The Long Way Around

Rocket and Rolf.

This is how I feel right now. Only I'm drinking and they're actually sleeping.

Festivities have begun. Time to meet everyone and share a few drinks prior to going at each other's throats on the road.

Good times. Still need to pack.

In case you all haven't heard, there's a new club in town. The Royal Bastards Scooter Club - based primarily out of Sacramento, the club features members from the Bay Area as well. Among the newest inductees to said club is Jess of ModernVespa.com fame. This past Saturday (March 31st), a group of ModernVespa.com cohorts met up with the Bastards up near Cole Coffee in Oakland to ride to Jess' Knighting in Tilden Park.

The ride left a little later than intended due to some unforeseen (and quite Bastardly) circumstances, but all was made better by the hilly twisties. A Modern Vespa forumite known as Oscillator experienced a slight issue with his rear tire's inflation levels on his Rally 200, but after swapping out for the spare and getting a bit of a (air) pump from Jess, we were on our way to the Carousel where we began to partake in shenanigans - but not before taking an opportunity to gaze over the vistas offered by the Oakland hills.

Now, the ceremony itself cannot be described. Suffice it to say, there was a sword involved, and not just a little sword: what appeared to be an all out, Braveheart-esque broadsword had been carried along by Lucky through the entirety of the twisties, to be unsheathed for this sacred (and mysterious) event.

Post ceremony, we made our way to a quaint pub down in the Rockridge area and unceremoniously overran it with Modern Vespa and Royal Bastard folk. After several rounds, an audible was called and the party was set to relocate to Jess' abode for Zachary's Pizza, an East Bay delicacy that essentially justifies the existence of the East Bay itself.

At Jess', we were greeted by his 3 awfully cute dogs and pizza galore. At one point, I became brave and asked SF Scooter Girl Valerie if I could try out her P200, the first "vintage" Vespa I've ever ridden. Although I assumed I would have wheelie'd it to hell and back again, I managed to only stall it once and from then on it was smooth sailing - despite the fact that motorcycles and scooters have the exact opposite shift patterns.

Les and I left at about 8pm or so - with Cindy coming along for assurance on a very windy Bay Bridge trip. In the end, though, I have to say, it's hard to imagine spending a Saturday afternoon with better people, on a better ride. Congratulations, Jess, on your Knighting, you Evil Bastard.

Click the image below for pics: