This ride is capped and catered at 45. You need a ticket to attend. The registration button is above.
What
This event is hosted by the Vespa Club of Melbourne to acknowledge and support those with a passion for classic scooters. After a COVID hiatus last year VCM's annual two-stroke blue-smoke ride is on again. This is a special shortish and slow-paced ride organised to celebrate the joy of riding older classic geared scooters. Sorry, no autos (except Rabbits). All marques are welcome - Lambretta, Heinkel, Maicoletta, Puch, Rabbit and of course Vespa including the entire PX Vespa range - the older your scooter, the better. Pillions are welcome too.
You don’t have to be a member of a club to participate but you will need to register for the event. Due to the logistics of a big ride, places are capped at 45 so we ask you to register to reserve a place. Its free! The ride will be badged as a Vespa Day event and so we are using the Vespa World Club cog patch to acknowledge our club’s connection to a larger sister and brotherhood of Vespa owners across the globe. Participants will receive a sticker as a memento of the ride.
Where
Once again we are venturing just outside Melbourne into the rural fringes far away from annoying traffic lights. Our destination is Hurstbridge.
The Route
Much of our route will be on quiet sealed semi-rural roads with little traffic. The scenery is very pretty and you’ll enjoy the meandering ride at a leisurely ‘classic’ pace. The route from Studley Road to Hurstbridge is around 55-kms and will take us about 1.5 hours. Much of it is along one of Melbourne’s famed “Green Wedges”. After lunch you can make your own way home from Hurstbridge or join us for an organised 30-km scenic return route to Ivanhoe. The ride will use designated corner markers who will point you in the right direction at each turn so you can relax and enjoy the unfolding scenery.
Ride Support
The ride is covered by the VCM's Public Liability Insurance. We have also organised a van capable of carrying 2-3 scooters in case of breakdowns. Pete, the van man, will sweep the route at the rear of the ride.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided courtesy of the Vespa Club of Melbourne and served in Fergusons Paddock, Hurstbridge.
Prizes will be awarded shortly after lunch:
• Best Restored Classic Vespa
• Best Restored Other Marque Scooter
• Best Unrestored Scooter - lots of scratches, original paint and patina please
• Most Unusual, Rare or Oldest Participating Scooter
• Best Dressed Rider for the Era - whether it be a pudding-basin helmet, Biggles goggles, oilskins or an old leather coat, or a sharp tailored Mod outfit with pointy shoes, come dressed to suit the era of your particular scooter. Ride safe and put your costume in the van and change at lunch time if doesn’t provide the required protection.
Departure Point and Time
We will meet and leave from Studley Grounds Cafe, 121 Studley Park Rd, Kew VIC 3101 (See map). There is ample parking on the Sir Arthur Rylah Oval adjacent to and just behind the cafe. This makes a perfect spot to display our scooters prior to departure. You’ll need to arrive before 9:00am if you want coffee and or breakfast before our departure at 10:30am sharp. There will be no fuel stops on the 90-km return ride so please arrive with a full tank.
REGISTRATION ONLY ON THIS LINK
Comments
Classic Scooter “Blue Smoke” Ride
Sunday 18 April 2021
BRIEFING NOTES
Hello fellow classic scooter owner,
Thank you for registering for next Sunday’s Melbourne Classic Scooter Ride 2021, “Blue Smoke
Over Viewbank”. Here is a reminder of the event. Please take time to read these brief notes so that
we can have an enjoyable day’s ride and get away quickly on Sunday morning.
Meet and Departure Point:
Studley Grounds Cafe, 121 Studley Park Rd, Kew VIC 3101
The ride departs at 10:30am sharp. If you want a coffee or breakfast beforehand, then you’ll need to
arrive earlier. There is ample parking on the curved driveway in front of the cafe. There will be no fuel
stops on this 87-km ride so please arrive with a fuel tank of fuel.
Ride Protocols:
Please keep in mind that there are a number of older scooters in original condition participating in this
event. Obviously these will not be as fast as your hotted-up 30bhp road-blaster, so show them respect
as they drop back a gear up hills, chill-out and have a lazy enjoyable ride while taking in the scenery.
In the main we will be travelling on winding narrow roads with blind corners where passing is simply
impractical. This is not a race but an elegant parade of lovely old machines. Ride safely to the
conditions and at a pace that is comfortable to you and your scooter and, of course, wear protective
clothing.
Lead and Tail Vehicles:
Lead and tail riders will be wearing hi-viz yellow vests. I will be leading the ride on my rather shabby
red ’79 Vespa P200E with occasionally working turn indicators. Julie Pond will be tail rider on her blue
’61 Vespa VBN. Behind Julie at the very rear, Pete will sweep the route in his big blue van. In the
event of a breakdown, Pete has room for two scooters. Please do not overtake the lead rider.
Corner Marking:
Human Corner Makers will be used to point you in the right direction at every turn so you can relax
and enjoy the route. If there is no Corner Marker at an intersection or a roundabout for example,
proceed along the road straight ahead or on the opposite side of the roundabout. If you are asked to
corner mark you must remain at your post until the tail rider (Julie) waves you on. This may take some
time if other scooters are very slow or there has been a breakdown. The lead rider will to point to a
suitable spot for the rider immediately behind to wait and corner mark. The best corner markers
remain active during their tour of duty. Not only should your indicator (if you have one) show the
direction of the turn, a highly animated arm pointing the way always attracts attention. If you prefer not
to be involved as a corner marker, then please fall back a number of places from the lead rider. If you
see that the rider in front of you has not responded to a request to corner mark, then please take on
that role as we do not wish to loose any part of this large group. Catch Up Spots:
There will be a number of spots on route where the ride will briefly halt in order for all riders to
regroup.
Route and Destination:
We are venturing into the rural fringes just outside Melbourne. Once out of the city beyond
Heildelberg, much of our route will be on narrow sealed roads with little traffic. The scenery is very
pretty and you’ll enjoy the meandering ride at a leisurely ‘classic’ pace. Be sure to look out for the
heritage listed concrete silos at Viewbank which feature on your complimentary event sticker. Our
destination is Hurstbridge. The route from Studley Park is around 58-kms and will take us about 1.5
hours. There is one 5-km 80 km/hour section to negotiate. After lunch you can join us for an
organised 30-km return route to Ivanhoe, or make your own way home from Hurstbridge.
Lunch:
Lunch, tea and coffee will be provided courtesy of the Vespa Club of Melbourne and served in
Fergusons Paddock, Hurstbridge.
Prizes:
The following prizes will be awarded shortly after lunch:
• Best Restored Classic Vespa
• Best Restored Other Marque Scooter (non Vespa)
• Best Unrestored Scooter - lots of scratches, original paint and patina please
• Most Unusual, Oldest or Rare Scooter
• Best Dressed Rider for the Era - whether it be a pudding-basin helmet, Biggles goggles, oilskins or
an old leather coat, or a sharp tailored Mod outfit with pointy shoes, come dressed to suit the era of
your particular scooter. However if your ‘costume’ doesn’t provide the required protection, ride safe
and put it in the van and change at lunch time.
Thank you for your attention. Let’s all have a “classic” day out.
David, Julie, Greg and the corner marking team.
Hello Blue Smokers,
Winter seems to have come early this year. Not only was it raining heavily last Sunday but it was bitterly cold to boot. However next Sunday’s forecast so far is considerably better. Cloudy, 21 degrees with a 30% chance of 0.4 mm rain. On this basis, the ride is definitely going ahead and you will receive briefing notes shortly via email.
As the number of participants on this ride is capped and we want to cater for all with a hot lunch, if you do need to pull out for some reason, please let us know on this event page so that others can take your place.
I'll just finish by saying that if these cute animated critters can survive a little April shower then so can hardened enthusiastic owners of classic scooters.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the ride, David
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