Glam wheels: Scooter Gals

This beautiful summery spring weather has had me thinking about ways to get out there and enjoy our beautiful city and surrounds, I spoke with Tess Ryan who, earlier this year, kicked off Canberras first and only all-girl Scooter club, Scootergals...

Tess how did this all-girl scooter club come about? I have only been riding for a year, but have always had a fascination with anything two wheels. Once I began to ride, I discovered that the majority of Scooter clubs in Canberra were male dominated, some by invitation only and rather elitist. I felt that this excluded a large proportion of new inexperienced female riders, who needed to build up their skills and confidence, as well as doing it in style.

What sort of activities do you partake in? As we are a new club, we are having monthly brunches and rides to get to know each other first. As the sun begins to come out, we are planning on having a vintage shopping tour, and arts based tour and a foodie tour around Canberra and its surrounds. We are also in talks with one of the Scooter shops in Canberra for some regular maintenance and mechanics nights, to further educate women so that they feel confident about scootering. Our future plan is to produce a calender of Scootergals, done in various retro styles, to sell once again for charity. It is early days yet, but that's what makes it so exciting!

What are the benefits of Scooter riding for a stylish Canberra girl? Some of our members are university students who need a quick and cheap commute to lectures. Others are women who love the idea of riding in such a picturesque place as Canberra. Lets face it, any scooter is the epitomy of style, with each rider becoming the topic of conversation around the water cooler. It is also economical, easy to park, and there are so many different styles to choose from you are spoiled for choice.

Scootering has come a long way since the glamourous ideals of Audrey Hepburn in Roman holiday, how does a styling girl deal with the safety clothing and how important is it? One of the things Scootergals hopes to instill in its members is the need for safety gear. A well fitting jacket, helmet and gloves are paramount, and there are some great designs out there to choose from. I myself own a red scooter, and don a red Cordura jacket, gloves and helmet. There are some wonderful retro style helmets and goggles also, as well as pants and jeans available. We aim to provide as much information on safety as we can, and feel you can have a balance of both style and protection when riding a scooter.

So where do I get a Scooter in Canberra, are there any fab retro ones? which ones are the coolest in town? There are two scooter shops in Canberra, Moto Central at Mitchell and Motorini in Phillip. Both stock a wide variety of scooter brands, and depending on how much money you want to spend, you can find some great retro styles out there. Of course, Vespas and Lambrettas are old school style, run fantastically and are the envy of most. But there are also modern brands with a retro feel for the starter rider out there.

What are you planning for your next Scootergals meet? Our next Event is another brunch, and a ride out to Yass for afternoon tea and antique browsing. We are also hoping to contribute to the Christmas Toy run in December, with a view of doing more charity rides and events for women's issues.

How can we find out more? We are in the process of setting up a website, in the mean time we can be contacted through our email scootergals@y7mail.com, or on our facebook page.

Looks like so much fun!