d20080629-004
Originally uploaded by Vespaboy I won!
Best Mod Chick!
Yeah, Joni !!
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On a word from LGG's Marty, we took off down through Capitol Hill to the Cretins clubhouse. Marshalling is becoming an increasingly dodgy proposition these days. Motorists who used to find our little calvacades interesting are just too p****d off these days, and seem like they'd just as soon run us over! We did reach the Cretins clubhouse without losses, though, and met the Rockers.
As always, the Cretins offered up besides beer a treasure trove of vintage and modern performance bikes. You name it, it was there! Norton, Triumph, Ducati, BSA, and all the rest. We didn't have long to drool over these works of kinetic art, because it was time to ride! The Cretins, who incidentally provided escort and marshalling services at Amerivespa, once again led a delightful mad dash to our ultimate destination, the Alki Tavern. Even if the stream was broken up by traffic lights, it seems Cretin guides were well spread throughout the stream to ensure that we all arrived at our ultimate destination. The ride itself was a glorious mad scramble through Delridge, White Center, and West Seattle.
I must take a moment at this time and offer special props to our own Doc. We already know Doc as truly the 'McGyver' of our happy little family. As I mentioned to a reporter preparing a story about us, Doc is a fellow who could take a couple of empty two-stroke oil bottles, an inner tube, and a couple of gallons of seawater and make a nuclear reactor! But what is also truly special about him is his perpetual optimism and 'never-say-die' attitude. He brought his lovely VBB to the Rally, but was having 'issues' with the clutch cable. Efforts to fix it with a cable tie (!) were for nought, but Doc just shrugged and said, "no worries; as long as I'm at the front of the group, I can just compression start it, and shift without the clutch"! Personally, if my scoot, Luciana, even sounds remotely 'off', I'll just stay home and read a good book. But not Doc; you had to see him depart running on foot from every stop to get running, and off he went! Doc, when (and if) I ever grow up, I hope I'm like you!
Well, anyway, we finally got to Alki Tavern, where we enjoyed cold beer and their delicious burgers. There was a vote for the participant's favorites, and at the end of the day, if it involved anything 'Mod', a Westender won it! Jett was the hands-down favorite for 'Best Mod Girl', and RogerTango received the nod for 'Best Scooter'!
All in all, it was a great time, and please feel free to check the photo sections on this website and Scoot.net for more pix!
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Here are the skewers:
That there were scooters is a given, right?
Jett, Pipes and Shadow hosted the group in the 2nd annual cookout followed by a ride to a secret destination to watch the sun set. We went for a long ride to Discovery Park and the Daybreak Star Cultural center, which happens to have a nice platform that's perfect for viewing sunsets and other things happening on Puget Sound.
The group was big enough to cause some of us to wonder exactly how much weight the observation platform could support. I didn't think to count how many bikes and people we had, but it's safe to say nearly all of our members were there.
We had a special guest: Alix Bryan, who was on her second P.E.A.C.E. Scooter ride, was in Seattle. She thoroughly enjoyed her time with the Westenders last year, and was eager to ride with us.
Prior to leaving for the ride, Jett and RogerTango hosted a jousting tournament. Yes, jousting. Not exactly as practiced by the Knights of the Round Table, the object here is to snag a prize envelope using a striped pole. It worked best with the rider operating the scooter and a pillion holding the pole.
Once the sun had set, Jett and Pipes led the group through the little twisty road on the lower part of Magnolia Bluff, a route that at times seems like a very long driveway.
Great food, great fun, great company! See my pictures here; the Westenders Flickr group has even more pictures.
UPDATE: Read Alix's blog post on P.E.A.C.E. Scooter.com here.
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Members of the Westender Scooter Club will be participating in the upcoming Burien "Two Wheel Bar-B-Que and Independence Day Parade". The afternoon will include a street party hosted by the Discover Burien Association and Parade, of which all scooterists are invited to participate in. Attached is the official flyer to help promote the event. Harley Vespa.pdf
These activities are included in the Scooter Insanity 21 Rally hosted by the Vespa Club of Seattle. More information can be located at the event website.
Valley Scooters of Washington, a division of Kent Kawasaki, has agreed to be the title sponsor for the Westenders' Tour di Mari #1 rally!
Valley Scooters of Washington, which is located at 821 Central Ave. S. in Kent, is a dealer for Kymco and Genuine scooters, including the Stella. They're on the Web at www.valleyscooters.net
Kent Kawasaki is a well-established powersports dealer in the Seattle area.
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Join the Hill Family for an impromptu scenic ride to Burien for the 6th Annual Father's Day Car Show and Chili Cook Off.
Meet on the Northeast Corner of Scoot About Scooter Rental Parking Lot. Ride will leave at 1:00 PM prompt. Ride will be 50cc and family friendly. The Hill's will lead the ride into Burien. Participants are free to mill around and depart at their leisure.
]]>Saturday, June 14th, 2008 | 12:00 - 2:00 PM
535 Westlake Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98109
For full details including directions, visit the Seattle All City Scooter Community Day web site. You can also download the 
press release.
If you're traveling from outside the Seattle area and need information on lodging and transportation, check out visitseattle.org
The agenda for the Rally is listed below, and will be updated as more details become available. Still have questions? Drop us a line: rally@westenders.org
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August 29 - 31, 2008
Seattle, Washington
Friday 8/29
19:00 Meet and greet in West Seattle, location TBD
21:00 Night Lights Ride
Saturday 8/30
10:00 Breakfast
Skylark Cafe - 3803 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106 / 206-935-2111
with spillover to:
Chelan Cafe - 3527 Chelan Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106 / 206-932-7383
12:00 Tour di Mari Ride (with mid-ride snack/fuel stop)
16:00 Barbecue and Beach Volleyball
Golden Gardens - 8498 Seaview Pl. NW, Seattle / 206-684-4075
Sunday 8/31
10:00 Breakfast and Awards Ceremony
C&P Coffee - 5612 California Avenue SW, Seattle 98136 / 206-933-3125
11:30 Informal "Hat" ride (draw names from a hat for an early afternoon ride)
Map
I was not expecting a large group. As far as I knew, it would be Katt, Chewy and Stubbie.
]]> But people wanted to ride. Maryvu & Amy, Stitch & Plaidass and new guy Nate, with his brand new GTS, all made the scene at Diva Espresso. Katt's friend Kerry was there too, riding "cupcake" on Aphrodite. (cupcake sounds so much nicer, doesn't it?) It would've been nice if Sunday's weather had appeared, but it wasn't pouring down rain.There were a few sprinkles as we rode through Richmond Beach, but the rain mostly stayed away. Careful study of Google Maps showed the surest way to find Tazza Bella was to take Olympic View Drive, the left at the 76 station a short ways from downtown Edmonds.
Olympic View Drive is a pleasantly curvy stretch of roadway with peekaboo views of Puget Sound in between the trees (and the McMansions). It wasn't long before we found the Old West-style building, the Tazza Bella sign large on the 2nd story.
They were closed.
I dunno, if it were my joint I'd be open on a holiday weekend. But at least I was able to prove that Perrinville was no Brigadoon. We'll try it again another time. We rode back to downtown Edmonds.
Most of which was closed, but the Red Twig was open, so we had coffee, tea and food on their outdoor deck. The Red Twig has a full breakfast and lunch menu, and serves tea in a French press.
Since my plan to ride back a different way depended on Tazza Bella being open, we returned the way we came...
]]>Meet up at Diva Espresso, 80th & Greenwood, at 10:00 am. We'll leave shortly thereafter for Tazza Bella, have coffee and food, and come back a different way.
The ride is open to all. Please read our ride protocols if you'd like to join us.
Hope to see you there!
>^,,^< Katt
Webmistress, Moderator, Minister of Sparkles
We were also joined by Angie and her modded-to-the-hilt mint green Stella, which was imported from the rough streets of Boston and living to tell the tale. Angie founded the Ladies Scooter Society of Boston and relocated to the fine city of Seattle a few weeks ago.
Nero 94 lead us on a truly blissful ride through Sand Point and Greenwood to Ballard. The route was deep green and filled with eye candy. We ate dinner at Scooters (!!!) and then went to Golden Gardens along with everyone else within a 100 mile radius, apparently. At the beach, we checked out the picnic site for our upcoming Westenders Rally (more on that later!) and enjoyed the final etchings of sunset from our rockstar motorcycle parking spots. Membership has its privileges.
The evening concluded with Cupcake Royale at Cafe Verite in Ballard, hands-down the best confections one can consume. Red Velvet, all the way.
You can see some photos from this ride and another ride on Sunday courtesy of Nero 94. This is my favorite:
>^,,^< Katt
Webmistress, Moderator, Minister of Sparkles
Hope to see you there!
Directions to Scoot About
The Westenders made a big impression at the Sustainable West Seattle Festival on May 4, many festival-goers stopping by our display to learn about scooters, the OTHER transportation alternative. We even got a mention in the West Seattle Blog!
