Ok.

We’re not sure how we could have had a better time. That’s how amazing Amerivespa 2009 was. This year’s event was in Los Gatos in the south bay area - - right in our backyard. The staff of The Scoot Shop had worked tirelessly in the days and weeks leading up to the event, ensuring all the new and exciting product was going to be in a available for display in our booth on Saturday.

But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Friday’s activities began with a catered breakfast at the Los Gatos Lodge. The place was already bustling with activity when we arrived on the scene. Scooters of all makes, models and vintages lined the perimeter, surrounding the lodge like 2-wheeled soldiers standing guard. We immediately saw friends of The Scoot Shop and then proceeded to fill our bellies with hot chow.

Before we knew it, man and machine were lining up for the first ride of the day. Five different group rides were offered that day for our riding pleasure; each varying in destination, length, pace and scenery. We chose to go on what turned out to be the most popular route - - the all-day ride to San Juan Bautista. Over 120 riders set out on this trek through the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains. The route was picture perfect and the pace was just right. Theron and Rebekah road 2-up on the SYM HD200 which performed exceptionally well.

We made a few stops on this 6-hour ride. At the stop just prior to heading into San Juan Bautista, Theron and Rebekah took the opportunity to ride ahead on their own and beat the group into town. Rebekah knew of a great Mexican restaurant in the little mission town as well as an amazing bakery. We stopped by the bakery first to ensure that they did not get wiped out by the 2-wheeled Mongolian horde that was hot on our heals. We bought a couple of pies…one for ourselves and one for friends of The Scoot Shop. Mmm. At one point, we pulled alongside a SYM RV250 sporting dealer plates and met Mike of NoHo Scooters. NoHo is the authorized SYM dealer in North Hollywood and can’t say enough good things about the SYM product. Good to meet you, Mike.

Friday night’s festivities consisted of small group runs to the local VFW hall where live music, cash bar and finger food awaited us. We had the opportunity to meet and chat with Pete McIntosh representing SYM-USA. Pete assured us that California was very close to getting the C.A.R.B executive order for the Symba. Additionally, he shared with us the inside scoop on some exciting new models that SYM may be coming out with in the near future. The best part of the evening had to be when SYM-USA gave away a new HD200 in what was the first of five scooters given away that weekend. Congratulations, Laura Julian of San Francisco! It looks great on you (or vice versa).

Saturday morning came fast, indeed, but The Scoot Shop was ready. We set up our booth, strategically located next to the self-serve beer garden. SYM had a booth next to ours and featured the first two Symbas to see the light of day in California. We couldn’t fire them up, of course, but it was great to finally see the bikes up close and in person. After seeing the Symba all we can say is it was worth the wait and the hype is definitely justified.

Day three was beautiful and jam packed with fun activities like the Gymkana, P200 engine build-off, Concourse de Elegance and dozens of vendors showing off the latest and greatest in scooterwear, scooter flair and scooter care. We met Laura of Corazzo and checked out the new jackets and apparel available later this year. If you thought their current line-up was cool, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! As a result of checking out the other booths, we brought back a few new lines of product for our discerning customers. The Scoot Shop now features Nexx Helmets (the coolest thing to come out of Europe since espresso), Genuine Cool Ass seat covers (keeps your #@$ cool in the Summer and dry in the Winter) and the Nolan Helmet line (great designs, fabulous colors).

The Gymkana was a thrill to watch and featured (mostly) highly skilled riders negotiating obstacles on their scoots. Most of the scooters were shorter wheelbases, but Patrick Owens, winner of the 2008 Scooter Cannonball Run, did extremely well on his winning SYM HD200. The event featured only a few incidents with a couple of solo bike drops and one somewhat scary crash into the crowd resulting in some bumps and bruises. Everyone was ok, though.

That evening, prizes for the weekend’s events were awarded. The winners from the P200 engine build off, the “Rally Pilots” of Bakersfield, seemed to like their prize pack, compliments of The Scoot Shop. The trio posed for pictures with their new The Scoot Shop logo’d Hedz. We also chatted with Jeff from Motorsport Scooters in San Diego about some things they do to ensure outstanding customer service. The fireworks show that night served as a perfect ending to a perfect day.

The next morning, just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, it did. The last ride of Amerivespa 2009 was a beautiful one through the mountains to Santa Cruz. Originally, we planned to ride with the main group which was leaving from Los Gatos Lodge. But, as the time to depart approached, members of the Royal Bastards-Sacramento Chapter gathered near our campsite. They invited us to ride with them to the final event and we gladly accepted.

Those scooterists that chose to stay for the final event of Amerivespa 2009 were rewarded with prizes literally falling from the sky. Josh, of Scoot! Magazine, raffled off tons of great prizes and tossed goodies out into the crowd. That afternoon, SYM-USA gave away another scooter! This time a white Fiddle II 125 went to lucky winner, Sandra Rodriguez of Fresno.

What an amazing weekend! We encourage everyone who didn’t make it this year to start planning for next year. Amerivespa 2010 will be Memorial Day weekend, May 27-31st in San Antonio, TX. See you there.