If you’re a die-hard Vespa fan and want to go to international events run by independent Vespa clubs from Europe you need to keep an eye on the Vespa Club Europa website.
European Vespisti Week Montegrotto was the first of what is to become an annual event, the Vespa Club of Ireland went off to Italy to see what all the fuss is about.
One golden glance, of what should be…
Our plan was a simple one; fly to Milan, jump on our scoots (which we’d transported out there earlier) then tour care-free across Northern Italy, taking in part of Lake Iseo, Brescia, Sermione, and Verona. Our day would end upon an early evening arrival at Montegrotto in time for European Vespisti Week registration. From typical mountain twisties, to rolling open countryside, old towns and villages, and stunning lake shore rides, there was supposed to be a little bit of everything in the tour, but sometimes (all of the time) things just don’t go to plan.
Nobody ever said scooterists weren’t ingenious
Don’t stop me now
The tour kicked off early on Thursday morning without a hitch. Then, just after refuelling, the group splintered while trying to navigate the chaos of Bergamo’s early morning traffic. We finally managed to regroup after about 20 minutes and set off again towards Iseo. It wasn’t long before the first mechanical issue of the day reared its ugly head in Carlo’s GTS (suspected fuel pump failure). Less than an hour in and Carlo was out. Such terrible luck after so much preparation and planning. The backup van was summoned, and most of the rest of us continued on our way.
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
We rode on for an hour or so in what felt more like a laborious commute than a leisurely tour. Suddenly and without warning, the jaw-droppingly stunning vista of lake Iseo, and the mountain range that enveloped it, seductively began to reveal itself to the east and drew us right in. It was almost dream-like. We were so consumed by the enthralling scenery that we failed to notice that the spectacle should have been to the west of us, as we meandered through tunnels and shore-hugging roads of the most quintessentially Italian lake shore ride you could possibly imagine. We had to stop, immerse ourselves in it, and just breathe it in. If this was as good as we were going to get, then we were quite content. It was only then we realised that we were going the wrong way, oopsy! No big deal, we just decided to double back and head for one of the checkpoints and regroup with Paddy, who’d hung back to assist with the breakdown. We did, and after an unscheduled and over-extended coffee break in Sarnico, we set off again…
Highway to Hell
With the lake now planted firmly on the correct side of us, we advanced with clown-like precision and continued the circus act of trying to ride safely, while taking in the magnificent scenery and doing our best to keep the group of 30 riders together. The single-lane two-way country road soon branched out into more and more lanes, sharing traffic with pretty fast-moving HGVs, buses and even worse; kamikaze lunatics in 1980s Fiat Panda 4x4s, who appeared to be everywhere. Before we knew it we were entering a series of what seemed like multiple kilometre-long, multi-laned, smoke-filled, dimly-lit and very intimidating mountain tunnels. We failed to notice our turn-off for the hill climb towards Brescia. It was enough to put a chap off his boiled egg (which I’d taken from a buffet days earlier and kept in my pocket with some pickled onions and cheese in case of a roadside snack emergency). We had to stop and double back. Again.
If you asked Artificial Intelligence to produce two Italian-looking people this is what you’d get
It’s a long way to the top
So, after a pretty precarious group U-turn, we quickly found ourselves back on track. Those twisty mountain climbing roads look really cool on YouTube, especially the clips with groups of teens on high-powered smallframes humiliating much larger motorcycle riders. With the trauma of the highway and tunnels fresh in our hearts, it certainly wasn’t the adrenaline-fuelled joy ride we were expecting, quite the opposite for some, but we pushed on anyway zig-zagging for what seemed like an eternity before the descent towards Brescia, which we decided to bypass because time was marching at an incredible pace, unlike us.
Under Pressure
By now we realised we weren’t going to make Montegrotto for early (or even late) evening, so Sirmione – Lake Garda and Verona were struck off our list too as we re-routed through the more direct regional roads towards Vincenza. Despite losing five riders along the way at an insane figure of 8 shaped one way spaghetti interchange southeast of Verona, we kept moving until it was safe to stop and help those lost to navigate towards us. We repeated these regrouping attempts at intervals, but hope was fading as fast as the sunlight as we progressed on to the last leg of the trip up into the Euganean hills.
Another one (two) bites (bite) the dust
With the end almost in sight, and only 30 km from our destination, darkness was falling hard and fast. We had riders who’d lost their lighting along the way, so we had to push on just as hard and just as fast. Then, one rider suffered the misfortune of a snapped throttle cable, and another heat seized pushing his 172 Zip too hard trying to catch up to get help, double whammy! With no time or light for tinkering, we decided to leave them behind and drop a pin to the backup van driver who’d scoop them up. The rest of us continued on arriving at Montegrotto and checking into our hotel some time after 10pm.
I see a little silhouette of a man
Too late to register at the event, but fuelled by the overwhelming desire for that Ice Cold in Alex moment, a couple of us decided to have a quick “Irish Shower” (Lynx Africa), hit the venue, and try to blag our way in. Unfortunately, we got in before the Thursday evening headline act “Elizebeth”, an Italian Queen tribute act, had finished. Now, usually if a Queen song comes on the radio it’s an instant channel changer, but credit where it’s due and all joking aside the stage show put on by the pint-sized latin Freddie Mercury and his backing band pretty much blew the socks off me. The evening’s entertainment had the venue hopping; a stark contrast to the usual floor-clearing ‘Now That’s What I Call Northern Soul Vol 2’ playlist that we’re used to. The festival-like atmosphere was in full swing and it was difficult not to get caught up in it, when in Rome as they say.
I want it all
Friday kicked off with registration at the Palaberta sports complex, a short distance from the venue. Registration was quick and easy, the volunteers were helpful and friendly, and the welcome packs, generous and thoughtful. Then it was down the corridor to the Vespa museum where the selection on display was high quality, rare and diverse, and on par with the best museums I’ve seen at similar events. The kids’ toy section was exceptionally cute too. With that out of the way, we made our way down to the Vespa village, with very strict access and exit protocol, it felt safe and secure for your Vespa. The standard of some scooters parked at the village would have even given the museum a run for its money too. From there it was into the venue itself which was a good version of the typical festival layout that we’re used to. The village consisted of a massive centre stage surrounded by an abundance of parts stalls and vendors scattered about the place. There were plenty of street-food trucks, gelato stalls and bars too, with marquees for seating as well as outdoor picnic benches. Top marks there. The day passed quickly with plenty to keep us busy, from book signings and talks to pre-booked excursions to local places of interest, or we could have easily killed a few hours just browsing the stalls.
A whole lot of Rosé
As the night rolled around quickly, our crowd descended on the venue in full sun-holiday mode and were joined there by our good friends from Ulster’s Lakelanders SC and the Antrim Coasters. Most of us had been partying from earlier that day, well-oiled, but in great spirits nonetheless. The goodwill gift from the Lambretta Club of Ireland of some fine artisan liquor helped things move along very nicely too (thanks guys). The atmosphere was electric, so good in fact you could have put a tramp on stage playing the kazoo and everyone would have still had a ball. ACDI, a top Italian ACDC tribute act, lit the place up and schooled us all on how to rock! The crowd loved it, and most of us did too. When I originally heard about the line up I thought ‘well, at least I could try to get some ironic enjoyment out of it’ but it was top-notch entertainment, even though it may not have been everyone’s cup of tea.
Thunderstruck
With the rideout starting at 2 pm on Saturday, there was a more relaxed feeling than we were used to. Police estimates put the number of scooters participating at 5000 and I’ve yet to meet someone who’d dispute it, which is strange for any police estimate. It lasted just under two hours as it snaked through local hills and towns and arrived back just as the gymkhana was kicking off. These talented scooterists were insane to watch and had just the right mix of daredevil-ishness, insanity and grace. Any one of them could have easily been the love child of Jayne Torville and Evil Knievel! I missed the concours d’elegance though, which is pretty much a rolling vintage period costume and Vespa show/competition, but all reports were that it was pretty spectacular.
Evening festivities kicked off with an 80s/90s DJ taking care of the mood music right up until the usual awards ceremony and speeches. With the pomp out of the way, a Eurovision interlude-esque high-energy stage show with dancers and a compere kept the party going which eventually crescendoed into a thunderstorm of fireworks, lighting up the sky and elevating the mood to ecstatic levels – a fitting end to what was quite possibly the most enjoyable international event I have had the privilege of attending.
Serbia 2025
European Vespisti Week Montegrotto is the first in what is hoped will be a long series of independent, annual European events run voluntarily by Vespisti for Vespisti.
The 2025 European Vespisti Week will take place in mid-June in Novi Sad, Serbia. Contact your national Vespa Club for details.
If you’re travelling anywhere in Europe in the meantime keep an eye on the Vespa Club Europa events calendar, there may be something of interest taking place close to your destination.
Words: Steve & Darragh
Pics: Vespa Club of Ireland Team
