They took home the hardware! Winners of (from left to right) Best modern scooter/Rudy the Rat, Hard Luck Trophy/Blair S, Best Vintage Scoot/EZ, and Furthest Travelled/Todd of SOB
Since it's founding in 2006 by a group of four West Seattle scooterists, the Westenders Scooter Club has grown into one of Seattle's largest and most active scooter clubs. We decided that 2008 would be the year we would host our first rally, and the result was the Westenders Tour di Mari #1, and a fantastic time was had by all!
The first event of the Rally was a Meet 'n Greet held Friday night at the Marco Polo Bar
and Grill in Georgetown. The Marco Polo is famous for it's 'pressure fried' chicken,
which was enjoyed by the assembled scooterists, and washed down with plenty of cold PBR. Goodie-stuffed rally bags were sold, and new friends were made as everyone admired the large assortment of scooters parked outside on the sidewalk.
Saturday was the big day of the Rally, starting with a delicious breakfast at the Skylark Cafe in West Seattle. The owner put on extra staff for that morning, and that was a smart thing to do, since they promptly got 'slammed' by 50+ hungry scooterists who were ready to chow down on Skylark specialties such as their excellent chicken-fried steak and eggs, and many other breakfast favorites. The cooks and waitstaff were more than up to the challenge, and everyone was fed with no delay!
Fuzz, RogerTango, and Click discuss the Saturday ride
Once everyone was suitably fortified for the day ahead, it was time for the highlight of Tour di Mari, the Westenders 'Water Ride'. This was a 50-mile, slightly modified version of the excellent ride put on by the Westenders during Amerivespa 2007. Westenders Doc and Tiny, ably assisted by other Westenders, led the large swarm on a tour that took them along Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union, and ultimately to a sumptuous BBQ at Golden Gardens Park, a beautiful waterfront location on Puget Sound.
Just a portion of the large group ride!
Those who expected the typical 'burgers-and-dogs' rally fare were about to be pleasantly surprised. At the park, the Westenders own 'top chef' Grumpy Gus set out a spread that couldn't help to impress. In keeping with the 'sea' theme of the rally, the crowd feasted on fresh grilled pesto wild sockeye salmon, grilled prawns with romesco sauce, marinated grilled chicken, and a wonderful assortment of side dishes and salads.
Grumpy Gus' prawns. Yum!
Once the attendees were full and could eat no more, it was time for the raffle, a fantastic array of valuable prizes were given away, including riding wear, beautiful original scooter-themed artwork, and gift certificates from our sponsor, Valley Scooters of Washington.
A happy winner!
Finally came the awards. Rudy the Rat was awarded the 'Best Modern Scoot' trophy for his mod-inspired ET4, and EZ took home the 'Best Vintage' trophy for his sweet '68 Sprint. Todd from Bellingham received the trophy for 'Furthest Traveled', and the aptly-nicknamed Crash won the 'Hard Luck' trophy for sustaining a downright acrobatic prang during the ride, and promptly went home, cleaned and bandaged his wounds, changed his clothes, and still got to the Park in time for the BBQ.
Sunday morning we wrapped up the weekend with coffee and breakfast at one of West Seattle's best independent coffee houses, C&P Coffee, then departed for a fun 'hat ride' that took us to Saltwater State Park in Burien for some serious lounging on the beach.
The Westenders Scooter Club would like to thank Valley Scooters of Washington for their generous support and sponsorship of our rally, and also thank all the scooterists who came out and joined the fun. Be sure to check our website www.westenders.org for information on future events and the Westenders Tour di Mari Rally #2, coming Summer 2009!
