Favorite Scooter Rides

GrittyTacoman · Post by **GrittyTacoman** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:35 pm

Taking a recent scooter ride to a really cool, new place inspired me to want to start a thread about people’s favorite scooter rides. Thought it’d be fun to have a thread where we can look and see what other riders in our area have enjoyed, so we can try the ride too. Searched the old threads and contacted Eric to see if this had been done before, and I think a one-stop, ongoing list is new.

I’ll start it off with a couple rides in my area. For format, and for ease of perusing, if you’re posting with a recommendation of your own, please start your post with bold letters for State, and then the City or Area. That’ll make it easy to scroll down and see if someone’s posted about a ride near you.

Maybe in your post include things like description of the ride, length, tips, directions, pictures, maps, etc. Definitely don’t feel the need to be as wordy as my posts!

Hopefully this thread will inspire some new trips for you!

GrittyTacoman · Post by **GrittyTacoman** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:35 pm

Washington, Vashon Island. Country roads with great scenery and little traffic a short ferry ride away!

Take the ferry to Vashon Island from either Seattle (Fauntleroy terminal) or Tacoma (Point Defiance terminal). $8.25 round trip fare. Get to the terminal well before the incoming ferry starts to let off cars. They have you buy your fare and then park at the very start of the line. You'll be the first one on the boat and the first one off.

Once, on the island, enjoy exploring! There's a north-south highway, (named Vashon Highway, appropriately enough) running the length of the island, 50 mph in most parts. But in most other places the speed limit had a comfortable pace.

My highlights of Vashon are Maury Island, (connected by a road) and the Point Robinson park there, with its lighthouse. The town of Vashon was pretty cool too. Lots of boutique shops and cafes. My favorite road sections tended to be on the more remote parts of the island: winding roads, water views, forest, farms: Luana Beach Rd. on the north part of Maury Island, and then on the east side of the Island, the Westside Highway and Wax Orchard Road.

Only tricky part about riding on the island was on some of the steep winding roads there are 15 mph speed limits on the corners. Take their advice! The turns can be pretty sharp, and if the road's wet, and has some leaves on it, be even more careful.

GrittyTacoman · Post by **GrittyTacoman** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:36 pm

Washington, Tacoma. “Tour de West Side”

One of my favorite Tacoma rides includes stops at Point Defiance Park, Day Island, Chambers Bay Golf Course and Steilacoom. Great scenery! Views of forest, Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains, suburbs, a tiny island with some cool houses, a championship level golf course, and a historic Washington town. Ride is about 15 miles, plus or minus, one way.

Start at Pt. Defiance park entrance. Follow signs for 5-Mile drive. Enjoy the viewpoint pullouts along the way. Return to park entrance and follow Pearl Avenue out to N. 26th. Take a right and follow the winding road as it becomes N. Narrows Dr., then Jackson, and then after S. 19th St., becomes Bridgeport Way. Follow Bridgeport to S. 27th and take a right. Follow all the way down the hill and onto Day Island. Take the first right on the island and follow the loop all the way back to the start. Ride slow in this residential area. Cross the bridge again to leave the island but take an immediate sharp left halfway up the hill to loop back down underneath the bridge. This is Lemon Beach Rd. W. Follow this road till it loops up to the left, and becomes 31st, then Parkway. Continue straight onto 29th St., and then finally take a right at Grandview Drive. Follow Grandview to Chambers Bay Golf Course. It’ll be on the right, just after the roundabout at Grandview and 48th/Bristonwood. You can pull into the viewpoint parking lot on the right just after that roundabout, or continue down Grandview to the main golf course entrance at Grandview and 62nd. Take a right at this entrance to go down the hill to the course’s scenic public area, the Central Meadow. After leaving Chambers Bay, return to Grandview and take a right. Grandview becomes 64th. After a last roundabout, take the sharp right onto Chambers Creek Rd. Follow this down the steep hill, across the bridge, thru the fun S-curves, along Puget Sound and then up the hill into Steilacoom. The road becomes Lafayette St. At the intersection of Lafayette and Main, take a right. Route ends at the park on Commercial Street. Enjoy the view!

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 2:40 pm

Michigan, northern tip of the Lower Peninsula, "Tunnel of Trees"

Between the Straits of Mackinac and Little Traverse Bay, roughly following the Lake Michigan shoreline, is M-119. Starting from the quaint town of Harbor Springs, this road makes its way northward to... well, there are a few villages along the way, but this road doesn't go to any place. Which means that the only traffic are the locals and those who've come here to enjoy the road. Don't expect Lake Michigan's legendary sandy beaches; those are south of here. You'll be riding above the shoreline with trees hugging both sides of the road most of the way. M-119 doesn't have proper lanes, just a single wide lane snaking its way through the northern hardwood forest for about 25 miles.

Post by **Lostmycage** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:06 pm

You've got some good ones there.

Post these in the favorite rides thread. It's linked into the FAQ and had links to some sites that can help generate routes for new places.

iMoses · Post by **iMoses** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:19 pm

KC Area
Blue River Parkway, a great twisty road that is always shady. Making it a must on those hot summer days.

Howardr · Post by **Howardr** » Wed Sep 22, 2010 4:22 pm

Southern Arizona

Many from MB have already read some of these. I am in the process of writing a series of short articles on just this subject. Each segment includes descriptions, photos and I am adding video shot from my scooter. There are also ride maps.

Please check out my Riding SoAZ series on our club website. It starts here:

http://skyislandriders.com/?p=492

Howard

birdmove · Post by **birdmove** » Sat Jan 15, 2011 5:24 pm

Well, my wife now has a big enough scooter that we colud ride to Anacortes, but we used to have 2-49cc Honda scooters. We'd load them up in our little Toyota pickup in Puyallup, Wa. Then drive to the ferry boat parking lot in Anacortes, Wa. Unlaod the scooters, ride to the head of the ferry boat line (love that policy!!pedestrians,bicycles, and motorcycles/scooters get on first!!), then ride the boat to either San Juan island, or Orcas Island and tool around the island for the weekend. Ortcas is the easiest in that there is a nice old hotel right near the ferry dock.That's a great starting out point for riding the island. Crow Valley Road is a beautiful road to ride. Lots of beautiful places to ride on Orcas.

Jon

JulietFitzie · Post by **JulietFitzie** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:11 am

TVB wrote:Michigan, northern tip of the Lower Peninsula, "Tunnel of Trees"

Between the Straits of Mackinac and Little Traverse Bay, roughly following the Lake Michigan shoreline, is M-119. Starting from the quaint town of Harbor Springs, this road makes its way northward to... well, there are a few villages along the way, but this road doesn't go to any place. Which means that the only traffic are the locals and those who've come here to enjoy the road. Don't expect Lake Michigan's legendary sandy beaches; those are south of here. You'll be riding above the shoreline with trees hugging both sides of the road most of the way. M-119 doesn't have proper lanes, just a single wide lane snaking its way through the northern hardwood forest for about 25 miles.

I LOVE STREETS LIKE THESE!!! Absolutely gorgeous.