Ways to Ride Your Motorcycle or Scooter More Often and With More Satisfaction.

[@ralfhoffmann2487]

Oh how I wish I could have access to a trail like that!

[@ScooterintheSticks]

I am fortunate to have them so close to home.

[@fire7side]

My rides always end up being a short trip to some forest land where I park my bike and walk my dog who rides in a basket on the back plate. I got a dual sport so I could drive down some gnarly 2 rut roads. Makes my day and for sure my dog's.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

I've seen dogs on bikes but none of mine were ever relaxed enough to do ride pillion. But I bet they would love it and the walks when we stopped. We have some gnarly two-rut roads but the Bureau of Forestry is cleaning them up more and more until only the single track paths will remain.

[@KrakensGarageandAdventures]

I couldn't agree more. Running to the store to pick up bread can turn into a small adventure. It all about your frame of mind. :)

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Absolutely!! Changing our frame of mind is one of the things in life we can actually change.

[@69telecasterplayer]

Beautiful ride, music, and thoughts. Thank you.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Thank you. I enjoy trying to mix the visuals with music. I'm no musician in any sense of the word but editing videos with music gives me a little taste of that world.

[@donhamm8740]

Great philosophy Steve. As we enter the senior segment of our lifetime we question what had been normally accepted thoughts on riding.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Senior segment. That's where I am I guess. 70 arrives this week. And on toward 80. Hopefully I'm not done learning yet!

[@alanrandall49]

Thanks for uploading your video, I’m a 75 y.o. return rider after a 30 year break, who is trying to motive myself to ride more than I do. Three years ago I purchased a 2001 BMW R 1100 S as my old bike a 1979 Yamaha 400 XS has been stored in my garage waiting for a restoration. I’m in Sydney, Australia and unfortunately live in a heavy traffic congested area, but your video and thoughts may help motivate me more to not make excuses and ride more often. 😉😊

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Good luck on your return to riding. Certainly more of a challenge at 75 than if you were younger. Patience and persistence will pay off for you. Have fun with this new adventure!

[@clanky44]

Great video Steve! For a new rider, just starting out in my late 50’s, the desire to ride trumps everything else. I’ll find any excuse to hop on my W800 and ride the back roads. Ice cream ride,… sure! Breakfast ride… essential. Lunch ride,… absolutely. Grocery getter,.. a must. Forecast calling for rain for the next 2 days,… better get out now. While I love my bike and riding (I have put in 5000km in 2 months) I do have some issues that hold me back from longer rides, I find my stock seat to be painful after one hour on the saddle. After 1.5hrs, it’s a mandatory break. Secondly the amount of time to get all my gear on and go for a ride is sometimes greater than the ride itself, but having a healthy respect for the inherent dangers, I will never ride without my gear, regardless of distance or heat.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

I'm glad you liked the video. And I still have a lot of that new rider energy towards riding that I did years ago. Any excuse for a ride is a familiar thought pattern. With even the most comfortable seat in my fleet (Vespa GTS) I still have to stop and stretch after an hour in the saddle. Eases my backside, back, shoulders, hips, and knees. It wasn't always that way but I generally stopped a lot to take pictures so it's difficult for me to say how long I could ride before pain pulled me aside. Putting on gear can slow things down for sure but like you I almost never ride without it. But lately in this 90 degree heat I have been making the half-mile ride down my street to the Pump Station with a helmet but none of the other gear. I'm at bicycle speeds and there is little traffic so I feel comfortable assuming that risk. But any further and it's all the gear. I hope you find your riding sweet spot and can keep enjoying those two-wheeled gifts!

[@davidblewett2699]

No I don't ride enough. All too often I will jump in the car to pick up some small item that I could easily have gotten with the bike, but gearing up on a hot day just seems like too much work. If the weather permits, my short rides to anywhere get a little longer now that they start with a trip up College Ave and back down Beaver Ave before actually heading to my destination. When the back tire I just ordered comes in, I plan to find some of the dirt roads you so beautifully show in your videos.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

It's hard to resist an air-conditioned car during these hot summer days. I understand the resistance due to gearing up as well. I will say that using a motorcycle for those trips into town is a pain compared to a scooter. My Vespas are just so darn easy to get on and off, park, load, and more. Motorcycles are at best cumbersome and just more work for in town work. You need to get that CT going!

[@TheCoopdway]

Me too. Thanks Steve

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Any time.... I'm getting close to my 3000 mile service on the Himalayan. Part of me wants to dump it at the dealer to be done and another part just says to do it all myself. I'm grateful that the decisions I have to make in life are so small...

[@cptntwang]

I can fully understand what you mean. Sometimes i do a tricked out 20 km ride in the industrial area where i live.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Yep. Sometimes a 20 km ride is all you need to soothe the soul!

[@dermotleeson1348]

Love it thanks for taking us with you. God bless

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Thanks you for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed the ride!

[@darrabase1]

I really would love to ride more at the moment, after 3 months of non accident injury, but now it is high winter and freezing f..n cold.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

I'm glad you've recovered enough to want to ride. Winter always comes at the wrong time! It will warm soon enough though. Hopefully something else will capture your imagination until it does.

[@bobd.4967]

Love the video Steve. Living where it’s hard to find a beautiful side road like that is frustrating. I do lots of short rides doing errands urban areas. In away, it’s fun. It keeps you’re reflexes sharp🙂 Boston Bob

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Thanks Bob for the kind words about the video. I am fortunate to live where I do. Lots of quiet roads available here. The only reflex sharpening here though has to do with deer leaping into the road. Different than the metro streets of Boston!

[@taebert]

Thanks for another thoughtful video. At around the 7min mark it looked like you were on some state forest roads. Was that somewhere south and maybe a little west of Poe valley? I noticed the trees were a little sparse. It made me think of a section of road that I was on back in march. It might have been Siglersville pike, cat say for sure. What struck me was that there was a large area where all the trees looked dead and they were removing them.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

That section of road at the 7 minute mark was about 35 miles southeast of Poe Valley as the crow flies. A lot of the roads look similar throughout this part of the state. And there are areas throughout the State Forests where they are doing select cuts or removing trees damaged by insects or storms. The one I passed was a select cut. The State sells off the timber to help fund the Bureau of Forestry work.

[@davericketts9101]

As always Steve, very wise words and I find the same thing, all rides fill me with good thoughts. I left a comment on your last video but don`t think you have seen it. Best wishes from UK Dave

[@ScooterintheSticks]

I have been lazy about comments the past few days. I left a response just before seeing this comment. I've learned over the years that a lot of what gets in the way of me riding are the false beliefs and strange thoughts I concoct on my own. Granted, there are genuine things in life that hamper riding. But more often than not I get in my own way.

[@davericketts9101]

@@ScooterintheSticks Thank you Steve. Life and 5 children (now 10 grandchildren) got in the way of my riding, for many years but now, in retirement I make time to ride all year round and it produces some of the happiest moments of my life, outside of family pleasures. Take care Steve.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

@@davericketts9101 that’s a lot of kids and grandkids to teach how to ride! Have fun!

[@captainjim605]

Nice video, Steve; thought-provoking, as always. In my younger years, a "ride" meant some adrenaline being produced. These days, I am happy to get out and enjoy the sound and feel of the bike, the scenery, and the weather. I have become a fair-weather rider, and that works for me. When we're home in the desert, an early morning outing, before the heat of the day kicks in, is a great way to start my day. Out and about, now in North Carolina, we are really enjoying the different scenery, the lush green, and the seemingly endless great roads. A good ride is almost any ride... it doesn't have to be time, distance, or the amount of butt-puckering. Many of my rides in the desert are an hour and a half or less. Today, even though we are in the middle of the Beat the Heat scooter gathering (with daily group rides), we took a "day off" from the gathering to get some chores done; and then I got out for a delightful solo ride on the peaceful Blue Ridge Parkway. I enjoy seeing your rides, most often with no other people or vehicles around. Thanks for sharing this one!

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Thanks Jim. I never was comfortable with adrenaline. No roller coasters, fast cars or fast motorcycles. It's why I backpacked, walked, road bicycles, and used fountain pens and big wooden cameras. Slow and steady was my pace. And when I started riding again in my 50s it was a scooter. And the motorcycles I eventually added were mellow as well. I was always a get out and see the scenery kind of rider. Where you are now in North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Parkway are the sorts of places I would gravitate towards. There are many roads here with seldom a car. Paved and gravel. I am grateful for those quiet paths....

[@Stefan_trekkie]

Very interesting thoughts, as always, Steve. The feeling of exploration is a very human thing. Can be said that is in out nature to want to do it. Modern technologies make less of a pleasure of that, so I use maps and compass to find my way if I need it. I almost chose a bike from my local RE dealer. I said to myself, I don't get any younger.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

I agree with you that modern navigational technologies have siphoned some of the pleasures of exploration. I remember hiking with maps and compass when I was still backpacking and the process engendered a feeling of adventure that vanishes when you know exactly where you are every second. I'll be 70 soon and the not getting any younger thoughts echo in my head at times. I think about new motorcycles and scooters and I've even made room in the garage for number six but I have no real desire at the moment for anything else. But the moment I do....

[@twloughlin]

I only have two questions for you. One: where does that road at 2:49 go? And two: where is the obligatory end tag shot of your breakfast sandwich and tea from the Pump Station?

[@ScooterintheSticks]

That road runs southwest along Tussey Ridge. It eventually twisted around to emerge at the Colerain picnic area along PA Route 45 near Spruce Creek. I neglected to capture an imagery of my Jumpstart breakfast sandwich, Earl Grey tea, and chocolate chip cookies. A creative failure on my part.

[@twloughlin]

@@ScooterintheSticks You're forgiven 😉Thanks for the great videos!

[@AnnCastro-r2j]

Great tips! Riding more often definitely brings more joy and satisfaction! We sent you an email, take a look.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Thanks! Will do!

[@rechard-jb9cr]

If I had a GPS I couldn't get lost.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Getting lost is one of those unappreciated pleasures...

[@iggyzorro2406]

interesting finish on the tank and side panel. very nice - is that stock?

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Yes, that's the Royal Enfield Pine Green version of the Himalayan. When I looked at the motorcycles available all the colors looked great. I just picked the one I thought would look best in pictures in the landscapes in which I ride!

[@iggyzorro2406]

@@ScooterintheSticks haha - a true content producer, eh, Mr.Spielberg?

[@ScooterintheSticks]

@@iggyzorro2406 I'm about as far from Spielberg as you can get! But I like making videos...

[@stephenmundane]

👍👍

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Thanks!

[@Atrip111]

Yeah unfortunately most of my riding comes from commuting to work. It's a short trip and maybe only one day a week I can ride otherwise.

[@ScooterintheSticks]

We do what we can do.

[@dermotleeson1348]

Love it thanks for taking us with you. God bless

[@ScooterintheSticks]

Oops! A duplicate!