Mooning over Hot Nights and Summer in the City? Come out, come out, get dirty and gritty.

Now the Lovin' Spoonful will be stuck in your head, too, and no, I'm not even a little sorry.

The Donald was in Vancouver this week to promote his new 63 storey Arthur Erickson tower. 

How do you Trump that?

 With the Ride to Conquer Sobriety, that's how. 

The Vancruiser's annual Summer Solstice ride is dedicated to eradicating stone cold sobriety wherever it crops up, and it's the best thing I can think of to wipe that infamous orangutan over-do out of my mind. 

We met at the London Pub at five for a bite and bevvies and the chance to have a chin-wag with a few mates.

It's a big, super social event, and yes there is a lot of stopping along the way, but it's not actually ALL about the booze. This ride is about the bikes.  

All the best old bikes come out to play when the Wheelmen are riding.

This sweet little baby was made in 1948, back when an aluminium frame was really something special.  It's like a mid-century modern crabon bike.  Sooooo pretty. You know how much my inner magpie loves shiny things...

Yep. It's all about the bikes, and it's about seeing and being seen, too. 

Nearly six thirty and we're almost ready to roll. The bells become insistent.  Finish your drinks!  Pay your tab! Tip your server, not your bike!

Aaaaaaand we're off!  We rode east from the London Pub on Main St before we circled south and west again toward False Creek and the Dragon Boat Festival.  Then we carried on towards Kitsilano and points further west.

Do you ever get the feeling you're riding in circles?

I do, more often than not, but that was something else entirely.

Still, you've gotta love the simple things in life.

And the simply wonderful things.  I couldn't help myself.  This bad boy was just begging to be mounted.

So I had my way with him.

I love the big boys.

Magnum PI didn't make it, but Higgins was on hand.

We're not all a rough crowd, either, you know.  Some of the gang are very well-spoken.

And we're well represented, too. This being Canuckistan, one clever clog thought to bring a little NHL play-off themed entertainment along, bless him.  

Plus he scores points for the unexpectedly creative, North of 40 use of his surfboard rack.

We rode along the shore, stopping to enjoy the scenery along the way, 

rolling along again whenever the spirit moved us.

We watched the sun go down from Locarno Beach, then turned around to find this year's supermoon.

Yes, it's a full moon, but maybe not quite the one you were hoping for.  Still, it was a night well worth remembering.

Seriously. Life is good here.  The Donald gets it, and you know if he's figured it out, it's a plain-as-day no-brainer. You've gotta love this town.