Isle of Wight: International Scooter Rally 2024
The Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of Great Britain, stretches over 381 square kilometres and is home to around 150,000 people. The administrative centre is the tranquil town of Newport with just over 25,000 inhabitants. The second largest town, Ryde, a popular seaside resort in the north-east of the island, is best known for its long pier and the ferry connection to Portsmouth. But once a year, the quiet little town changes completely when thousands of scooter riders transform the town into a Mecca for Vespa, Lambretta, Scomadi and other two-wheeler fans. This is what happened again this year, from 22 to 26 August, for the "International Scooter Rally 2024", which was organised by the British Scooter Rallies Association (BSRA) at Sandown Airport.
This year, Robert, Nico, Lukas and Bauchi set off on the long journey at 6:00 Clock on Wednesday 21 August. While the journey with the Sprinter from SIP Scootershop was surprisingly smooth and trouble-free, there were the first problems when setting up the stand on Thursday, as the wind was so strong that it almost blew the Tent into the sea, nearly driving Robert with it. So this action was postponed until Friday, after 40-centimetre pegs and guy ropes were purchased from a nearby outdoor shop. The team finally braved the storm and wind to get the SIP stand in place in time.
"Like every year, people were incredibly nice," reports Robert, "they praised our work and our commitment to the scooters and grumbled about Brexit. But we had two 30-litre barrels of free beer on the stand to welcome them, so visitors could wash down their sorrows. After an hour, the first keg was empty."
Thousands of Vespas and Lambrettas at the Rideout
The weather improved on Saturday, and with it the mood of the Lambretta and Vespa fans. For Lukas, it was his first visit to a scooter meeting in England, and he was very impressed: "There were some really unusual custom scooters to marvel at and, above all, fantastic Lambrettas. Overall, the atmosphere was very relaxed and everyone was in a good mood. We were able to welcome interesting guests to our stand who had lots to talk about."
The International Custom Show was of course a crowd-puller and a highlight of the weekend. Our crew were too tired in the evening to let their hair down at the parties, so they missed the performances by The Beat, Double Barrel, The Highliners and A Band Called Malice. There was also plenty of food and drink all over the site, a traders' mile, and on Sunday the annual mega-event was on the programme: the Isle of Wight Rideout! Thousands of Lambrettas, Vespas and other two-wheelers set off from East Hill Road in Ryde and travelled past the Mermaid Distillery and Bembridge Airport to the festival site. A truly intoxicating sight and a marvellous sound!
With these impressions in their luggage, the SIP crew loaded everything back into the Sprinter on Sunday and set off on the journey home, which was just as relaxed as the journey there. "I've been there a few times now," said Robert, "and despite the bad weather at the beginning, it was once again a very nice event, at a great location and with relaxed people. I always enjoy coming back to the Isle of Wight."
"I thought the English people were really cool," recalls newcomer Lukas, "and I enjoyed chatting to them. Everyone was in a good mood and I hope that I can experience many more events like this in England."
Picture gallery: Isle of Wight International Scooter Rally 2024
