Scooters of Bellingham

We'd love to see you!

Scooters of Bellingham (SOB Club)’s monthly membership meetings happen on the 4th Saturday of each month at Sehome Diner, 232 36th Street, in the Sehome Village shopping center. All scooter riders and scooter enthusiasts are welcome!

Hey all, Todd will be leading a ride to the Worst SC Ever’s Royal Canadian Motorscooter Portage 25 in Vancouver, B.C. You know, just up the road.

The ride will DEPART at 8:30 am Saturday Aug. 3, 2011 from the Bakerview Starbucks, 1031 W. Bakerview Rd in Bellingham, returning late that afternoon/early evening. (If you’d like to stay longer, you’ll need to make your own arrangements for lodging.)

WSCE’s Web site has the latest itinerary info, and a map of the weekend’s meetup places.

Please remember, crossing the U.S.-Canadian border will require a passport, passport card or Enhanced Driver’s License. At the time this was written, the Canadian dollar was worth $1.01.

Attending: Todd, Dorcie, Orin, new member Leslie, Coll, Sheila, Kathy (Tom could not attend due to personal reasons)

Rally wrap-up: Sold 63 rally packs (approximately 80 attended). Bank account ending balance slightly more than beginning balance after all bills were paid and monies received deposited (there will be a nice Xmas party this year). SOS Club donated $300, Solo Ninos SC donated $250, garage sale netted $500. Vespa Lynnwood donated LOTS of AWESOME RAFFLE PRIZES (buy stuff from them if you can!), which were a huge hit with all. So was letting people distribute their raffle tickets among the prizes they actually wanted. Promoting the rally early on Facebook was very successful, creating considerable buzz; lots of first-time attendees from Seattle and a big group from Victoria. Rides were universally praised, and the weather gods were especially kind. Bottom line: another smash hit.

Next year will see the 7th Hamster Run. A gambling/Vegas theme seems mandatory. Working title – Hamster Run 7: Hamster Royale (or Casino Hamster?). Making the big ride a Poker Run seemed a popular idea. We have until next year to work out the details.

Vancouver Rally: Worst SC Ever presents Royal Canadian Motor Scooter Portage 25, Sept. 2-5, 2011 (i.e., next weekend). Todd will lead a ride up on Saturday, Sept. 3, departing from the Bakerview Starbucks, 1031 W Bakerview Rd, @ 8:30 am and returning that evening. (Please remember, crossing the U.S.-Canadian border will require a passport, passport card or Enhanced Driver’s License) The Canadian dollar is worth $1.01 U.S. as this is written.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Orin O’Neill for
Tom Smith
SOB Club secretary

From the Aug. 10, 2011 issue of Cascadia Weekly, “Fuzz Buzz”—

On July 30, (The Saturday of Hamster Run —Ed.) Bellingham Police received reports of three shots fired near the waterfront, followed by the roar of a Vespa scooter driving away. Police spoke to a gang of riders on scooters. (emphasis ours) Police concluded the shots were really backfire.

Have you ever heard the sound a Vespa makes described as a “roar”? After all, Enrico Piaggio famously said “it sounds like a wasp.” And wasps, as far as we know, don’t roar.

During the slow race on the top level of the Parkade, a CoBPD bicycle officer did pay us a brief visit, but left without writing any tickets or collaring any of the participants.

At least CW didn’t refer to peoples’ scooters as MOPEDS…

Labor Day (or Labour Day, your choice) weekend is fast approaching, and you know what that means—it’s scooter rally time in Vancouver, B.C.!

The Royal Canadian Motorscooter Portage is the 25th annual scooter rally in The World’s Favorite City™ and the Worst Scooter Club Ever promises an even that will truly be AWESOME! If you’ve never been, Vancouver is not only a great place to ride, it’s a beautiful city in a beautiful location with lots of things to see and do when you’re not riding.

Updates on the itinerary and other details will be posted on the event’s Facebook page. Invite your friends. Heck, invite yourself! They say that’s okay…

UPDATE: From the WSCE Web site, here’s the updated itinerary.

Saturday was sunny and warm as scooterists gathered at Zuanich Point Park to get their rally packs and nosh on coffee and donuts. There was a light breeze blowing in off Bellingham Bay.

As you can see, a great day for a riding.

Dorcie counted 66 bikes in the parking lot as the call to head out was given. There were lots of folks from Seattle and B.C. in the group.

Tom led the group down Chuckanut Drive and through the valley before turning back toward Lake Samish and the end point in Fairhaven. Lunch was available from the hotdog stand at 12th & Harris, and from the many other restaurants in Bellingham’s historic district.

After lunch, Todd took the group on a long tour of eastern Whatcom and Skagit counties. If you rode a 2-stroke, you probably noticed it was a bit livelier, thanks to the extra oxygen from the lush greenery of the forests and farmlands.

We did have to stop when a group member on a Honda Reflex slipped in some gravel (at a speed estimated by one rider to be about 10 mph). He was not hurt, and after taking a break to catch his breath rejoined the group, which waited at the appropriately named Rally Lane.

The ride ended at Jeff & Mary’s private park, where rally participants feasted on alder-grilled salmon and other delicious accompaniments. The club was particularly fortunate when it came to raffle prizes, generous donations from Vespa Lynnwood accompanied by other prizes, including a new Vespa GT/GTS/LX windscreen donated by someone who bought it and never used it.

Scooter games followed dinner and the raffle, a gymkhana first, followed by the scooter ring toss pictured above. Todd dropped his Stella demonstrating the gymkhana course; Doc (who was resplendent in his Captain Morgan pirate outfit) took a particularly nasty fall crossing the finish line, but came out of it with no more serious injury than a black eye. Kelly from Seattle made a point of reminding other contestants that in neither case were the riders wearing helmets or other protective gear, and strongly suggested people gear up, as she was. They did.

It wasn’t supposed to rain Sunday morning, but it did. Breakfast and coffee were served at Jeff & Mary’s while the movie Pump Up the Volume was showing on the big screen. The out-of-towners were keen to get on the road, so the short ride originally scheduled was scrubbed. But everyone kept talking about the great time they had, and a couple of first-timers said they’d be back next year. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone again.

Saturday was a busy, busy day. So many pics to sort through, so much to tell you, and not enough time. Check back tomorrow for details on the rides, and the seafood feast. It was delicious (see below).

The anticipation is over, the time has come: Hamster Run VI: Pirates of the Chuckanut/Hex of the Hamsters has begun! On with the show, this is it!

The meetup at Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen on Holly St saw a bunch of scooters, and scooterists from as far away as Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. There was beer, and delicious pizza from the Chuckanut kitchen.

At 8:00 pm, Tom and Jeff W led a quick city ride that ended up on the top level of the Parkade downtown.

We watched the sunset as the slow race took place on the hard concrete surface. From there, you had your choice of bowling at 20th Century…

… or a bonfire and movie (Pirates of the Caribbean, natch).

That’s what happened Friday. Saturday is when the real riding happens. Stay tuned.