One of the scooter clubs I’m a member of, the Westenders, is featured in a great article in the West Seattle Herald. Once again, I’m caught in the act of waxing philosophical. You’d think I spend most of my time sitting in cafes wearing a beret and fondling my soul patch.

Ralph’s quote pretty much sums us up:

“Being a Westender is a state of mind,” said Ralph Leach, who wears a jacket of patches and buttons. “This is a family friendly scooter club. We aren’t a bunch of derelicts, just some of us.“

This lighthearted little news bite provides a much-needed respite from yesterday’s rampant stupidity in the reader comments on the Seattle PI scooter parking piece.

I’ve received word that the Westenders article is in the print version of the newspaper, on newstands now. I’ve got to grab a copy tonight to read while sitting on the beach at Alki, eating cupcakes and waxing philosophical.

I found the key to staying (relatively) sane in an insane world is to keep a sense of humor about most things. My ability to do so depends largely on how much coffee I’ve had and whether or not the sun is out. Mama always said, “you gotta pick your battles.” The scooter parking battle is a particularly heated one, and I vacillate between dragging out my soapbox and simply shaking my head in amusement.

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Photo by Vu

Vu came and helped me make several improvements on Celeste over the weekend.

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Now that Celeste is back on the road, I haven’t been riding the GTS as often. Though when I do, it’s for very long trips. Something strange I noticed today: Aphrodite and Celeste have almost the exact same total mileage this week: 2,500 miles. Cue: Twilight Zone theme song.

Two interesting Fun Facts for you today, kids:

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I must admit I have a serious tech fetish. I often get itchy fingers at the sight of a new toy with bells, whistles and a microchip. (Especially in white.) So imagine my delight when I came across the Diagnostic Scan Tool for the Vespa GTS.

Basically, you plug one end of this baby into your Vespa GTS scooter and the other into your laptop, and you can “fix error codes and check out many other systems on your GTS via computer,” according to the product description.

I discovered this tool in my early days of GTS ownership while Aphrodite and I were ironing out a few wrinkles, including a malfunctioning rectifier and errant sparkplug connector.

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Spending a full day riding Celeste brought a few necessary projects to light. Some are more urgent than others. For example, I probably shouldn’t be riding around sans signals or mirrors, but a lack of whitewalls is not endangering my safety this week. Here’s the short list:

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I took advantage of yesterday’s blue sky sunshine to spend some quality time with Celeste the Frankenstella. We bonded like old lovers reunited.

We had plans to meet Jett and her Fireball Stella, “Arson”, in West Seattle. I’ve been toying with the idea of moving to that neighborhood in the fall. The only factor preventing me from already relocating to West Seattle is my disdain for rush hour traffic.
I am presently spoiled by a four minute commute (five minutes in traffic). In January, when I’m riding a scooter on the windy Lakeview ramp in the freezing rain, I cherish this fact and use it as justification for my astronomical rent.

But on a warm and rosy day, riding along Alki Beach with the salty breeze on my face, watching Labradoodles gambol in the surf, January is just a faint bad dream. One should avoid apartment hunting during Seattle summers.

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Jett and me reflected in Vu’s very cool super-magnifying Stella mirror.
Objects in mirror are definitely larger than they appear!

The Westenders’ Prime Minister, Roger Tango, decided to engage his affinity for Hawaii shortly after his return from a holiday there, and host a luau on Vashon Island. Not quite as tropical an island as, say, Ku’ai, but a beautiful island nonetheless.
Sunday was the first Operation: Big Kahuna ride and barbecue. The weather was absolutely fabulous – not a cloud in the deep blue sky and the water was all sparkly. Pristine mountain views, lush green foliage, and another string of “Omigod I live here” moments.

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