Last Sunday, Westender Bodhi, who is also Ride Coordinator for the Vespa Club of Seattle (VCOS), led a fun ride to Mount Vernon to view the tulip fields...
On Sunday morning, a large group of 20+ scooterists left Cafe Racer on what would be a daylong adventure to check out the tulip fields in bloom at Mount Vernon. Westender Bodhi led the ride. Bodhi had very meticulously researched the route, and he was able to select roads that got us there in good order, but at reasonable speeds and usually not very crowded.
Along the way, we picked up more riders until our happy company had swelled to over two dozen riders! Needless to say, it is fairly unusual to see a large colorful cavalcade of scooters go by, especially out in the country. Wherever we went, people would stop what they were doing to smile and wave as we went by. Let's face it: the motorscooter is the 'warm puppy' of the 2-wheel world, and enjoys a positive rapport with the public that other types of cycles don't always have.
Once in the Mount Vernon area, we saw that all the main thoroughfares were choked with cagers off to see the tulips. This proved to be no problem for the Swarm, as Bodhi's careful research and planning took us around the traffic jams on beautiful winding country roads that followed the dikes and levees in the area. These roads were delightfully devoid of other traffic, and it was certainly easy to feel like one was in a commercial!
Once we reached the fields, however, we were a little disappointed to see that the tulips were only starting to bloom. In another week or two, they'll probably be perfect, so if you have a chance to go up there, by all means do so!
All in all, it was a pleasant day of riding in the country, and many thanks to Bodhi for all his work in mapping out a truly enjoyable route!
