the artists – subtracting their birth date from the date of a work’s creation hoping for evidence that good things continue to happen.

When I stumbled upon Piaggio’s marketing project – NO AGE LIMIT – I was thrilled to see two riders in their 70’s riding across America.

Buddy and Bob are riding MP3 500’s from San Francisco to New York. Last time I checked they were in the Midwest. It’s a nice story and they have lots of pictures, maps and information about the trip. For many the ride is the most interesting part of the story but for me it’s the fact that these guys are still out there riding. I’ve always had in the back of my mind that when I got older or less sure on my feet that I would opt for one of those three-wheeled wonders. I guess Piaggio was thinking the same thing.

Simple Living and the Pink Bike

Record fuel prices and evidence of an expanding waistline brought my old Schwinn Mirada bicycle into the light. When concerns related to riding a Vespa and its affect on masculine appearances are directed toward me they fall on the deaf ears of a man who has ridden a pink bike since the 1970's. For the two months that Scooter in the Sticks has been dormant I've continued to ride and think about things that come up on the road. Not always the typical topics. Of late I have been thinking more and more about ways to simplify my life. Reduce the noise and confusion attendant with too much stuff and too much to do with no hope of creating more time in a day.

The Vespa is a model of simplicity as a transportation vehicle. It's reliable, well made, stingy with fuel, and simple to operate. Being plain fun to ride is gravy. Economics aside it epitomizes simple transport and is surpassed in my mind only by walking or a bicycle. As it turns out I'm not ready to sign on to the pink bike as my primary mode of transport.

Riding the Vespa focuses my attention on what's happening -- what's in front of me and around me. It strips away all or most of the noise in my head as my brain focuses on what I need to do to ride safely. That kind of clarity is a gift. On the way home from the video store on Friday night I pulled off the road to look at the clouds after the sun had set. In that moment everything was simple and quiet. Those kind of Vespa moments make it easy to differentiate what is important and what is noise.

I've been reading about the 100 Things Challenge. A challenge to reduce the number of personal possessions to 100. The thought is daunting. The amount of stuff I have accumulated is depressing. Thinking about all the things piled in the garage, basement, and attic felt like a huge millstone around my neck. It's always there to be dealt with, organized, cared for, and managed. And most of it is never used. Some has never been used. Items or consumption that at one point in time I thought I could not live without. I think about this when I ride. On the road life is simple. I just want to extend that throughout my life.

The Reappearance of Posts

For the past two months I have read a lot of comments and references to the termination of Scooter in the Sticks. It was never my intent to terminate, merely to retreat for a while to focus on other things. And as things developed I would post again. I'm not sure how often but I prefer to think of Scooter in the Sticks as more indolent.

Anyways, it's been a nice vacation.

One New Adventure: Theoretical Agriculture

In response to questions about what direction my new adventures have taken I wanted to share a link to one of them – Theoretical Agriculture. It’s similar to Scooter in the Sticks in that I post pictures and text related the things I see and experience. The content grows from the landscape I work in as a photographer. I’m interested in developing my photographic skills and ability to bring a variety of approaches and styles to the assignments I shoot. The ritual of posting on a blog helpful in keeping me engaged in creating new work – a blog is a hungry animal.  I've talked with my boss about it and developed some guidelines and I'm ready to roll.

 Just as I did with Scooter in the Sticks and riding I plan to continue to create new content on a regular basis.  It's pretty simple to do since I am working so much with a camera anyways.  If you would like to follow along you might find some things of interest. And you know I’ll find some way to work the scooter into a picture.

I still have some riding dreams. If they should take shape or I find myself in a unique riding situation I will post it on Scooter in the Sticks. It’s not dead. I prefer to think of it as in hibernation or semi-retirement.

And there is a personal writing project I am finally going to sit down and work on. I have lots of notes and ideas. Now is the time to sit down at the computer and write. The riding experience plays a central role in the story but that’s all I’ll say.

Again, thanks to all of you who have read and posted here. It’s been great and there will still be something new from time to time.

Off on a New Adventure

No ride lasts forever and all stories come to an end. So it goes with creative projects and I think this one has come to an end, or at least a place where it's time to let it rest. I may post here now and again but for now my mind is traveling different roads.

A passage by T.S. Eliot comes to mind:

“In my end is my beginning.”

Best wishes to everyone for smooth roads and safe journeys!

Forging Ahead, Falling Behind

I decided to upgrade to the new Blogger layout templates. When they say you might lose some things they mean it. So bear with me as I slowly wade through my notes and see if I can restore links to sites, RSS feeds, and such.

The above picture started with me sitting in my office. Photographer Billie Mercer made the Mexican landscape image. During a discussion about the empty space I stuck myself in the picture. Another photographer, Frank Armstrong created the triptych. You never know what might happen to your pictures on the internet.

Hopefully that distracted everyone long enough for me to get Scooter in the Sticks back in order...

3 Prints Project: April 6, 2008

This week I gave the digital camera a rest and was back to shooting film. I use 35mm Ilford Hp5 processed in Kodak D-76 developer diluted 1:1 with water. I've been using D-76 for over 30 years now and it still gives reliable results. In case you are wondering how I fit this into my schedule I carry the Leica M6 around with me from Sunday until I have two rolls exposed. Generally I have that done by Wednesday or Thursday, process the film on Thursday or Friday evening, and print sometime during the day on Saturday.

It takes more patience than time. Shooting is incidental and done while doing other things. Processing the film takes about 45 minutes. Making three prints takes another hour or so. Depending on my mood and how the week goes this can seem easy or impossible. Luckily it doesn't matter how I feel. I just need to do it.

Still not sure where I am going with this project but I believe something good will happen. Photography remains a mystery to me a lot of the time.

So here are this week's pictures:

Kim at Barnes and Noble.

Twisted vines in bird paradise.

Trees in the wind at local park.

Secret Places in the Ordinary

I have driven or ridden by this place for over 25 years and never saw it.  It's a small ravine surrounded by trees in the middle of a farm field.  An ephemeral stream that runs into a grotto and disappears.  This place lives in the spring and vanishes as the world dries and the weeds grow up to hide it's secrets.  I've literally spent weeks of my life in this specific area but never managed to stop and walk into the trees to see what was hidden within.  The extent of my blinders never fails to amaze me.

This morning I had time for a short brisk ride under gray skies.  I chose a wet mud and stone road running along powerlines to explore.  I try and bring fresh eyes to places but what I see depends on where my head goes.  Thoughts of what I wanted to do today keep me from the empty mind that often works best when riding and making photographs.

A few miles down the road I decided that I really should get home and process film for my 3 Prints Project.  One last picture in the woods and I turned around to take a lazy ride home.

Riding through town I stopped to take one picture to demonstrate that there is some civilization in the sticks.  I've read a few references to Scooter in the Sticks lately that wonder aloud if there are any people or towns around.  Indeed there are and the pictures here are merely a representation of the places I'm drawn to.  Without much effort I bet I could produce Scooter in Hell with all the necessary traffic, bad roads, ugly places needed to convince someone how nasty it is to ride here.

I just try and make sure that I don't let the nastiness overwhelm the beauty that is all around and right in front of me.

3 Prints Project: March 30, 2008

This past week I have worked exclusively with the Canon G9 digital camera. I find myself exploring freely with it and pleased with the RAW files it produces. Since I am a couple days late posting these I have already run through a roll of film in the Leica and as I look at these I am aware of how different the experience is using the different cameras. I can't judge one approach better than the other. Just different for now.

Here are my three choices from last week's project shooting:

My wife Kim searching for stick people in the grapevines.

Agfa paper box and view from the coffee shop window.

Corner in downtown parking structure.

The Plain Ride

My rides are ordinary and often uneventful. If I don’t pay attention they can be boring.

Reading through a variety of motorcycle and scooter blogs the other day I realized that my rides are pretty plain. Nothing I do as a rider is beyond the reach of an enthusiastic beginner. I don’t push the performance envelope and I don’t ride long distances. My rather conventional use of the scooter for transportation and Sunday rides in the country have more in common with an Amish Buggy than the motorcycles and scooters I often read about. I’ve recently read about Matua’s plans for a 30 thousand mile ride crisscrossing North America as part of his Vespadition project to promote kindness, compassion and volunteerism. Or Sojourner's plans to ride in the South and address some fears and cognitive dissonance. I don’t undertake adventures like that. Perhaps someday but for now my riding is confined to commuting to work and the longer exploration as time permits. My riding world is closer to home and I have found that if I pay close attention, really look at what is around me, that those plain rides are new almost every time.

This morning I made a short detour before riding to work. Fog and mist seldom fail to excite my imagination and I covet any time I can spend in it. It was cold and damp though and the steady sprinkle had my hands soaked and aching in no time. The Gerbing Electric Gloves stayed stored away since they aren’t waterproof. Rides like this are akin to walks through a familiar park. If I pay attention each visit reveals new secrets.

The camera helps with revelations. Standing at the edge of the forest looking at the digital image on the back of the camera I was reminded of how much I like to be alone. Need to be alone. I take my solitude in large measures if I can. Each time I read about group rides and events I tell myself I should participate someday. Then I ride on alone.

On the way home from work I made a few more small detours that would bring me along a few open vistas. I stopped to make this picture of the gray sky overhead. I was surprised how insignificant the Vespa seemed in the landscape. I was careful managing that insignificance in the eyes of other drivers as I made my way home. Another plain ride.

A Good Deed

Walking to my scooter after work I saw Mike, a fellow Vespa rider, busily trying to kickstart his LX150. With earplugs in and helmet on I couldn't really hear anything when he demonstrated the sound the engine was making when he pushed the starter button. After taking them off it only took a second to determine he had a near dead battery.

I suggested jumping the scooter battery from a car. After a moment to convince him that the 12 volt system in the Vespa would be just fine with the car battery we got out the jumper cables and using the same technique one would use with a car brought the scooter to life.

In the winter if you aren't riding regularly a dead battery is common. It takes more than an occasional start of the engine and a few minutes of idling to keep the battery fully charged. A Battery Tender is in order if you aren't going to be out on the road at least weekly. At idle I think the Vespa headlight and tail light take more juice than the machine generates and won't help much to keep the battery fully charged.

The ride home tonight was sort of gloomy. Gray skies and mist in the air. I stopped for a gallon of milk at Meyers Dairy and got home just as the mist turned into a sprinkle of rain. I just can't wait for sun and warm air...

3 Prints Project: March 24, 2008

I wanted to skip the project this week. The desire to not shoot two rolls of film, mix developer, process the film, and make prints just seemed overwhelming. Even though I had the camera with me it took an act of self-will to shoot this week. Maybe it was a hectic schedule at work. Or more likely me shifting from slow to slower to stop. What ever it was I had to drag myself along.

I’ve felt the same about riding. Not just to work but riding in general. Sure, the weather isn’t all that great but it’s certainly reasonable weather. This morning I forced myself out the door on the Vespa. It was colder than I thought and I had to stop to put on a ski mask under my helmet. The temperature reading on the Vespa as the sun crept over the ridge was 21 degrees Fahrenheit.

I’m glad I forced myself out the door to ride and I’m glad I forced myself to shoot the film. I felt good once I was on the road and the same for the darkroom. My old brain is really good at convincing me I should take the easy road – in this instance drive the truck to work and skip the pictures. I can easily convince myself that the ride will be lackluster and the pictures insignificant. But you know what? None of that matters. Taking the ride, shooting the pictures, that’s what matters and that is what will feel good at the end of the day. I sure am ready for warmer weather though.

Here are the prints for this week.

Essa posing as a fine, soft snow falls

Sumac at intersection

Collection of winter debris and stuff in the deer den

2008 MBI Riders Choice Awards Announced!

The winners of this year's Motorcycle Bloggers International (MBI) 2008 Riders Choice Awards were announced and there were a couple of interesting results. The awards, voted by thousands of motorcycle riders in 77 countries, recognize significant achievements and serious lapses in judgment during 2007 by motorcycle and related product manufacturers, persons and organizations.

Piaggio continues to ride a wave of success with their new MP3 400 scooter which is nice to see. Someday I expect to ride one of those machines. And Lois Pryce won an award for her adventures on two wheels. You may remember her from an earlier post I did. But most interesting to me was the big thumbs down for the idea that Loud Pipes Save Lives. I was surprised to see voters around the world vote this way. I sort of thought that loud machines were the order of the day for most riders. Shows how much I know.

Here is a list of this year's winners:

MBI Riders Choice - Star Awards

- Object of Lust -- Ducati Desmosedici RR
- Best Concept Motorcycle or Scooter -- Honda Evo 6
- Best Manufacturer's Website -- BMW Motorrad
- Best New in 2007 Scooter -- Piaggio MP3 400
- Best New in 2007 Motorcycle -- Triumph Street Triple 675
- Most Environmentally Friendly Motorcycle - ElectricMoto Corporation Blade XT
- Wish We'd Thought of That -- KTM Bread Toaster
- Women Riders Booster of the Year -- Lois Pryce (20,000 mile solo ride, Alaska to the tip of South America on a 225cc bike)
- Thumbs Up -- Ewan McGregor/Charlie Boorman ( Enhanced image of motorcycle riders)

MBI Riders Choice - Fallen Star Awards

- Most Disappointing Motorcycle - Suzuki B-King
- Thumbs Down -- Loud Pipes Save Lives
- What Were They Thinking -- Babecage
- Worst Manufacturer's Website -- Cycleport/Motoport

The Riders Choice Awards are unique in that the nominees and winners are chosen by every day riders around the world, not by professional journalists. The awards reflect the judgment of the motorcycle buying public, not motorcycle industry insiders.

Anyone could vote, there was no restriction on age, gender or country. Even non-riders could vote. No registration, nor email addresses were required. However, a system of storing and analyzing IP addresses was put in place to minimize duplicate voting.

About MBI
MBI (whose motto is "Riding and writing is what we do") is a group of 161 international motorcycle weblog authors from China to Chile.

Membership is open to any motorcycle rider who maintains an active motorcycle-related Internet weblog or news web site with original commentary. With a combined readership over 5 million readers per month, the awards represent a true feeling what lives amongst the biker communities. The awards are not given by professional journalists, commercial publications or companies, but by the public.

More information about MBI, its members and the complete list of nominees will be found at the MBI web site http://www.mbiweb.org/.

3 Prints Project (Digital): March 17, 2008

This post marks a modification in the project format. Beginning last week I started shooting digital pictures and plan to alternate between digital and film. For the digital weeks I'll shoot at least 100 digital pictures, then the next week 2 rolls of black and white film. I'll do this for at least a year. Or so the plans go right now.

This change is the result of a gentle suggestion by a friend who believes my working in film might be limiting me. He proposed working digitally would allow me to release the tight control I exert when shooting film. A quick look at my contact sheets bears out that theory. I wasn't sure if I should make the switch and posted the question on a forum I belong to for additional feedback and the digital/film question is as active as the motorcycle/scooter one is. If you want to have a look at that discussion check out The Empty Mind -- Film vs. Digital.

At the end of the first week I've noticed differences. That's strange considering how much work I do professionally with a digital camera. But for personal pursuits it's like none of that counts. I made 242 exposures, more than triple the amount I make with film. Perhaps I am not hearing the money adding up the same way I do with film. And there is color to take into account. And I've noticed I shoot more verticals digitally. Not sure what that's all about.

I'm still looking at what I've shot and trying to figure out what's going on. It's sort of an exciting puzzle for me. It was difficult to make three selections from everything I shot. That's probably another learning opportunity. So here are the selections from the first week of digital:

15 year old Essa posing for a portrait upon returning from a morning walk

Empty parking deck after work

Tree near research greenhouse

Gray Skies, Cheap Fuel, and Mud

An odd mixture adds up to fun on the Vespa. Wasn’t sure what the weather would be like when I crawled out of bed but a quick look out the window had me reaching for my Tourmaster riding pants. A quick shower, a walk with the dog to inspect the garden, a few dog biscuits and a fast wrestle in the livingroom was all I had to do before rolling the Vespa out and heading down the road. First stop was the ATM for some cash. Second stop was my favorite Sunoco station to fill up the tank with high octane fuel. The Vespa never fails to impress me at the pump. Paying for $5.24 of gas is so much nicer than the typical $56.00 for the Ford Ranger.

With little traffic on a Sunday morning I was heading down the valley with a long, looping ride in mind. Even though the temperature was a reasonably warm 42° Fahrenheit I still wore the Gerbing Electric Gloves. My hands have hardly uttered a complaint all winter. Stopping to make the above picture I gazed at the mountain side and the snow still draped along the ridge wondering if the mountain roads would be freeze of ice. They can get pretty bad and I remembered driving a Jeep down one shaded road once with the driver side door open so I could jump out before the thing went over the edge and into a ravine. Unexpected ice covered roads on a steep incline were too much for a Jeep without chains or studs. No reason to tempt fate with the Vespa.

With the snow mostly gone, lots of rain, and slowly warming temperatures the fields look as if they are ready to spring to life. Before leaving this morning I saw lots of green pushing up out of the ground. In a few more weeks the world will be a different place.

Riding across the valley I had the road to myself. I still pay close attention for traffic though especially when I stop to make a picture. With the helmet still on and earplugs in I really need to rely on my vision because I’m not going to hear tire noise creeping up on me. Snow was still piled along the roads in wooded areas that don’t get the wind to help with evaporation.

Ever the master of good choices I choose a dirt road to explore. Make that mud. It wound through one of the larger State Gamelands but it wasn’t much fun pushing the scooter so much. And the Pirelli tires are just worthless in mud. I managed less than a mile before my mind (and stomach) suggested I head towards an eating establishment for breakfast.

I stopped at the Pump Station for a Jump Start --- eggs, bacon, and cheese on a bagel, and some orange juice. It’s nice and just sit alone and watch the world go by. At times like that I don’t have a care in the world. I couldn’t pass up a picture of the buffalo clock. There was one with a horse too I think but the buffalo caught my fancy. It’s been a few years since any of those roamed naturally here.

It was a short Sunday morning ride. Maybe 35 miles. Warm weather and months of things falling from our trees meant I needed to start raking and getting ready for the rush of new growth. It’s good honest work. As I type now just about all body parts are crying. I’m either getting old or out of shape in ways I cannot imagine. Riding just isn’t much in the way of physical exercise. Maybe if I had kept on that mud road things would be different…