Scooterzine Spreading the scooter vibe Here's a brief history of one thirty-something woman's entry into the scooter world.
Linda Tubnor
I always hated being on the back of motorbikes and never even contemplated getting one, especially at my ripe old age. But attitudes can change, even over thirty.
It all began with a friend telling me about her scooter. Hubby and I had two cars and only ever used one of them on weekends. We were using public transport to get to work and had become fed up with being squished into over-crowded trains and having our faces in other people's armpits for the entire journey. So I suggested to hubby, the ex-motorbike owner, that we sell car number two and buy a scooter each.
The response was quite lukewarm so I planted the seed and let it germinate for a while. I dropped comments about my friend and her scooter – running costs, ease of parking, style etc. - and sent links to articles about new scooters on the market. Eventually the seed germinated and I dragged hubby into a scooter dealer for a “quick look”.
We sold the car that afternoon after signing up for a pair of 50cc Bolwell Jolies, and haven't looked back since. The Jolies were a great entry to the scooter world, and mine was used for my licence courses and tests. We were soon getting to work in half the time, saving money, parking on footpaths and finding any excuse (coffee at Lygon St, a cruise to Williamstown) to go for a ride on weekends. We got involved with the Melbourne Scooter Connection and met for breakfast and rides once a month.
Soon we were starting to feel the limits of the 50cc scooters as we wanted to get into some weekend cruising involving 100km/hr roads. Next step was to trade up to 150cc scooters – mine a Bug Espresso and hubby's a Bolwell Gmax. These opened up the freeways and Dandenong ranges to us and we were ending our weekends with huge smiles after long Sunday rides.
I was very grateful to my friend who'd initially got me enthused about scooters and I became an advocate to anyone who'd listen. Another friend had pillioned with my hubby a few times when we went out for dinner, and she soon started to get interested. I planted the seed again with information about models that may suit her needs (most research done by hubby, who by now was also a convert) and took her to a dealer for a “quick look”. Success soon followed with her purchase of a 125cc scooter. I'm sure that our support, information and enthusiasm helped her feel more confident about diving into unknown territory. A year later she has also got rid of her car and loves the freedom the scooter provides.
A few months ago hubby and I moved from Melbourne to the country. Now I love scooting around our little town which is dominated by V8 utes and the odd Harley. People here are not very familiar with scooters and give it a good looking over. I love pulling up outside the shop I need when the cars are banked up waiting for a parking spot, popping it on the stand, putting the helmet under the seat and hopping into the shop; or returning to the scooter, getting the helmet out from under the seat, putting my shopping in and scooting off home. I'm hoping that it may inspire a few of the locals to investigate the scooter scene so I can continue to spread the scooter vibe far and wide. I've already notched up a couple of converts.
published 29/09/2008 |