Scooters of Bellingham

Last weekend saw two, count ‘em, TWO out-of-town scooter rallies, and the SOB club was representin’ at both.

Craig, Sheila, Coll, and Tom attended The Westenders SC’s Tour di Mari 4 in Seattle. Great Weather and some 80 scooterists in attendance; fantastic water’-edge rides and killer food along with a raffle to end all raffles. The Westenders set the bar high this season.

To the north, Jimmy hosted the second annual DELTASCOOT, in and around Delta, B.C. A great turnout, including Jen (below), who moved to Spokane last year.

Unfortunately, Jimmy’s epic wheelie resulted in a broken collar bone. But he’s Canadian. He has that free healthcare.

The weather in Cascadia was summer-like all weekend (a rarity). Hamster Run’s up next. Be there. Aloha.

Tom and Todd at Vespa Lynnwood

Todd F. and I hit the road south for VCOS’ Scooter Insanity 24 After a few wrong turns and some nice curves we arrived around 10:30 am at Cafe’ Racer in the U District. Orin was already there and advised us to get some breakfast before it was all gone.

Eggs, bacon, biscuits & gravy and beer to wash it down (coffee for the civil folks). After social hour with some 80 scooterists, we departed for the ride up to Vespa Lynnwood for burgers, dogs, and refreshments.

At 3:00 pm Todd and I departed for the ride back to B’ham. Orin stayed behind and will fill in the rest of the rally stories. The ride back was brutal going through Everett—traffic was bumper to bumper until we hit Marysville. Cruising was fast up to the Pub in Conway for a refreshment stop. Beware of the five-alarm chicken wings—my lips are still on fire! Todd enjoyed Oyster Shooters.

Todd learned the hard way to slow down when crossing railroad tracks—the one in Conway is a hazard. He hit hard, breaking off a third of his ET’s front fender, and the chrome fender bumper went airborne. We managed to salvage it.

All well that ends well, we had a great time! VCOS did a great job on the rally and long ride!!!

—Tom Smith

Six club members met up at Chuckanut Brewery Thursday, ready for a ride to Birch Bay. Brooksana (back after surgery) and Jana joined Todd, Dorcie, Tom, Orin and Bill from the SOS Club, who arrived just as the group was getting ready to leave.

The weather was sunny but cool as we wound our way along the waterfront and past the oil refineries (There are five of them within a 20-mile radius, but Bellingham has the highest gasoline prices in the state of Washington. Go figure…).

Bill had to head for home, but the rest of us dined al fresco at CJ’s in Birch Bay. Their halibut and chips are delicious. So’s the clam chowder.

We had a nice sunset to watch.

Photos by Orin

A BIG thanks to all those who donated items for the annual club yard sale. The weather held, and although the shoppers were thin this year—we managed to pull in a little over $500 to go towards the rally next month.

Craig, Jeff W., Taira, Dorcie, Todd, Sandy, and Orin arrived by 7:15, ready to work, and by 7:45 we made our first sale. (Great Crew!)

We wheeled and dealed until 12:30 or so, packed up the leftover items, and made a donation drop @ Value Village.

See more pics on the SOB Facebook page.

Todd, Kanita and Dorcie take in the scooter antics (photos by Orin)

It was another Victoria Day weekend, and the SOBs were out in force in the Garden City. Most arrived Saturday and filled the parking lot of Paul’s Motor Inn with scooters!

Jeff R brought his Punk GTS, which drew favorable reaction out on the Causeway. Mary made a rare appearance on her Buddy, as well. Tom, Todd, Dorcie, Collin and Kanita made it a family thing, and Jason brought some folks from Tacoma. Apologies if you were there and I didn’t see you!

Tom suffered a broken exhaust pipe, but it was quickly repaired with a roll of muffler tape. The barriers at Paul’s make nice workbenches in a pinch.

Best of all, the weather was agreeable, the periods of rain occurring overnight and otherwise not at times when we were riding. A good time. Don’t miss it next year! —Orin

Jeff W got the nod to lead May’s mid-month ride, so he put the word out: meet up Wednesday at Cichitti’s on Railroad Ave for pizza and a ride around Bellingham.

It was sunny and warm on Monday and Tuesday. However, it rained on Wednesday. All day.

Jeff was the only one to arrive on a scooter, probably because he doesn’t have a car. Why don’t we try Thursday, we thought.

Much better weather Thursday. More like Tuesday. Jeff and Taira were on the Bajaj, Todd on his Stella, Dorcie on the PX 150, and yours truly with the GTS.

Jeff promised some roads we knew, and some we didn’t, and he delivered. You could almost call the ride a real estate tour—the route wound through Bellingham’s residential areas, first on the northside, then the southside. There were some nice views. A fun route, it would’ve been nice to have some more our friends join us. Still, neighborhood residents gawked as we passed. That’s always fun.

The ride ended at the corner of 12th Street and Old Fairhaven Parkway. Sorry there are no pictures, but I somehow managed to leave home without a camera. —Orin

Thanks to those who came to our April meeting, good turnout.

Update from our Rally Chair ~ Dorcie
Putting together a Rally Committee, this is what we have so far -
Brooksana – donations/items for rally packs, raffle.
Tom, Taira, Jeff W., Craig – items for rally packs, more would be great.
Food Committee – Tom, Jeff R., and Mary
Games will be held in lieu of an obstacle course.
This is what we need:
Bags for the rally packs (environmentally friendly).
People to sign up for Cleanup Committee (at Jeff and Mary’s).
Rescue vehicle driver – will also serve as Rally Pack Sales vehicle.
Our Rally Chair will have more, this is all I have in my meeting notes.

Todd F. will be tweaking the rally routes, which will be posted on our web site.

Anyone who needs mechanical work contact Sooty – andiamofrederick@gmail.com Sunday and Mondays are the days he’s available, located in Fullers garage.

Capital City SC Rally is in three weeks, Todd F. will lead the SOB’s down to the Anacortes ferry. Departure is 6:15 AM from the gas station on corner of 12th St. and Old Fairhaven Pkwy on Saturday, May 21st, returning Monday the 23rd.

SOB Club Yard Sale will be the 2nd Saturday of June (the 11th), and the drop off of items will be the week prior – Saturday and Sunday, the 4th and 5th. This is our biggest fundraiser for the Hamster Run Rally, and your donations are greatly appreciated. Need to have a half dozen folks work the sale from 8am till noon – coffee and donuts will be provided.

Our Mid-Month Ride for May will be planned and led by Jeff Wilhelm, he will announcing the date and time, stay tuned.

Everyone is happy with the fine tuning and timely postings, with photos Orin has done with the club’s Web site, folks can now find us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/scootersofbellingham) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/scootersofbham).

Great to see Brooksanna again, she’s on the mend and will be riding with us by June.

Meeting adjourned.

With the sky gray and a mist of rain, Todd, Orin, and I headed North toward a patch of blue. Within ten minutes of riding we hit dry road and blue skies. A loop into northern Whatcom County with one coffee stop and a rare sighting of four bald eagles flying above made for a memorable Saturday ride.

Jeff, Mary, and Captain Buck hosted a great seafood feast, and I’m sure it’s still going strong. Bill, Judy, Dick, Jim, Orin, and I got a belly full of delicious fish and side dishes, along with some good company.

Respectfully submitted,
Tom Smith – club secretary