My Dog Junior Project

My dog Junior, this morning before work, exercising his god given right to chase balls until my hands and feet are numb.

I don't know how it happened but I suddenly began photographing Junior, well, sort of obsessively with my iPhone, Canon G9, Nikon D200 or D700, Leica M6, Mamiya 7, pretty much with whatever is at hand.

It's a good thing -- making pictures. And with so much snow falling lately the Vespa has been languishing in the garage. I almost made the mistake of riding to work this morning thinking there would be no snow until take today, and then only a short period this morning. Good thing I left the scooter at home.

Back to the My Dog Junior project. I like when something ignites a creative flame. Not sure where it will go. I decided to keep the dog pictures to a minimum. Just enough to soften you all up for a time when one of our daughters has a baby and I start posting pictures like all proud grandpas do.

Probably will fold Junior into the 3 Prints Project which is still moving along despite the fact that I have not posted any updates for a year or so. A long story there and will probably post something soon. Things fall through the cracks and on top of that I procrastinate a bit.

Ask Dave in Canada who is still waiting patiently for a print from last summer's free print giveaway. Or maybe he forget. I'll send it. It's sitting on my desk.

I'll post an occasional image of Junior here but if you want to see everything visit my Flickr site.

Or if you want daily reminders of the new canine imagery follow me on TWITTER.

That's a quick update and now I am going to head for the couch...

Only Idiots Ride in the Snow

Only idiots ride in the snow. Or so I've been told.

It was running through my head this morning when Junior and I headed out the door for a morning romp with the temperature hovering just below the zero mark. We found enough ice and snow here and there on the road to convince me to take the truck into town for a late morning meeting. I could have ridden but couldn't summon the adventurer. I had to be content hurling a tennis ball for 45 minutes while I got cold and Junior got warmed up.

Made the portrait of Junior with cold hands and the iPhone.

Not to say I haven't been on the road trying out the new Heidenau K66 LT Snowtex tires. They are everything I hoped for and more. For loose, unpacked snow they are pretty amazing. Almost no feeling of the front tire about to slip out. Just a solid, confident movement.

Keep in mind movement at a slow pace. If you think snow tires will let you race through snow on a road with traffic, well, think again. Or think, "Only idiots ride in the snow."

I got the tires to reduce the risk of sliding during the winter when the roads are mostly clear but cold, at temperatures where conventional tires loose traction. In that regard they're great. No idiocy here.

I also wanted to have the tires for those times when I unexpectedly am faced with snow on the road. The beginnings of a snowfall where I still need to get home. Times when the road is wet, slushy, or just beginning to be covered with snow. A temporary ride to get to shelter. Again, these tires make a big difference.

While they help in this sort of snow I have no illusions of their performance on ice, or even hard packed snow. The scooter isn't heavy enough to dig in and there is no magic in the tires. Any riding in those situations (and I've done it) is a fool's errand. You need to assume a lot of risk.

Unless you have one of those motorcycles with a sidecar.

But I like being out in the winter and for long periods of time the roads are largely clear. So why store the Vespa away to wait for spring. Careful planning, riding, technique, and the right equipment can make this time of year pretty nice.

Now I just need to work on getting my butt off the couch and ride. Maybe tomorrow morning. It should only be a few degrees below zero...

The Humble Rider

I found myself creeping along the alley which runs through the center of State College to avoid the more aggressive traffic on College Avenue.

There’s nothing like a 50cc scooter to amplify your understanding of the road. Wondering whether the speedometer will 35mph or if a few less potato chips would make help top speeds, a ride on a little scooter seems to unfold in slow motion. On the Honda Ruckus I could feel the desire to move, to rush, to get somewhere faster, quicker, get through traffic, leave things behind me, get away, get out in front, do anything other than wait for the scooter to get me to my destination.

It’s humbling to be at the bottom of the motorized kingdom. Only pedestrians and non-competitive bicycle riders go slower. Even my Vespa GTS has an engine five times bigger. I’ve found new respect for the small scooter and moped riders I see around town. And for guys like Walter Muma from Michigan who rode his moped nearly 12 thousand miles to Alaska and back, I can barely image the patience he must possess.

Every rider should periodically ride one of these little machines. They demand an entirely different focus and behavior than almost every other two-wheeled machine. Slow speeds force a focus on traffic flow, drivers, routes, and personal behavior. Like pulling over to let everyone pass. Or waiting for really big openings in traffic to pull onto a highway.

For the first couple days I took the roads less traveled. Aside from a super slippery seat on the Ruckus I found myself liking it more and more. As one of the machines in the Kissell Motorsports pre-owned category I found myself thinking about writing a check for $1200 and taking it home.

For rides around Boalsburg, through the streets and alleys to the post office or the Boalsburg Chocolate Company, what could be better.

As the temperatures descended in the 20s I began missing my heated gloves. I didn’t do any research on the capacity of the Ruckus to support electrics. Watching the kids play ice hockey in the cold I was remembered a time when I was impervious to the cold.

The Honda Ruckus is a little tank. I was surprise how solid it felt after first thinking of it as a glorified minibike, one of those WRENs from my youth. That would be the 1960s for me when I used to lay on my bed in my room with a copy of Boy’s Life dreaming of selling stationary from the Cheerful Card Company to earn enough money for a minibike, air rifle, and X-ray glasses.

The Ruckus has big, almost knobby tires, and they didn’t slip once as I began “riding through the woods.”

I rode through a lot of familiar territory with a 10-mile radius of home and found the little scooter up for anything as long as I was willing to accept such slow speeds. I’m certain the experience with the Ruckus has sharpened by riding wits. I’ve never thought mastering the machine was nearly as important as mastering my mind on the road and the scooter forces the issue. I know my place in the roadway kingdom. Easy to forget on a motorcycle that can propel a rider far ahead of the four-wheeled world.

Cutting through a field used mainly by dog walkers and kids taking a shortcut home from school I stopped to look at Mount Nittany, the iconic hill that Penn Staters pay allegiance and provides the namesake for the Nittany Lions. As a platform for exploring the Ruckus is great. And it is so unassuming that no one paid it any attention.

If you need people to look at you while riding cross this one off your list.

Here I am, 56 years old, and finally I have my minibike. At least for a few days. And it was as fun as I always thought it would be. Why didn’t my parents let me get one?

I like the looks of the Ruckus. It has the same rugged ugliness of a Jeep. And I bet it will go more places. If you have the time.

On the way back to Kissell’s to pick up my Vespa I stopped to photograph the little beast in front of the big mural along Calder Alley. It reflects the spirit that is ignited by this machine. Or any other small scooter I suspect.

I believe spending a riding life on big motorcycles leaves a rider incomplete. That little kid inside us doesn’t really connect with horsepower. It wants something else. Standing outside the window with the BMW S1000 RR looking out the window I was glad I had the chance to tool around on a Ruckus.