Holiday Decorating? Don't Forget Your Scoot!

A few weeks ago, Lori & I were on a trip to Target when we discovered a whole new group of battery-operated holiday lights. Sweet!

The local scooterists have been holding an annual holiday lights ride where we all meet on one evening, decorate our scooters with lights and ride around the neighborhoods that have lots of holiday cheer. We have been doing it for over a decade, but in the past few years, Scoot! has hosted the event and started it at a local Starbucks where we treat participants to warm drinks before we shove off.

Lori and I bought various light sets. One is a big single snowflake with a suction cup that should stick nicely to the front of my P200. The smaller lights are LEDs so they should last a long time and not get hot. They are all made by Phillips and were in the $5-9 range. The snowflake came with batteries, but the others did not.

Are you having a holiday lights ride in your area? Perhaps you are coupling it with a toy drive? Leave a comment and share your plans with us all.
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Upcoming Event: Scooter Jamboree

If you are in Sacramento this weekend look for the Scooter Jamboree :

Sacramento welcomes the first Scooter Jamboree at The Scoot Shop this Saturday and Sunday to raise money for arts and music.

In a creative collaboration between The Fay Throckmorton, Kenneth Scott Mackrel Organization for the Arts (T&M Organization) and The Scoot Shop, the Scooter Jamboree was created as a charity event to help local youth gain access to art and music and gain revenue for the city, according to Rebekah Spurgeon, co-owner of The Scoot Shop.

"We liked the charity and thought it would be a fun collaboration," Spurgeon said.

The Scoot Shop, located at 1619-A E St. opened last year as the only full service scooter repair shop and dealership. The festivities will begin Saturday with a meet-and-greet from 5-10 p.m featuring live music by Jeffrey Valentine and the Storytella's, fire spinning after dark and an art show featuring Chicago scooter artist Casey Sachen at The Scoot Shop.

Sunday will kick-off at 10 a.m. with a two hour scooter ride for charity around the capitol followed by a dinner party that night at The Scoot Shop. Proceeds from the ride will benefit T&M Organization for the Arts.

According to The Scoot Shop's website, Registration is $25 in advance and $30 at the door. You can register online by phone or in person at The Scoot Shop. Registration includes food and drink tickets, T-shirts and raffle tickets. All shapes, colors and sizes of scooters are welcome, but don't forget your helmet.

Scoot! at International Motorcycle Show

See us at Cycle World International Motorcycle Show and Volunteer!

** The Scoot! team will be at the San Mateo, CA stop of this popular motorcycle show. If you are there, stop by to say hello. We’ll be in the Scooter Pavilion.

** 2008 Scoot! Buyer's Guides will be given away at the show.

** I'll be giving a presentation with Jeff Biafore from San Jose Vespa on Saturday.

** If you are interested in sharing your love of scootering and want to get into the show free, then volunteer at the show nearest you. Below, I’ll include information that I received from the Cycle World team. It’s fun!

Be a Scooter Ambassador and your weekend to the Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows presented by Toyota is free!


The Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows presented by Toyota has created a Scooter Pavilion new for this year where Scooterists can see all of the new scooters in one area. We are seeking ambassadors to hang out in the Pavilion and talk to show attendees about all things Scooter and if you volunteer for any shift, we’ll give you a free pass for the whole weekend!

Featured at the Scooter Pavilion:

- All the new 2009 scooter models
- Scooter History Exhibit
- Great deals on scoot fashion & gear
- Scooter Giveaways!
- Geico’s “Caveman Crib”

Scooterists, this new feature is just for you, and we want your help!

Find the show closest to you and come participate as a volunteer, find more details at motorcycleshows.com:


San Mateo, CA - Dec. 19-21, 2008
Novi, MI - Jan. 2-4, 2009
Washington, DC - Jan. 9-11, 2009
New York, NY - Jan. 16-18, 2009
Cleveland, OH - Jan. 30 - Feb. 1, 2009
Chicago, IL - Feb. 6-8, 2009
Minneapolis, MN - Feb. 13-15, 2009
Greenville, SC - Feb. 20-22, 2009

The volunteer shift schedule looks like this:

Friday Hours: 4:00p.m. - 9:00p.m.
Saturday Hours: 9:00a.m. - 12:00p.m.; 12:00p.m. - 4:00p.m.; 4:00p.m. - 8:00p.m.
Sunday Hours: 9:00a.m. - 1:00p.m.; 1:00p.m. - 5:00p.m.

For more information or to sign up as a volunteer please contact Kurt Whittington at 714-513-8457 or kwhittingtonATadvanstarDOTcom.

See you at the show! www.motorcycleshows.com

Upcoming Event: Side Car Rally 10/19/08

I haven't had a chance to make it to this event, yet, but I thought I'd put a shout-out about the upcoming Griffith Park Side Car Rally sponsored by Sidestrider Side Cars and the Sidecar Industry Council (who knew there was one?) Info:

Sunday, Oct. 19, 9am-3pm
Crystal Springs picnic area
Griffith Park Los Angeles

"Spectators free!! Learn about sidecars and see some of all the best and most unusual sidecars in the world. Call: Doug Bingham 818-780-5542"

Upcoming Event: Worshiping the Beast 10/17

It has been a few years since I attended a Worshiping the Beast rally, but it's nice to see that the river boat is back. If you are within driving distance to Sacramento, CA hangout with the wonderfully fun Burgundy Topz scooter club. Those boys are great!

Worshipping The Beast 22 The Boat is Back!
Date: Oct. 17th-19th,2008
* Sacramento , California

Burgundy Topz presents Worshiping the Beast 22! Scooter show, scenic rides and a helluva party on the River City Queen charter boat!

RSVP your $40 ticket at paypal.com for your boat rally pack before it"s too late.
Details at www.burgundytopz.com

Karaoke Par-tay

Last Friday night I was at the book release party for Hit Me With Your Best Shot a new book about "ultimate karaoke domination." The party was held at 7 Bamboo a San Jose karaoke bar that broadcasts the karaoke performances over the internet. I sent a shout-out to my local scooterists and told them if they rode to the event I would buy them a drink. Mike B, Lisa, Bagel, Christina and Bicycle Brian showed up and we had a blast! Here are some of the video performances of the evening:


Nim rocks Little Red Corvette!



Author Raina Lee & her boyfriend John make Islands in the Stream their own!


Bicycle Brian gets the crowd going with the House of the Rising Sun

This might be a fun event to have for the next San Jose scooter rally.

R. Black Scooterist Fave signing his book

R. Black is not only a kick-ass artist, he is also a scooterist. His work has appeared all over including Scoot! Magazine. See some examples, here. He recently published a book of his art called, Futura. He's embarking on a scooter/book tour and one of his stops is at my local Vespa Dealer, San Jose Vespa. If you are able to make it to one of his events, tell him that Scoot! sent you. ;)

From the press release about his trip:

This summer Futura artist R. Black, equipped with only a backpack of books, a pocket full of Sharpies, and a small ration of food, will wind his way down California�s historic Highway 1 on his 1979 Vespa. Making stops at scooter shops, record stores, and comic-book stores along the way before attending the San Diego Comic-Con, Black will engage fans about rock 'n' roll art and the many benefits of scooters in today's world of high gas prices.

Although a set date is yet to be determined, R. Black, along with Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, will attempt to jump over a pool of sharks in San Diego Bay before attending a rally at Arthur's Drive-In, where Joanie Cunningham and Chachi plan to wed. If, for whatever reason, fictional or otherwise, the shark-jumping event cannot take place, fans are encouraged to catch Black at the Dark Horse booth during San Diego Comic-Con.

Known for his sharp design and sleek eroticism, Black has created posters for some of the world�s hottest bands from Bauhaus to Elvis Costello to The Black Keys. Dark Horse Books was proud to release L� Art de R. Black: Futura in January 2008, which features over 100 pages of stunning, full-color images. Starting in Oakland on July 12, Black has offered to share the road with any scooter or art enthusiasts who wish to accompany him down Highway 1. To arrange a ride along with Black, fans are encouraged to send a message to Dark Horse Comics on MySpace (www.myspace.com/darkhorsecomics) where a complete list of stops and times will be available. As well, Black will be updating his progress along the way on the Dark Horse MySpace.

For those who don't know, R. Black hails from a sleepy, backwater border town called San Diego. After drifting around Japan for a couple of years attached to a small outfit called the United States Air Force he decided to call it quits and get a real job. So, he returned home and became an artist. Black got his start in 2000 doing club fliers and rock posters for his friends and their bands. After years of hard work, he achieved both a paycheck and national attention through word of mouth and strong followings in the subcultures of goth, industrial, fetish, mod, and punk. He has created posters for bands such as Ministry, Misfits, Blondie, My Morning Jacket, Billy Idol and many, many more. R. Black currently resides in Oakland where he recently finished a line of work for the prestigious Berkley Shotgun Players 2008 Season.