Scooters of Bellingham

The seventh edition of the Hamster Run saw great weather, great riding, great food at Jeff and Mary’s, and probably one of the bigger turnouts of people from Seattle and points south. Oh, and Jen & Canyon came from Spokane!

Friday’s meet & greet once again took place at Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen, where people noshed on polish dogs and Chuckanut’s selection of beers. From there, the group left on a short ride to the top of the Parkade for slow racing, but alas, no sunset, at least not like last year).

From there, folks went to downtown Bellingham’s various licensed establishments.

Saturday morning’s meetup was at Zuanich Point Park on the waterfront, where Tony’s coffee and donuts were served while rally packs were sold. The morning Poker Run left right on time (my hand was awful, as it usually is), ending in Fairhaven as the sun emerged from morning clouds.

Bellies full, the group left on the long ride, down Chuckanut Drive and out east. We did have to rescue Elizabeth, who dropped her Buddy when she hit a patch of gravel, but she was not seriously hurt.

There was a lengthy rest stop before the stretch run back into town. The group reconvened at Jeff and Mary’s for games, prime rib, salmon and even little shrimp cocktails! Oh, and Mary’s seasonal berry shortcake. Yum!

Sunday morning was sunny and warm. Tom led a ride north for our Canadian friends, while Todd took a group south. Everyone had a great time, if the comments on our Facebook page are any indication.

See you next year? —Orin

Photos: Ali, Orin

Cycle Barn/Vespa Lynnwood hosted an open house Saturday to celebrate the addition of Genuine Scooter Company’s lineup to their product offerings (they also sell Vespa/Piaggio and Kymco scooters, and Triumph and Zero motorcycles).

Todd and Dorcie, Tom, Craig and new member Bill departed the Sehome Village Starbucks along with yours truly. The weather was sunny and warm all day, making for a pleasant ride down to Lynnwood.

Lots of Seattle people were there when we arrived, and there were free hotdogs, Polish sausages and soft drinks.

The scooters have all been moved to the top floor of the building. As you can see, they had a good selection of Stellas, including several of the 2-tone versions (avocado or slate blue on ivory). Jason took a new Stella for a test ride. He said he liked it.

—Orin

Going to the Victoria rally? Do you have a place to stay? Consider hangin’ with the Hamsters!

Once again, Todd has booked a block of rooms at Paul’s Motor Inn, in the heart of downtown Victoria, British Columbia. And there are still rooms available! It’s always a good time, with a good group.

Mention the Scooters of Bellingham group to reserve a room at the discounted rate.

See what a nice place it is? Hope you can join us! Contact Todd with your questions: (360) 224-7891, or tfuller (at) fullerbd (dot) com.

Everyone got into the Irish spirit (photos: Orin O'Neill)

Nobody could think of a reason why the SOB club wasn’t in last year’s Bellingham St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Well, by golly, we’re gonna be in it this year!

Sixteen scooters and 18 riders left the parking lot at Mayberry’s Sporting Goods/Cool Beans Espresso/etc. under cloudy, drizzly skies. The St. Paddy’s (not “Patty’s”) parade in Dublin, Ireland usually takes place under similar conditions. And it’s rather ad hoc like Bellingham’s: show up before 11:30 and get in line.

An-tic-i-paaaaaaa-tion...

We invited everyone who rides a scooter to join our group. Jackie, Randy and Cathy, and Doc and Tiny came up from Seattle with their scooters; Joel, also from Seattle, cleaned a party supply store out of its entire supply of green-bead necklaces and was tossing them into the crowd. More of our out-of-town friends had planned to come, but had to cancel.

There were some orange scooters, too

The crowd lining the parade route loved the scooters. Everyone had a blast, and discussions about possible drill-team routines for next year dominated the conversation at the parade route’s end. At the parade’s end, there was free time before reconvening at Man Pies for the Pi Run.

We started with savory pies from Man Pies

By the time we left Man Pies, the sun had come out, and you could almost say it was… warm. Brooksana led us on a great ride through Bellingham’s neighborhoods, first to Supreme Bean Coffee Cafe, the new home of Barb’s Pies (you used to have to go to Ferndale), then to Grace Cafe, near the Sunset Village shopping center.

Inside The Grace Cafe

We pretty much ate their entire supply of Key Lime pie (yum!), then Brooksana announced the winners of the awards: Randy and Cathy got the farthest traveled trophy (a plate with a fork attached, and scooter pictures among the sprinkles), Jason won for oldest scooter, and yours truly got the book smart award for correctly guessing the digits in pi at six-digit accuracy (that’s 3.14159).

The only incident of note occurred on the final leg to Rudy’s Pizzaria. Brooksana got a flat tire, which was not the result of a puncture, but of a failed valve stem. Luckily, there was safe spot to leave her scooter for later retrieval, so she hopped on Dan’s Stella and rode pillion the rest of the way.

Bowling at 20th Century capped a fun day, and a great kickoff to rally season.

The parade got covered in the local media: The Bellingham Herald’s photo gallery has a good picture of Dorcie; Komonews.com’s Bellingham reporter Kera Wanielista has several more scooter pix.

You can see my pix of the parade right here, and of the Pi Run here.

If you missed it this year, you should put next year’s St. Paddy’s parade and Pi Run on your calendar, for sure.

—Orin

Scooter season in Bellingham will kick off Saturday, March 17. Which, as it happens, is St. Patrick’s Day.

If you have a scooter and you’re in Bellingham, you can be in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade! Meet at the staging area in the parking lot of Cool Beans Espresso/ Woodsmiths/ Mobile Music/ Two Thimbles at the corner of Cornwall Ave. and Ohio street between 10:30 and 11:30 am. The parade begins at noon and will head south on Cornwall Ave., turn left at Chestnut St., then right on Railroad Ave. We’ll ride past Depot Market Square and turn right at E. Maple St., ending at the parking lot at the Northeast corner of E. Maple and Cornwall Ave.

Dress yourself and dress your scooter, it’s all about the Wearin’ of the Green! All scooters and riders are welcome! Club membership is NOT required, and while you’re in the parade, neither are helmets. You don’t even have to be a Bellingham resident!

Following the parade will be the annual Pi Run. Which is all about eating pie. Yes, we know it’s not happening on the 14th, but that’s a Wednesday. People have to work.

Meet up at 2:00 pm, gassed up and ready to ride, at Man Pies, 1215 Railroad Ave. in downtown Bellingham. The route will be 31.4 miles in and around Bellingham, and will be 50cc-friendly.

Again this year we will have some tasty treats from Barb’s Pies and Pastries, but not in Ferndale. We will enjoy Barb’s treats at Supreme Bean Coffee Cafe, 1205 Washington St.

Next is a new entry into our lineup, Grace Cafe at 1065 E. Sunset. This cafe is quickly making it’s way into ‘Hamsters’ hearts as a must-have pie stop with fantastic Gravenstein Apple pie.

We will finish our ride at Rudy’s Pizzaria, 1232 N State St. Rudy’s offers pizza by the slice and I am sure by that time our stomachs will only have room for one (okay, maybe two) of their gigantic slices.

There is talk of an early-evening activity (bowling?). Check back for updates.

Attending: Dorcie, Jim, Rudy, Todd F, Orin, Coll, Sheila, their son Colin, Jeff M, Jason, Brooksana.

The meeting was called to order at 10:19 am.

Euro Moto 2012: Next weekend. Coll will attend. While there he will speak to vendors regarding sponsorship for Hamster Run.

Hamster Run: Joel S will contribute financially, and in kind: He as arranged for Pirate Custom Upholstery to contribute two tool kits (not 10). There will also be six Starbucks scooter mugs, a seat cover and skeleton gloves. Joel is planning on marshalling the rides, and will request assistance from the Sólo Niños with details to follow.

Soccer scarves: We would offer these instead of t-shirts at next year’s Hamster Run, with a club design that could be sold at other events. Likely to be black & white, though details of the design will be worked out later.

St. Paddy’s Parade/Pi Run: Parade is St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17; be at the staging area between 10:30 and 11:30, parade starts at noon. We may be first! Meetup for Pi Run will be at 2:00 pm at Man Pies, 1215 Railroad Ave, downtown Bellingham. Route will be 31.4 miles and will include two stops for sweet pie, ending somewhere for pizza (location TBD). Brooksana said the route will be 50cc-friendly.

Victoria: Rally is Victoria Day weekend (the weekend before Memorial Day weekend). Todd has reserved a block of rooms at Paul’s Motor Inn for Saturday and Sunday night; please contact him if you’re planning on staying there, and make your reservations with Paul’s (mention Scooters of Bellingham to get the club rate).

Radioactive Raid: 2UP SC presents Radioactive Raid, June 22-24 at Camp Horizon near Blaine (a former military radar base). Details at the Web site: http://2upsc.weebly.com – $175 per room for the weekend includes accommodation for three for Friday and Saturday nights plus food, beverages and more. You can make your reservation at the Web site, and are encouraged to do so by the end of March. Brooksana says it will be like summer camp.

Mid-Month Rides: These will start up again in April. A different club member will be tasked with leading this ride each month.

Jason will offer individual tutorials on scooter maintenance for those who desire it; contact him to make arrangements.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Orin O’Neill
for Tom Smith,
Club Secretary

Good turnout for our first meeting of 2012!

On behalf of Dorcie, I collected dues for the season from Joel, Coll, Sheila, Rob, Rochelle, Orin, Bill, Judy — if I missed anyone, please let me know!

Orin revealed the Logo for Hamster Run VII and in true form he has captured the Vegas theme. The design will be posted on our Web site for viewing (click on the ‘Hamster Run’ tab above. —Ed.). We will do a pre-run of T-shirts in the Spring — this will be a HOT T-Shirt to have! An announcement will be sent out soon for pre-orders, stay tuned.

To fit the Vegas theme we are looking for ideas for games for the rally weekend, please forward yours to me so we can get the ball rolling. A Poker Run is already in the works.

We discussed having another winter scooter maintenance class taught by Jason; we will put together a modern Vespa 150cc+ class in February at Fullers’ Garage, date TBA. Jason has tires if you need some, and now’s the time for a tuneup!

Our next meeting will be February 25th.

Tom Smith – Founding member / secretary