Two Evenings at Piston and Pints

View from the inside of Ken Hull's Moto Shack and Lounge in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.  Took this a couple weeks ago at the first Piston and Pints event of the 2013 season.  The pictures below will give you an idea of the event.  Pictures were made on May 2nd and May 16th.

If you haven't ventured into Boalsburg on the first and third Thursday of the month to join the Piston and Pints crowd you should at least think about it.

Without further ado I'll share some of the pictures I made.

Just one of many vintage machines that appear at Piston and Pints.  I could covet one of these if it had disc brakes.

Dave Dix and his BMW GS.  Great bike.  He had to leave early.  I think he was heading to Antarctica or something like that.  Those BMW riders...

Mike Mohney, faculty member in Penn State Ag Science's landscape contracting program, surprised me by showing up on a cool, two-stroke, Yamaha cafe racer.  Those tires are fantastic.

Camera optics are funny.  I think.  Either that or Ken is really tiny or that fellow is really big.

I think it's the lens...

Robert eats salad and rides a Harley.  I should have told him it doesn't fit the image HD works so hard to develop.  Salad seems more of a Vespa thing.

Paul Ruby on May 2, 2013.  He bought the Ducati jacket from another rider attending the event.  Ken's Moto Shack and Lounge building makes a good backdrop for a portrait.  Thinking I need to start making portraits of everyone who attends.  A new photo project perhaps...

Well look, that's me...

The Piston and Pints Library.

A Honda CB cafe racer conversion.

Ken Hull took time from his busy day to demonstrate the correct way to apply condiments to a hot dog.

Paul D. Ruby, Ducati, BMW and Vespa rider, Ferrari owner, and recent acquirer of a Nikon D800.  That's why he's smiling.

More than one Vespa at Piston and Pints on May 16.  Still rare though.

Postcard From the Sticks

Last week, a foggy morning on the way to work, a nice little ride across the far east end of the Penn State campus at University Park.  On days like this a Vespa makes life a little sweeter...

Relentless Obsession

Author Thomas Wolfe wrote in his novel You Can't Go Home Again, “I have to see a thing a thousand times before I see it once.” I understand the idea.

Over the years I've made thousands of pictures of my wife, dog, Vespa and the landscapes I frequent -- a relentless, obsessive pursuit that many don't understand while others dismiss as some irrational action of one of those "creative people".

For years I've been venturing out on Sunday mornings, often riding the same routes looking at the same scenes. And I still see something new every trip, feel something a bit different, experience reality in a slightly altered manner.  So I keep riding and making pictures.

And Junior feels left out, wondering what attraction that silver contraption holds.  I remind him that I make a lot of pictures of him as well, thousands in fact, and still I haven't seen him well.

A ride up Calder Alley in State College, Pennsylvania last Sunday morning.  New stories playing out, everything a bit different -- special in its own way.

Riding across a valley I've traversed for forty years and I still find places I've not seen.  A short walk to the top of a weed covered promontory where I can survey this new place, take in the the sight, this time for the first time, another 999 visits to go before I see it.

Riding the Vespa, a means to an end, a part of a thousand journeys.  I keep trying to see these places and I'm not done yet.

So I'll keep the camera handy and keep riding.

A Fine Day to Ride a Vespa

Rain over Mount Nittany this morning, an iconic landscape associated with Penn State, as seen on my way to work this evening.  I could see the fog and rain passing over the mountain as I walked the dog this morning and planned to make a picture.  Gray skies and mist are good for riding and photography.

By the time I returned home this evening the rain had passed but the sky still held on to that fairyland feeling that often sweeps overhead with a change in weather.  The red light in the distance was the tail lights of a car or truck at the edge of the woods.  Not sure what they were doing back there but didn't feel like finding out.

A quick picture and I was on my way, minutes from home, with three Mexi-Hots from Meyer Dairy Store.  When I was a student (in 1972) there was a place called Pop's Mexi-Hots in State College, Pennsylvania selling the luscious little hot dogs with mustard, chili and onions.  Joe Meyer acquired the recipe when Pop went out of business and a faithful few still show up to have one now and again.

I could myself as one of the faithful.

Ride, Work, Ride

Morning mental checklist -- weather report -- rain, might need van, lots of stuff to take to work, van makes sense.  Check, check, check and check.  All adds up to riding the Vespa.  Standing in the driveway with all my junk piled on the scooter I knew I was making the right decision.

Rides to work can be absolutely ordinary with the highlight of the trip at stop at Subway for a takeout breakfast.  Yet peering out the window this morning I knew I'd see the world differently had I arrived at this spot via a Honda van.

Self portrait.

And then the workday is over.  A stop on the way home, a path I've ridden hundreds of times, and always, regardless of weather or events of the day, an place with uncanny power to calm and recompose a swirl of jagged mental energy into a quiet symphony of nothingness.

And on towards home, a lingering look at a quiet place before the final ride of the day disappears in the darkness.  I was not alone here.  Just 50 yards to my right a man crouched in front of a minivan staring at a small fire in the road.   He didn't look up and I didn't intrude.

Perhaps he'd found his own version of ride, work, ride...

Morning Meditation: Vespa Across the Landscape

Saturday morning -- bright, clean, a fresh world.  Riding familiar roads and seeing them for the first time.  Miles roll by as the clutter of hectic thought burns away leaving all things new.  No destination or plan, just the rush of wind in my helmet, a born again virgin rider in spirit. The ride assumes a rhythmic beat of sense and recognition, of movement and gravity, churning forward  and onward until all becomes a quiet meditation.

And in that moment another path appears -- Vespa ready and rider willing, winding through a field, a stop and footed wander until there is nothing but a breath followed by another, and another, and another.

Hand pulling a camera from a jacket pocket, eyes sweeping across the horizon, building a memory, the camera at work for insurance lest noise and confusion overwhelm this remembered moment.

The Vespa across the landscape -- the ride, the gift, the trembling joy of being alive.

I love to ride.

PIston and Pints: Back for 2013

Piston and Pints is back for another season of motorcycles, scooters and moto talk. The first event took place on April 18th at Ken Hull's moto shack and lounge in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. The next event will take place on Thursday May 2nd at 6pm.  It you are within riding distance of Boalsburg jump on your motorcycle or scooter and stop by.  Below is the invitation Ken sent out to everyone he knew.  

SPRING IS HERE! And a new season of Moto Hang is too! Over the next few days, I will be transforming the Moto Shack & Lounge back to that super sweet place we so enjoyed last year. This year a mini fridge will replace the styrofoam cooler for our stock of "Pints" as well as non-alcohol drinks. The donation can will be there for sure as it proved to be a huge blessing to the group last year by providing such a wonderful surplus of cash that it totally funded our end-of-season cookout! Thank you everyone!

This year I'd like to ride more, but as before, it will depend on the crowd and mood. If not, that's cool, because one of the best parts of Moto Hang is the Hang - hanging out with fellow riders - talking, swapping stories, and sharing the life and love of Motoing.

Pistons & Pints will be the 1st & 3rd Thursdays of the month this year beginning at 6pm.

NEXT EVENT, May 2nd.

LOCATION, Rockey Alley and Academy Street, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania

Below are a few pictures from the April 18th event.  You can see more on my Scooter in the Sticks Facebook page.

Unwinding by Dog and Vespa

Morning, strong light, cool air, quiet walk.  Sunshine pours in and the energy level rises in response.  A fine way to begin another day on the earth. Poor Junior, sitting again, awaiting whatever happens with the small black box in my hand.  He would be more animated if it dispensed dog biscuits.

If sunlight adds energy then the sight of the scooter awaiting departure provides excitement, the kind that promises an electric flow through the body as the spine straightens and mouth tightens into a grin regardless of destination.

A few spare moments to chase the light at the end of the day, a brief distraction along a small stream in the mountains, a flicker of silver and sparkle that reminds of the small gifts found along a ride.  And with the slowly fading light comes that satisfied feeling that I've been part of something good, a life, a stumbling along a path like no other.

Just a short ride, some miles through the countryside and up along the graveled roads into Rothrock State Forest, the flush of pale green creeping towards a day when the forest is a sea of leaves.  A ride like so many others yet unlike any other in the sights, smells and thoughts burning along the way.

Unwound and free, relaxed and breathing easy -- small gifts of a dog and a Vespa.

A URAL to Alaska: Redleg's Rides Author on the Road Now

Each time I get on the Vespa I consider it the beginning of an adventure.  A ride to work, a trip to the grocery store, or an extended wandering to points unknown -- each writes its own story of experience and enlightenment.  

Well, enlightenment may be a bit strong.

But I do look to each ride for what it can offer and I call that adventure.  At least until I'm faced with capital "A" adventure.

Like Dom Chang's (author of Redleg's Rides) ride to Alaska on his URAL.  He's doing that right now, in the snow.  No waiting for the perfect weather window for him.  To get a flavor for how things are going check out his DAY 14 post.  He's in the Yukon heading up the Alaska Highway, snow, cold, and more.  I've bookmarked it as something to read whenever I get into the "woe is me" mood.

I met Dom about two years ago while I was at a conference in Denver and he was still piloting his URAL Sportsman of mid '90s vintage (I think).  He and his wife Martha and kids were gracious hosts and I had an opportunity to ride with him.  His approach was focused and methodical from gear to maintenance to riding.  Those traits are serving him well on the road to Alaska on a much newer URAL -- the same one I was riding not too long ago.

If you have a few minutes it's worth a visit to Redleg's Ride and follow Dom's Alaska journey in near real time!