Ucluelet, BC March 2005 weekend

It seems like only yesterday when we went to the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The weather wasn't great, we were in the torrential rainy season of the Wet Coast.

Here's a rainy day view of Wickaninnish Beach, where the restaurant used to be:


They have now turned the Restaurant area into a tourist information area. The new Wickaninnish Inn was constructed a few miles north on MacKenzie Beach. March is typically not tourist season and we were glad that we made the decision to stay in Ucluelet again at the Terrace Beach Resort (this is previously owned by Roots).

The Cabins are built on the side of the hill, and the raised boardwalk are sort of on stilts, so be prepared for many steps:


We had our own 2 bedroom (three level)cabin. Top floor, master bedroom and bath, Middle floor, kitchen, living room, and washroom, and on the lower level, another bedroom. Oh, almost forgot, there is a jacuzzi on the upper level with a view of the ocean, with balcony. There is really no where in Ucluelet to purchase supplies except for the co-op so we made the 45min trek to Tofino to visit the seafood store. We had a meal fit for a king.

We discovered this newly constructed, Wild Pacific Trail:

The trail follows the ocean/cliffs around the Ucluelet area:

from the lighthouse at Amphritite Point the trail goes North or South from this point, and there are numerous overlooks:

and don't fall in, the waves are just churning and smashing the rocks below:

They have built some staircases so you can access the beach below:

The trail covers a few kilometers:

I can still hear the power of the ocean:


The intrepid trekkers, Bob & Yvonne:



Currents are dangerous this time of year:






It was a pleasant break from the pressures of daily life and to experience 1st hand the power of the ocean and nature's fury. On our final day we had breakfast at the new Wickaninnish Inn and returned to Vancouver. It's a four hour drive back to Nanaimo, 2 hours on the ferry, and about an hour from Horseshoe Bay to home.

not enough time

I didn't realize how long it has been since I have posted anything on this Blog but I have been very busy on other projects. If I can take some sage words from the "musings of an intrepid commuter" a BLOG IS A HUNGRY THING. You always have to keep your mind open for new topics. I am always on the lookout for new things to report and during the past month suddenly I have discovered YouTube, so all of my attention has been devoted to; learning how to work all those multimedia programs, slide shows, video editing which usually results in posting up on YouTube. I have been gathering more images from my weekend adventures and hopefully will find the time to post some interesting articles soon. While my videos are usually only around 5 minutes long, I recently spent 5 hours working on one of them.
Darn those hit counters. I know nothing about programing, web design or programming but I thought that it would be nice to have some readership statistics and be able to somehow track how many vistors I would have come to my site. During the time my Youtube videos got posted, I was getting more 'hits' on YouTube than here, so that is where I have been spending most of my time. I feel so honoured that viewers would click on my videos. Of course that is human nature to devote more time to where your audience is. That is . . . until I was identified with "3rd Party Content" . WOW, I was very worried at first, and YouTube also sent me an official looking email. So my research was on to find out what all of this meant, what reprocussions (if any), and what would happen. I have now spent nearly a week googling everything in sight to find the answers and since these videos are produced without any monetary goal, then they appear to be endured by the major music companies. As a matter of fact; EMI and Warner Music have already signed "deals" with YouTube to Identify 3rd party content (a soft word for "copyright infringement")and if I read correctly, they will Allow use of "their" music in these videos in return for a share of advertising money based upon number of views. UMG, United Music Group has not yet entered into any deal with YouTube, but in my case they have authorized the use of "their" music on one of my videos (for a share of advertising money) which I think is going to be paid by YouTube under some sort of advertising sharing arrangement.
Anyway, back on topic. I have been spreading myself thin working in different areas and none is getting the attention it should. Every day the temperatures are getting higher and I can almost feel that spring has arrived. That means getting back into the 2 wheel mode. That's not to say that I only ride (my Bike or Scooter) in fair weather, contrare mon ami, I ride all year but not when there is ice or snow, or fog or heavy rain (cars can't see your tiny tail light). It's just that I am getting tired of the rain and would just like it to stop for a while.
Sorry, just some ramblings to let you know what I have been up to. and to keep you hanging on . . .



what does this mean ? you'll have to stay tuned for next time

thanks for listening, bob

Caging it on a Sunday

Over the years we had established that Sunday would be family day, so no scooting today. I am more or less free every other day of the week to enjoy life on 2 wheels, but NOT on Sunday, unless of course it is a pre-planned day to a planned scooter event. In the post yesterday a small group of us, led by Reverend, Robert went across the Border in an attempt to view the Tulip fields in the LaConner area. LaConner is a small, seaside town south of Bellingham and connected by the famous Chuckanut Drive. Many things conspired to keep us away from the tulips. First thelong border line up ate up our valuable time, and also some of us had to return to Vancouver; one for a birthday party and another for a late meeting. And another one of us does not have the full motorcycle endorsement yet and was restricted to riding during daylight hours only, which means getting home before dark (or your scoot will turn into a pumpkin). So while we went with the expectation of seeing tulips, we didn't.

But on our local ride on Sunday, we did

This was in White Rock, BC just before you step onto the pier

there were tulips everywhere


There were even tulips covering the parking sign


Next time we should arrange a scooter ride to the Bradner area, which is the tulip capital of BC. We drove out to the (Fraser) Valley and travelled on a lot of backroads and everywhere we went there were tulip fields and tulips for sale.

It was such a nice warm day, actually warm in the sun but cool in the shade type of day. The forecast was for scattered showers but we didn't see any. It was just a day to aimlessly roam around the countryside but I decided that perhaps it would be better to enjoy the outdoors and we ended up in White Rock for an hour or two.

Not a lot to say today, that pictures can't convey. A picture is worth a thousand words.

The White Rock Pier


It's longer than you think. There is a sailing club moored at the end, a long walk to bring your supplies






Kayakers also enjoying a day on the water


The seagulls are also enjoying the day, with the whole beach to themselves


It was a great spring day

Tulips in LaConner, WA

Well, during the past few weeks the weather has been very un-cooperative, mainly rain and not really conducive for scooter riding, at least pleasurable scooter riding. Robert (the Reverend) had a yearning desire to see the Tulips down in LaConner, WA so months ago he posted a scooter ride for 12 April 2008. He is a very busy Reverend and this was the only day that he had available. All week we had monsoon weather and it really didn't seem like the weather was going to clear up in time for the weekend. Later in the week the forecast changed and Saturday looked like it was going to be the warmest day of the year. Now it was time to get my email working and some friends from the SOB's in Bellingham interested to join up with our group. Oh, SOB's are the Scooters Of Bellingham whom we met last year during the Hamster Run II.

here we are at our meet up departing point in New Westminster


And here is our group leader; Robert, the Reverend


We finally made it to the border, but got stalled in a very long line up. You can't even see the end of the line



You still can't see the front of the line, we around a mile back



We had to wait around 2-1/2 Hours to actually cross. It doesn't really seem that they are trying to promote free trade between our countries, or hire more staff to make the lines go through faster. Recently I ready somewhere that for all the security checks they do; at airports, border crossings, bus terminals, checking transport trucks they have not really captured any terrorists. It's just a costly excercise in frustration, long line ups that really don't accomplish anything

As mentioned, Todd & Dorcie (SOB's from Bellingham) agreed to meet up with us and take us to Fairhaven on some scenic backroads. We jointed them at the new Birch Bay Square (coffee shop), and followed Portal Way south to Ferndale, then some neat roads which zig zagged from farmlands to rolling hills, along Bellingham Harbour and eventually made it to Fairhaven and we parked our scoots in front of Chispa



And here's a shot of Todd, who was kind enough to meet up with us and lead us into Bellingham


Here are all the scoots lined up in Fairhaven (Bellingham, WA)


Hope no one notices that we are parked in a Yellow Zone






We are preparing for departure and start our approach towards Chuckanut Drive


It was a great day to be scooting in the Pacific North West. It was a sunny, warm -summer-like day. What more could you ask for ? Good weather, good friends, good roads and riding your scooter

Oh, Oh . . . almost forgot, never made it to LaConner, perhaps another day . . .

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

Ramblings of a novice Blogger

Well, it's been a few days but I have been very busy advancing my knowledge of video, simple editing, freeware and hosting. There's just too many things to know and lots of places to divert your time - passwords, logins almost time to write everything down. I can see now that the more places the internet takes you, the less time you have. Time to make some paring down decisions. I'm spreading myself so thin that I have come to realize that perhaps less is more. I wanted to avail myself of the tools to make this BLOG interesting and interspersed with pix and videos instead of just ramblings of alphabetic characters and thoughts. Plus the fact that the riding season would be upon us very soon and I have a lot of plans to include a lot of new interesting stuff for you all to digest. What better time to explore the possibilities than during inclement weather. I must say that I have not really explored the possibilities of YOUTUBE, that is, until now . During the past couple of weeks I have completed a few projects from past events and posted videos on Youtube. I have found freeware which works and can mix video with stills and also able to add audio to the soundtrack. I have found hosting sites for the video projects, both public and Private. and also during my cyber travels I have discovered a site where I can host full resolution pictures for others to download (from), 'cause it's always a struggle to send these to everyone who wants them due to mailserver restrictions on attachment sizes. I am not a computer geek, but just merely one who needs to know how to use the resources available, and the main purpose is to make my BLOG as interesting as i am able.
Blogging is new to me. I have never expressed my thoughts in a journalist form before and as with any software you have to be confident in how it works and how to manipulate the add-ins, such as pictures and video (and where to host them). Well, I must say that I think I am getting more proficient and now when I see things I can visualize how they are going to turn out before I even start. Much the same as during my photography days when I could visualize the finished, framed portrait.
Actually the more I think of it, the more I can actually say, Less is More . I have always been a believer that More is better, but now I am not so sure. I can think of a few examples, but I will save them for another post.

ride safely, rubber side down, and pray for sun

Nostalgia and the 60's

Well, I'm back. computer gremlins got into my computer and logged me off the internet for a few days. I know nothing about computers, I only use it. The last time it bugged out I had to run the anti-virus, then the superspyware - so that's what I did. then reset the Modem and router, but nothing . . . so I left it overnight and tried again the next morning. reset the Modem and router again, but still nothing so off to my provider's tech support and they couldn't solve the problem on the telephone either. the solution was to send out the tech later in the day. Long story short, it now works. So all is back to normal.
I was actually waiting for a very important email (from Rocci), but I was helpless. I did not have her phone number and she did not call me back. so by the time I got back on line, she had already gone to Seattle to get her bike serviced. I would have tagged along for moral support if I had gotten the details in time to meet up with her.
Saturday started out with sunshine, a perfect day for the season opener Sport Bike ride to Harrison Hot Springs, a small group of about 100 bikes. navigating the twisty backroads of Mission

Here's a small teaser






and we had the road almost to ourselves. This is the first time I have tried to mount the camera on the bike so once I get this figured out there will be more "on the road" videos. Hang on tight, you are getting a headlight view.






Sunday we went to see the Easter parade of old cars at Oakridge Shopping centre. It was a smaller group than normal probably due to threatening rain showers, but the sun did come out in spurts and there was a misting or two.

Also, there is the closing of one of the last old time burger joints on Kingsway. Wally's burgers had been in business since 1962. Their lease was coming up at the end of the month and the property is slated for redevelopment. You have to sell a lot of hamburgers every month just to make the $6,500./mo rent (and this is not including wages).



There were lots of people there, music, muscle cars and many friends that we have not seen in a while. Wally's was a hangout for us youngsters way back when . . . when there was King's Burgers, A&W , The "IT", Texan Burgers, and we almost forgot "The Delmar". I think only White Spot and A&W are left. Did I mention that I am also a car guy. I sold my muscle car a couple of years ago, but still have my sports car, which is only insured during the summer.





Yes, Wally's will be gone forever. They are closing on March 28th, so if you are craving a Deluxe Wagon (Double Burger), you had better hurry over right now

Moving on

I finally did it. I sold my beloved Suzuki GS400s . I have had bikes since the early 60's, that is until I sold them all and was bikeless for nearly 20 years. I had numerous bikes of varying sizes until around '84 or '85 when I sold my GS1100L. I started on a small bike. I remember it was a Yamaha 80 2-stroke, 4 speed. You didn't have to mix the oil (it had posi-lube). You filled a little container on the bike and it would mix with the gas automatically. Back in those days there wasn't really any bike scene, it was just transportation. All bikes were small. I remember my friend bought a brand new Suzuki X-6 Hustler. Boy was it fast. 2-stroke power, 6 speed. He left it with me for the summer as he was going out of town and didn't want his brother to use it. In comparison there was a honda scooter rental place on Alberni street (near Burrard). We used to rent those 90cc step-thrus and ride around Stanley Park. We cranked the throttle wide open and just pushed down on the shifter . . . it would wine and just clunk into the next gear. That's how we rode back then, full speed or stopped, nothing in between.
Then I got onto the X-6 and did the same thing wide open throttle and the bike just wanted to go without you. You had to really grip the handlebar really tight or you would be left behind.
While I had many miles under my belt I wanted to get back into riding, so about 5 years ago I thought that I had the perfect solution. My wife had ridden a small scooter down in White Rock while we were visiting friends. They had a Honda Jog and a large grass field. She disappeared for what appeared to be hours. We were having a group picnic and every one was wondering where she went. Then someone spotted her at the other end of the field -- you couldn't get her off that thing. Well, we discussed it and decided to purchase a scooter. Of course I didn't really want a scooter. My ultimate plan was to get her a scooter, and I would opt for a motorcycle. We went looking at various models, but there wasn't much choice back then. It wasn't that long ago but not like today where there are lots of different makes and models to choose from. We decided to go mainstream and get something that wouldn't be a problem for parts.
We settled on a Yamaha BWS 49cc . We did our job and checked out all the ride heights, as she has a short inseam. Long story short, the BWS was too tall. My plan was to purchase a motorcycle as the second 2 wheel so we could go riding, but now we found that for safety reasons we were looking for a Yamaha Vino, which we subsequently purchased. That's how it started. We had a Yamaha BWS and a Vino. Two scooters in our stable, plus I still purchased the GS400s (since that was my original plan, almost gone astray). So that brings us to 3 bikes.
My idea was to ease back into riding with a machine that wouldn't get you into too much trouble, be cheap on insurance and have a reasonable re-sale value after a year or so. I suppose I should have upgraded it a few years ago but the bike did it's job, always started when you wanted it to and I am glad it went to a good home, another beginner who will learn how to ride and eventually pass it on to another new rider.

This is my new-to-me Suzuki SV650n K4:


And with my new 44L topcase & Givi Bracket:


The riding season is nearly here and I've been busy getting it ready for the road. Whenever you purchase something used there are things that must be attended to. Unlike myself. When anyone purchases anything from me there are no surprises, as I make sure that everything is attended to. I find that when people sell things they don't usually fix it up to sell, rather they sell so they don't have to fix it up.
That was the case with the SV. I have just had it serviced; oil, filter & antifreeze flush, new tires (Michelin Pilot Powers front & back) and a new chain while the rear wheel was off, and new front brakes (double rotors). Everything else is ship shape. Concessions for travelling is the new Givi Bracket and Top box, looks sort of out of place right now, but the saddle bags will balance it out somewhat.
Now if only the sun would come out

Happy Birthday, Yvonne

Have a very Happy Birthday. Today is your day.



love, bob

New shoes

Last year around October the rear tire on our Vino went flat. We were prepping it for one last end of season ride over to Sechelt (which involves a short ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay) . The Vino didn't get used very much last season, only 2 group rides in total and that was to Steveston, BC in early Spring and it has just sat around ever since. The irony is that I was actually on my way to a local scooter shop to have the bike 'checked' out for the ride and it went flat on the way. It was pouring rain and I was stranded on Wolfe Avenue, between Granville & Oak streets. I called the shop but was told that Wayne was away, so what to do. There was no choice really, as I tried to push it but then the rim would just rip the tire to shreds. The tire was really, really, flat and the bead had lost contact with the rim.
One phone call and a long 45min wait later comes my wife in the car to pick me up, then back home to connect our 3-rail trailer (to the rescue). There was no cover during the monsoon-like rains an I was just soaked. We got the scoot back home, fired up the compressor and got the tire inflated back to recommended pressure. Everything seemed fine so the next day off on our last ride of the season.
Fast forward to today. In the back of my mind I had a mental note to look into new tires for this years new riding season. As the scoot is not currently insured, out came the trailer again to take it to the scooter shop.

Loaded up and ready for the trip to Richmond:


I'm no expert when it comes to securing the scoot to the trailer so I used 2 anchors on each side; one cam lock and one ratcheting thingy, and one strap to secure the tail. My general rule is to check the looseness/or slack every 20 minutes to make sure it doesn't fall off. I know that you are supposed to compress the front shocks and ratchet the front end down a few inches.

We finally arrive at Wayne@Scooter in Richmond:


As you will notice, we made it safetly to Wayne's shop. I unloaded the scoot and thought that I would just start it up . . . but NO KEY ! OH NO, in my haste to rush down to Richmond I remembered that I had to put the key into the GIVI top case to detach it from the docking base, thus when I put the GIVI in the garage I inadvertently left the keys in the case. More wasted time, I was intending to rush down to the local Vespa dealer where Robert was making Cappucinos (funds for charity). Now I had to make another return trip from home/Richmond just to bring the key for the scoot. The traffic was very heavy down Oak Street, bumper to bumper traffic for miles before we could even get near to the Bridge. I was dreading the return trip that was caused by my own forgetfullness.

Finally I arrive at VV:


Well, I finally get to VV. Better to arrive late than never, but a beverage was not to be. Robert informs me that he has run out of milk. No milk means no Cappucino for me today. I don't think my SV looks too out of place amounts the little guys. I had to get it out for exercise (but that's a story for another day). Since I arrived late, which I rarely do, I have missed the crowd. Delia picked up her new S90, Paul came on his new (to him) Silverwing, then I find out that Tony waited at Waynes for me to show up, but I got there late.

Oh, another use for a 3-rail motorcycle trailer:


Excellent way to dispose of a hot water heater. I had a new water heater installed back in September, but as there was a civic garbage strike, there was no way I could get ride of that thing, until now . . .