By Sarah Curran
A PAIR of scooter enthusiasts are calling on likeminded souls to join them on their ride out to Belfast on Bank Holiday Monday.
For the last year, childhood friends Alfie Lilley and Paul Reid have been running a weekly social gathering for Vespa and Lambretta lovers, to enjoy chatting and riding out together to various local spots.
They hope their weekly meetings help inspire positivity among the motoring community by making a difference to people’s social wellbeing and mental health.
Hopeful to interest others, the 54 year- olds are calling on likeminded people to join them on Monday at EUROSPAR on the Rathgael Road in Bangor at 12pm to ride out to the Salmon of Knowledge sculpture in Belfast, before heading back to the Rabbit Rooms in Bangor.
Alfie said the group, dubbed the Gold Coast Scooters, attracted ‘old school Mods and skinheads’, giving them a chance to re-live their youth, adding that his friend Paul was a Mod and he was a skinhead with hair in their youths.
The Bangor man said: “Last year, me and Paul started doing an ice cream run. We got our Vespas out and took a run to Donaghadee for an ice cream.”
With their rotas matching up and Thursdays free on the scooter scene, Alfie and Paul started doing runs to local coffee spots and various local locations on a Thursday and from there they began their social gatherings .
He continued that the Gold Coast Scooters were not a club, so there are no commitments needed from those who wished to join the weekly gatherings.
He said: “It’s not run like a club. We meet at Rathgael Road garage on a Thursday night and whoever turns up turns up.”
Alfie continued that he believed the gatherings offered people the chance to better their social wellbeing, noting how he works in secure children’s care.
“It is a good venting thing for me, it is time away from work,” Alfie said, adding that while they had already a good following, he wanted to share the gathering with as many people as possible, young and old.
“A lot of the boys have scooters stuck in their sheds from way back and the scene sort of disappeared for a brave while and with the likes of the new marina going in Bangor, we can see going down there and having a coffee the way they used to,” he continued. Reminiscing about how the Mods and skinheads would travel to Bangor on May Day to fight by the seafront, Alfie laughed they were all ‘too old for that now’.
“A lot of us are re-living our youth – we have all just got a bit fatter and our scooters are struggling a wee bit more,” he joked.
The Gold Coast Scooters meet every Thursday at EUROSPAR on the Rathgael Road at 6.30pm and all are welcome. Details about the gatherings can be found on their Facebook page.
The ride out on Monday is also open to all, with further details on the Gold Coast Scooter Facebook page
