Life is a bank account. There is a fixed sum. You can never put more into it. It can be closed at any time with out your permission. Each day you take out a small amount of cash. And then you buy a ticket. Will you buy a ticket to watch and critique? Or will you buy a ticket to play? Today and every day this week I bought a ticket to play. I am in the game.
This is big country. The sky dominates everything. It is endless from the top of the peaks we stand on to the curvature of the earth on the far horizon. And despite the few ranches that dot the sparse landscape, it is silent and quite empty. Devoid of any human sound. The wind blows constantly. Always rushing unimpeded across the stark plains. Brown, tan and pale green are the pallet. Only in the higher mountains are the deeper greens found. Here and there are narrow ribbons of green as a small stream meander across the brown grass plains. Cell phones are useless. Ranches seem to all have some kind of dish. It matters little. In winter I wonder what it must be like to have a blizzard drop deep snow and then be locked into your ranch house for weeks on end. I wonder how relationships fare out here. We are quite alone here.
I am in the company of Tom and Art. Tom is a retired Coast Guard Petty Officer from St Petersburg Florida. Art also from St Pete is a marine biologist and Navy reservist. He is by profession is a diver. They met in Iraq. Both decided to see Europe after the horrid nightmare of duty in Iraq and bought scooters. They spent three months touring Europe and the Balkans. So, they know a thing or two about riding. Tom rides a Vespa GTS 300 ie, Art has a Piaggio BV 350. Both are state of the art designs. Single cylinder SOHC, liquid cooled, multi valve heads (more than two),counterbalanced, EFI and rock solid reliable. Cycle World commented of the BV as one of the most innovative and capable power plants assigned to motivate two wheels. I believe it. The GTS is almost a mirror of RE in terms of power delivery ie; torque and horsepower . The BV not so. It has 35 HP and will rip to 100mph, accelerate with smaller bikes and cruise all day at 75mph. Both are immensely popular in Europe. The BV being the second "car" in many households. Both can do long distances with ease. I noticed both riders were using Air Hawk seat covers. And both carry spare fuel in red plastic fuel cans. I have neither. But the Air Hawk looks enticing.
Toms tires have a fine chicken strip. Art's BV has no such thing they are shredded all the way to the edge. I mean litterly shredded, little worms of rubber on the tire shredded. The more we are together the more I understand why . Highly skilled as a rider he has no fear I can discern. Tom is quite the opposite. He rides the GTS very capably, but clearly maintains a margin. Needless to say Art is well ahead of us most of the time. I never ever thought a scooter could maintain those lean angles. And he is flat footed on the floor boards......amazing!
When we started they asked me at Breakfast, where are you headed? I told then to Canada. Which route? Now this is where I depart from the mass. I told both, "I have no route, I just ride. But the route I take will be most likely the longest. It will be full of turns and elevation, and most of all be the most scenic. I am in no rush". They looked at each other and smiled. Art said, "I think we will take that way too." I also mentioned, "ride as fast or as slow as you please, I plan to ride my own ride". Another smile as Tom responded "good for us. Art is always doing his own thing anyway."
It has been two days now and we have established a bond. We have swapped bikes and each had a turn at the others. Art told me that RE felt flying a WWI Biplane. RE heard it and was most pleased. Visions of the Red Baron (Manfred Von Richtoffen) I think he wants me to don a silk scarf. RE sees himself as quite dashing and dapper. British genes.
We roll across the dips, valleys and peaks with RE making our presence known. The scooters are virtually silent. Riding one is eerie, so very, very light, no vibration.........just wind. Roads are near empty.
Motorcycling is uniquely personal and private. Locked in your helmet on your bike and secured form any one else you must at some point decide if you do indeed like yourself. You are talking to yourself enough. Do you enjoy the company? I don't use blue tooth and besides, out here it does not work. Music, sometimes, but it mask the REs lovely mechanical presence. No, inside the helmet I dream, ponder, build, execute, tear down, rebuild, solve, resolve and some times pray.
I renew the acquaintance of the person I hope knows me the best and is most willing to get me through the tough times and celebrate the victories, when no one else is willing nor cares. I treasure the time we spend together.
I asked Tom when you meet people what do they ask you? For me it is what year is your RE? Enough!!! Tom said, basically it is "aren't you afraid that those things (scooters) wont make it to wherever? I was trained to rescue people at sea under the absolutely worst possible conditions. I know the value of preparation. My equipment is in top shape. Art's BV is as well. He's a diver after all. We prep for the trips. But underneath it people are afraid to get out of their bubble."
Read the Vespa forum, there are many, many trip reports. Some amazing rides. Not so on the RE Forum. RE riders I think fear their bikes. This fear creates anxiety. They talk about a 100 mile ride as though it were an epic evident fraught with danger. Will it break, will I be stranded? One owner even suggested taking the bike apart and re-welding the welds. What?
When I talked to the Indians they had no such concerns. They save for years to buy one and then ride the darn things every where. It is considered a premium brand in India. It is their vacation vehicle and often sole source of transport. Certainly they buy other brands as well. But all are justly proud RE is a home product. In US special warfare students are taught fear is healthy and keeps us alive. But anxiety, the fear of fear paralyzes us. You can push through fear, not anxiety. So, you get to the root of the fear. What happens if it breaks. Well the world does not end and you don't die. You prepare for the root fear. In a nutshell ride a well maintained bike, prepare for those events you can manage and have an escape(AAA Premium Card) for those you cant. We need not fear RE bikes. No one else does.
We were coming out of the mountains down a moderate grade. At the bottom is a steep sharp left hand turn, and it actually gets steeper as you ride into it. Not the place to enter with a lot of speed. Unless of course you know the road. We do not. Just past mid point is silver HD Fat Boy on it's side against the guard rail, with camping gear strung behind the bike. The rider is limping over to pick up his gear, while his passenger is pacing I assume attempting to place a phone call. The cell is jammed into her ear. Both seem to be OK. The gouge marks in the road tells the story. The Fat boy was leaned over so far it grounded and lifted the rear wheel of the ground. The bike slid into the guard rail, dumped both rider and passenger and continued with enough impact to shatter the primary cover, dumping it's oil. No amount of counter steering would have save it. We lift our face shields and ease by as a pick up has stopped to help and has waved us on. RE made a comment to the GTS something like, "fat boys can't turn." RE what did you say? The GTS just giggled. I looked at Tom, he just shrugged as if to say , "what are you going to do with these two?" RE has never been one to be politically correct. He told a German at the last gas stop to loose some weight.
On to Jackson and oil and filter changes and a bit of sorting. I will miss the scooters once we part. RE keeps saying, Bella Moto! I think he likes the GT. The BV is always out front and pays little attention to him.
Topic: If a Vespa can why can't I? (Read 12026 times)