Sunday, October 28, 2012

a humbling ride

it's easy to get philosophical on a bike. there's something about the ride that gets your mind working, thinking on things bigger than just your destination. it can be nice. or, depending on the ride, not so nice.

last night was the first time in a long time that i didn't feel quite safe on my bike. i was riding home across I-90 after a party, and it was not what i would call a fun experience. there were too many factors combined that led to a really nasty ride. it had been raining most of the day (though it wasn't raining on my way home), it was somewhat cold, but most importantly, it was very windy. gusty, to be specific. i've ridden in most types of nasty weather there is, and i have to say, gusty wind is the worst. i knew i was in trouble when, heading toward the freeway on mercer island, i could see the traffic lights dancing and bobbing in the wind, and the leaves on the street (also not fun) whipping up from the wet pavement. and i got what i expected. sporadic gusts, from all directions, spraying water across an already wet bridge is not a fun way to travel. especially on a bike as light as vixen, with the roads already being slick, one unexpected burst would send me almost into the other lane, occasionally losing tire traction in the process. you don't normally find me riding in 5th gear in the slow lane, but last night i was just trying to ride straight until i made the tunnel.

i did make it home without incident, but not without getting philosophical. i think i felt unsafe for several reasons. partially because of the weather conditions, sure, but also because i'm out of condition. i don't ride much these days. i walk to work, to the grocery store, and anywhere else on the west side of the bridge, i'll often take my bicycle. this is the first time this year i've really ridden in bad weather, and i'm out of practice. it's mostly a mental thing, but that type of thing is very important while riding. one of the things i like about motorcycles is that you can't phone it in. most riders are safer than most drivers, merely because they have to concentrate on what they're doing, or they'll crash. it's not an option.

but, for the same reason, you have to be in the right mindset to ride confidently, especially in inclement weather. i realized last night how little i ride these days, even during the summer. i don't necessarily think this is a bad thing as part of the big picture, but my lack of confidence made me think. how much do i have to ride to be considered a "motorcyclist"? once a week? once a year? i don't think there's a set number of rides you need to hit, again it's more of a mindset. it's how it fits into your life. when i made the conscious decision to give up my car, i also made the conscious decision to identify as a motorcyclist. i still do, but maybe not as much. i'm a walker, a bicyclist, an urban dweller, as well as a motorcyclist. i try to live consciously and deliberately. i live simply. how does my bike fit into all this? can it fit into my life in the same way?

i have a good friend on my hurling team who suffered a pretty serious head injury in early september. he's going to be fine, though the recovery is a long one, but he has said he will most likely not play anymore. it's just not worth the risk. this was the other side of the coin last night; how much of this is worth the risk? during a ride like last night, you can't help but ponder the what-ifs, and questioning the risks. how much is it worth it? are the rides worth the risks? there are experiences on a bike i wouldn't trade for anything, but are the good rides good enough? are the bad rides bad enough to change your mind? or your life?

i've been going through a lot of transition recently in my life, and it's caused me to question just about everything. i've been trying to figure out what i need to live a complete life, and what is just excess or, worse, what is detracting from my experiences. nothing has been too sacred to be put on trial, and motorcycling is no different. i've pondered before about selling vixen after realizing how little i need her living in the city. that was a practical and economical debate. this is more psychological, philosophical, temporal. right now i have no answers and, as you can see, plenty of questions. nothing is changing, but everything is up in the air. it's an interesting place to be. a little scary, kind of freeing, but reassuring that i'm not living complacently. i'm not phoning it in.

my philosophy in life has always been: it's not what you can live with, it's what you can't live without. this rarely leads to the easy path, but it's always the more satisfying journey. and that's all we have, really.

stay tuned.

rftc,

scott

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

old seeds replanted

so the other night, at my company's annual fundraising gala, we auctioned off a couple of Buddy50s from the Genuine Scooter Company. in snazzy red, no less. it got me to thinking.

no, i did not buy the scooter. i'm broke. but i did start thinking back to a couple of years ago, when the idea of a cross-country trip first started germinating in my cracked nest of a brain. let me explain.

the idea started with a scooter. i wanted to do something a little crazy. ok, crazier than riding solo around the country on vixen. really crazy. i wanted to ride from seattle to orlando (where i had a friend living at the time) on a 50cc scooter. how's that for crazy?

the rules were simple: the only transportation i could use was the scooter. and i could only travel on roads on which i could actually go the speed limit (no shoulder riding). this capped me at maybe 40 mph, 45 mph if i'm lucky.

the reasoning behind this was twofold. first, i wanted to see if it could be done. i'm a little loathe to admit it, but if i even wanted to get across lake washington on roads under 45 mph, i would have to look at a map. i'm sure it can be done, but i'm not sure how to do it. in fact, most seattleites don't know how to do it. because they don't have to. and i started wondering if you could do it across the whole country. is it even possible? especially after my 2011 trip, i'm not so sure. i was on so many farm roads, going through small towns in the middle of nowhere, where the speed limit was still 45, 50, even 55 mph. can you get across the country only traveling under 45 mph? it would be very interesting to find out.

the second reason is slightly more abstract, and definitely idealistic. i think that traveling this way, forcing yourself off the main roads and beaten paths, you would get to see a completely different side of america. i saw much of the country traveling the old US highway system (i avoided interstates as much as possible), but this system, though outdated, was still designed with travel efficiency in mind. i would love to see where you would be forced to go if you avoid all of that. the towns, the backroads, it would be amazing. and you would get damn good at reading maps...

of course, this plan did have some drawbacks, that ultimately led to the evolution into the trip i did take. first off, traveling this way would take a long time. a really long time. i was estimating 2-3 weeks one way, from seattle to orlando. another (minor) downside was luggage. scooters are (obviously) not built for long-distance travel, and what i could take would be severely limited. this would mean probably no camping (not such a downside) which would cost more. and, perhaps the biggest drawback, i really wouldn't want to make the return trip. it would be fascinating to get there, but getting back the same way seems wholly unnecessary, and a bit masochistic. i began fantasizing about buying a scooter, riding it to florida, and selling it for a plane ticket home.

and this is kind of what i'm thinking of now. now that this crazy scheme is back in my head, i've made a few adjustments, some changes and tempering of expectations, and i have a plan. kind of. i have the beginnings of a plan. the idea of the beginnings of a plan.

i want to proposition a scooter company (right now, i'm thinking Genuine. They're local [Chicago], relatively new, and seem kind of scrappy and upstart. right up my alley) to give me loan of a scooter to do the ride. if i can get them to sponsor me the scooter, which i will return at the end of the trip, i think i could swing the rest of it financially. instead of seattle/florida (i don't have any place to stay in FL anymore. plus, i've been there), i will propose a ride from portland to portland. oregon to maine. both portlands are nice and hipster; small and gritty with a DIY vibe, they are both scooter friendly towns (plus, it has a nice ring to it, and i've never been to maine). riding across the country (on the northern side) without touching a speed limit above 45 mph. i'd get to go on another adventure, see more of the country i haven't seen, and it would be great publicity for the company (Genuine. The Only Adventure Scooter Company.) and i could stop at the factory in chicago on my way across. i would of course blog about it, and it would make for some very interesting adventures.

i think it sounds brilliant. i can only hope someone at Genuine thinks so too.

until next time (updates? sponsorship?)

rftc,

scott

UPDATE:

it's a good news/bad news type of thing, really. well, more of a good news for the universe/bad news for scott type of thing. it turns out, Genuine is really down with the long-distance scooter thing. so much so, in fact, that they've already sponsored several trips, around the USA, france/italy and an ongoing trip for something called urawesome.com.

so, good news for the universe: apparently you can travel all around this great country by way of a scooter, assumedly on roads with lower speed limits (otherwise it would be illegal). yay. but, bad news for scott: it's been done. at least in terms of sponsorship, i'm guessing it's a no-go. oh well. back to the drawing board...