Victoria Scooter Ride – May 19th, 2012

I mark that the starting of the May long weekend as the start of the riding season.  With that in mind, we plan this ride for almost two months now, and we finally get to get on the scooters and I get my first chance this season to get on the scoot.  Here is my previous post from last year. As always, our starting point:

Gathering at the ferry terminal, waiting to be boarded.

Good thing about taking the scooter (or any two-wheeler) is that there is no waiting time.  Usually we wait in front of the cars, and then when it comes to boarding, we are the first ones to be boarded.  In addition, the price is only half that to regular cars.

As it is an early morning ferry, we all need breakfast to further our early start. Coffee, eggs, and waffle are in order:

After a leisurely and enjoyable 40-minute ride, we arrive in Victoria:

Early riders get the best parking spots:

Another shot of the harbour.

There is the Visitor Centre where you can find information on local attractions and great restaurants.

We also meet a local rider Dar through our fellow rider bobskoot. She is kind enough to lead us on some amazing local ride routes, be it flat and enjoyable ones or the more challenging and twisty ones. After a good one-hour ride, we arrive at Esquimalt Lagoon. An absolute beautiful spot to rest.

Lunch was served at a nearby A&W restaurant.

It is now 2:30 in the afternoon, well past the check-in time at our motel. We then take Highway 17 to head back to downtown Victoria to do just that. Scooters park right outside the room.

After napping for 30 minutes, we all again hit the road, this time Dar takes us through local streets and arrive at King George Terrace Lookout, another gorgeous viewpoint.

The next morning, which I thought we would be all knocked out from the early rise and all-day riding the day before, I find myself to be wide awake at 6:30. The Sunday morning street is quiet:

Breakfast at White Spot, eggs, sausage, brown toast, and smashed potatoes:

Very tasty. There is even coarse salt on top. The morning gang:

After breakfast, we pack our bags and, just in time, it starts to drizzle. Oh well, we already have a perfect ride. Back to Vancouver:

Next year…

 

Bike Swap

On Sunday, two of the fellow riders apparently want to switch their rides and try something new:

Above is Mr. G testing the sporty Honda CBR 250R, while below is Mr. B going retro and back in time with Honda Elite 250:

Another shot of Mr. G, looking sharp:

…  and off they go.  Not sure if they will come back with their own bike, but it sure is a great day for riding.

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Sunny Saturday in Victoria

Summer officially starts with the May long weekend, and it is a great start. Getting up at 4:00am (yawn) in the morning and catching the 7am ferry. I ride with some friends, well about some 15 people, from Vancouver to Victoria to support a scooter rally.

A beautiful sunny day indeed, as the seagull stands tall and all happy (I think) on the top of the street light. After almost the entire day’s ride, we finally check in at our motel, Paul’s Motor Inn.

We ride a lot today, courtesy of a local scooter/motorcycle rider Dar. She takes us through residential traffic, coastal scenic routes, and the local twisties. Late night tea n donut fuel up. Another day tomorrow, and more pictures to follow.

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This is scootering in Taiwan

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Mont Tremblant, Quebec – 20081018

I have been on this vast land for almost 20 years, and surprisingly I have travelled only a few places. In October 2008, in a business opportunity, we finally had a chance to go east and immerse in a different environment in Quebec.

As mentioned, the time was October. On the west coast, the weather was relatively warm, cold at times, but never below zero temperatures. Landing at the Jean Lesage International Airport (Aeroport International Jean-Lesage de Quebec) would soon prove that it was colder. It was also different:

A retro shot at the luggage:

The time was about around dinner time when we arrived, so we thought we should visit a restaurant first to fuel up after a long flight.

It was a first dining experience in a French-like setting, so it was exciting. Needless to say, we could only have guessed what was on the menu. Nonetheless, we still ended up have a great dinner, leading off to a great start of this trip.

After another hour of driving, we arrived at our hotel, the Fairmont Tremblant. Situated in a rural area, it embraces the very natural beauty of the Canadian wild.

The next morning was a clear one, with plenty of blue sky and Canadian fall colours:

We decided to head to the local supermarket to buy some bread and cookies. It was another 20 minutes driving from the hotel to the nearest supermarket.

And we saw this, a yellow-coloured broccoli, an exciting discovery:

More photos of the surrounding area, from the warm and comforting room:

After lunch, we thought it was a good idea to brave the cold while the sun was still out. There was a village nearby:

It’s a ski resort, so lots of amenities are close by, and it is designed to make everything accessible. Therefore, the whole area is sloped so people with strollers can move around easily, with side steps people can use when snowing. It also has a tram, taking visitors from bottom of the village to the top in about 15 minutes. It is slow, but the view is definitely worth it.

We also happen to catch two deers searching for food:

At the top:

875 meters later:

Most hotels offer mail services. They can actually delivery their mails for you, provided sufficient postage. This is antique-y looking:

Pardon the picture, but this is one expensive water bottle I have ever seen. I mean, it’s evian alright, but seriously?

A proud Kymco UXV 500 on display, right in front of the hotel entrance:

An open area in the village, where people sit and enjoy (weather permitting, of course)

And now, how to make maple candy:

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Outside decoration on the hotel itself:

The fun continues…

The next morning, we head out to the rural area, and we are going to do some real ATVing in the woods. Making things more interesting is the fact that it has been wet for the past few days, so the roads are also wet and muddy. This will create more demanding environments in which we test the vehicles.

There is even speed limit posted in the trail:

Overall, it was a fun and memorable trip. I am glad that I have had this chance to visit Quebec.

 

Riding to Work

November in Vancouver is usually cold and damp, not to mention the seemingly non-stop rain.  Therefore, when I check the forecast for today that it is going to be sunny, I jump on the chance and decide to take the scooter to work.  The downside about riding now is that when I get off work, it is going to be dark and cold, but I figure it is still better than riding in the rain.

 

Scooter Ride – 20110904

Vancouver has been blessed with gorgeous weather for the last couple of weeks, with the temperatures ranging between 18 – 28 degrees celsius. With this being the last summer long weekend, we decide to go for a group ride, meeting at Rideaway Motors:

 

This time, we have a larger group of riders, and we are to join the Royal Canadian Motorscooter Portage 2011 for some inner city riding. We all park our scooters at the designated spot, and we patiently await the ride.

We are to meet at the corner of Cambie Street and Cordova Street, and there is already a huge crowd there. I think there are about 100 scooters there. I don’t have the picture of the whole parade of scooters, mainly because I have seen most of them, and most of them are vintage scooters. I take this picture, because in the background there is the newly erected “W” (stands for Woodward) signage, and in the middle there is the old “W” sign from the demolition.

I also happen to catch this photo, where a father take his young son for some early scooter immersion:

However, the awkward moment is when the dad unbuckles, the kid actually falls to the ground! That just shows you the utmost importance of wearing helmets!

An vintage Triumph scooter is located injured on the back of a truck.

So the ride finally starts at 1:30pm, an half hour delay from the original itinerary. After a seemingly-endless 30-minute ride, we arrive at the halfway stop, the Greystone Shopping Centre:

After a 15-minute rest, we head out again to the final stop at Warner Loat Park. It’s a fairly secluded area and a nice park to explore.  Although after a brief walk around, I discover this sign

That is more than enough to send us back on the road again. This time, we vote to get something to eat, so the whole gang rides to Lougheed Mall and grab some much-needed fuel, wrapping up on what is a great day, great ride, with great company.

 

Sunny day for… dentist appointment

With a beautiful, bright, breezy sunny day, I am heading to my dentist in Dundarvae for an appointment.  I have been going to him since I came to West Vancouver, and although he doesn’t work on the weekends, I am still willing to take the time out of my work to come and visit him.

The little path leading to the clinic looks (and feels) very tranquil.

Riding the scooter after the appointment:

 

$12 for a full tank of gas on Frost

With the recent nice weather, I have been communting to work by riding a scooter.  It’s a Kymco Frost 200i.  Today after work, the fuel gauge started flashing, and I thought that would be an obvious indication to fuel up.

I pulled in to the Chevron near my work and started filling up on 94.  Before I know it, the pump stopped and the number landed squarely on $12.00.

The tank is 11 litres by spec, but it stopped pumping at about 8 litres.  Regardless, I am happy that this $12 will get me through another 300km of riding experience.

 

2011 Kymco Downtown 300i – Gold

The 2011 Kymco Downtown 300i is the latest addition to the Kymco lineup in the Canadian market. It features a 12.5L tank that offers great mileage. The front and rear disc brakes provide superior stopping power. The single cylinder, 4-storke liquid-cooled engine offers 33-horsepower that’s unmatched in its class.

2011 Kymco Downtown 300i Gold

2011 Kymco Downtown 300i Gold

2011 Kymco Downtown 300i Gold

2011 Kymco Downtown 300i Gold

2011 Kymco Downtown 300i Gold