Scooter rally
Scooter rallies are events attended by scooterists who ride a wide veriety of scooters such as Lambretta and Vespa motor scooters.
In the United kingdom, scooterists have attended scooter rallies since the early 1950s, with attendance often in the thousands. Much like a motorcycle rally, the scooter rallies usually involve camping out, sometimes for a week or more; watching bands; dancing to DJs; Gymkhana or field course, drinking alcohol, racing scooters, going on group rides.
Scooter rallies were first held in the early 1950s. After World War II people had more disposable income and free time, there was a need for cheap practical transport, and this is where the scooter came in. The big two Italian manufacturers Piaggio Vespa and Innocenti Lambretta filled this need with smart new scooters available to the masses, and the scooter rally was born. Both Vespa and Lambretta actively encouraged the owners of the scooters to join local scooter clubs and attend the rallies.
During the 1960s, mods travelled on scooters to seaside resorts across Britain, this was the mods and rockers era. In the 1970s, scootering took the form of a subculture, and the scooter scene existed in small clubs. Scooter rallies had taken off again by the late 1970s. In the 1980s, mod revival had started scooter rallies were held around the world. Scooterists travelled to places like Scarborough and the Isle of Wight. The scooterboy developed, rebelling against the sharp clothing styles of the mods and creating their own identity. A huge number of scooter clubs sprang up and scooterists travelled all around Britain to attend massive scooter rallies. Scooter rallies have continued through the 1990s and 2000s on a smaller more organized scale, with many club-based rallies.
A list of rally dates can be seen here.
External Links
Scoot.net for current US scooter rally calendar
de:Scooterist