A new Helmet for Agnes

All week the weather was not co-operating. I had originally intended to go for a ride by myself on my motorcycle on the US side of the border and to meet some friends in Bellingham. I had noticed that the SOB's had intended to meet the SOS's in Burlington somewhere. I was hoping for good weather. I'm just so tired of the rain and was thinking that a nice ride in the sunshine by myself would go a long way into clearing my mind. Well, wouldn't you know, when Saturday rolled around the weather was iffy so I decided to just go for breakfast and go with the flow. I had posted on a local scooter forum that I was going to go to my usual place. I had no idea who was going to show up (if any) so what to ride. Over the past couple of months I had been getting my SV ready for the road -- you know, new tires, fluids etc which I had mentioned on an earlier post. But I wasn't finished, I still needed new front brakes, and then found out that I needed a new clutch. Finally after 2 weeks the parts came in and everything got installed. A new tailbag showed up a week ago from an unadvertised sale at a local motorcycle shop (under the Granville Bridge, on 4th Avenue). My bike was just sitting there begging to be used, so that is what I rode to breakfast. Onward to my favourite motorcycle cafe down in Kitsilano where I had been meeting friends for over a decade. All my friends know 9am every Saturday at the Flying Swan Motorcycle Cafe.
While waiting for breakfast a couple of members of our local scootering community show up (for food and a ride); Agnes and James. Well, now I have the wrong vehicle. Now we're getting ready to leave and get Agnes and James to follow me home to get my scoot. Here's Agnes (Vespa GT200) & James (Boulevard 150)



I have friends with both Motorcycles and Scooters, and some who have both. I always use the appropriate machine. If I am just scooting around town I would prefer to use the scoot, but on the highway you require more power to keep up with traffic. We get to my carport and now I have to dig the scooter out



Over the years I have discovered a lot of scooter routes to use within the city (of Vancouver). Less traffic and safer is better. I go by the " 3 rights = 1 left " theory. Bike routes are also good for making those crossings on busy streets where you just have to push "THE BUTTON" to make all those cars stop. You get into a different mindset when you scoot, you find that slower is better and the long-cut (as opposed to short-cut) is the preferred route.
I chose a route that would take us past 3 motorcycle shops that carry helmets and ended up here.



We were planning on going to a charity BBQ at a Suzuki dealership on Kingsway (Burnaby) and I knew that there would be unadvertised specials and I had the notion that it would be better to go to some places more or less on the way so that Agnes could try out the different makes/models before arriving at our destination. Did I mention that the Vancouver Firefighters were also doing a donation charity bike/scooter wash and both Agnes and James stepped right up to the front of the line.



Look at all the attention the scoots are getting:



I could be wrong, but I seems that Jame's scoot must have been dirtier than Agne's as there are 3 firemen washing his, and only 1 working on Agne's GT 200:



Perfect timing, they wanted me to take the group picture, so here are the Vancouver Firefighters and the Flying Swan Hot Chicks (Dallas is the one on the left who helped with the organizing):



It was just after lunch hour when we arrived and you could savour the smell of hamburgers. They had a tent set up for the BBQ. I went over and asked the fellow who was operating the BBQ and asked him what the options were. He said, "you have a choice of Hamburger, Hamburger or Hamburger . . . " to which I replied, "you can have any colour you want as long as it's black" So a hamburger it was to be.
After I finished my Burger and Beverage I looked around, but it seemed that both Agnes and James had disappeared into the store to check out the deals. You can see Agnes trying out one of the helmets.





Finally it was time for us to leave and Agnes decided that she had no clothes to wear and had to go home to do her laundry. James and myself decided to go for a ride and headed out in a southerly direction



We headed south over the Queensboro Bridge to River Road:



We were cruising scooter speed, stopping to take pictures, and just enjoying the scenery. If we hadn't made so many stops then we would have been the train:



We finally made it to Finn Slough:







We finally ended up at Pajos in Steveston, BC, a small fishing community just south of Richmond which boasts the BEST fish and chips in the area. and I must say they are very good and yummy.



Looks empty now, but watch out in the summer time. Long line-ups and no table space available.



all in all it was a good day for a ride. Chilly, cold but anytime it doesn't rain is a good day.

ps: almost forgot to mention, Agnes purchased her New Helmet and knee armour, and James purchased a new hi-viz vest. lately I have been spending $$ like water, so today I was the spend-thrift