Stacey Gardner – My First Rally

I’ve known Stacey Gardner for nearly 40 years now, since the early 80s when we both hung around the amusements on Bognor seafront, sitting on the wall where all the scooters were parked. We’ve ridden to rallies, danced together, laughed a lot and been clubmates for more than half our lives. We have so much in common, not least the fact that, having always been Vespa girls, we’ve both recently bought Lambrettas. We share a love of geeky tech, escape rooms and Radio 2’s Pop Master. The Warmwell rally has become home to some of my own pop quizzes which are usually hotly contested between Stacey and my music geek husband, Lee.

I’ve been wanting to tell more girls’ first rally stories for a while, so hopefully Stacey will be the first of many over the next few months. Although girls may form the minority of riders, we are just as committed and fanatical about scooters as the boys, and have our uses sometimes. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve given a boy a lift to a rally when he’s broken down, and my navigation skills are so much better than many of my male counterparts!

Stacey Gardner – My First Rally

How did you first get into scooters?
When I was about 12 or 13, myself and my three best friends at school started hanging out at the local amusement arcade, ISB, in the summer holidays. This was the local hangout for all the scooterists and I was in awe, they all looked so cool on their scooters. Eventually we got to know a fair few of them and they used to come and meet us on the school field at lunchtime, we were so cool hanging out with the older boys.

What was your first scooter?
As soon as I was 16 I got my first scooter, a maroon Vespa 50 Special.

What was your first scooter rally?
When I started to write this story I was a bit undecided as to which rally I classed as my first. I’d done the Isle Of Wight in 1982 and 1983 by train and ferry as I wasn’t old enough to ride a scooter. I went to the Isle Of Wight ‘84 when I did have a Vespa 50 Special but my parents still wouldn’t let me stay out all night; or was it to be Weston 1985 when finally I was 17, had a Vespa 125 and had left home so could do as I pleased? After a quick conference with Ali she said I should use IOW ‘84 so here we go…

Parental interference

So a month before the rally I was begging my parents to let me go, I was on best behaviour and had all my fingers and toes crossed. My mum and dad were quite strict compared to all my friends’ parents and this would be the first time I would be out in the big wide world on my scooter overnight with a “load of ruffians” as my mother put it.

So I was chuffed to bits when a couple of days before the rally my mum said I could go, I was so excited I almost crushed a grape, and then came the BUT…..

“You are not staying overnight and that’s final. You can ride your scooter but your dad is going with you!!!”

My chin hit the floor so fast I swear I still have a dent in it. Going with me? What the hell????

I was mortified, oh the shame, I wanted to be in with the cool kids, how the hell could I rock up to a rally with my dad in tow? Mother must have seen the look of utter horror on my face and started to laugh. Only a parent would find such things funny.

“He’s only going to follow you down in his truck, he’s concerned and wants to make sure you get to the ferry port”.

“Oh and the other thing you need to remember is you will be on the 6pm ferry home or you will be grounded for a year!!”

So there it was, I was on my way to the IOW scooter rally. The Friday came and I’d seen everyone leave ISB en masse and said I’d be there tomorrow. I couldn’t sleep I was so excited. Finally, Saturday morning arrived and at 6am I jumped on my scooter and with my dad following behind as I headed for Portsmouth. I’d already primed my dad that unless he wanted me to die of shame that he was to carry on driving as we approached the gate to the port, which he thankfully did.

The smell of two stroke was overpowering and the sound was awesome. Once we got off the ferry at Fishbourne there was a police escort to take all the scooters into Ryde and I struggled to keep up on my 50 but I didn’t care, I had made it. It seemed to take forever to get to the campsite but I did and had already pre-arranged for my mate to meet me at the gate at 9am and she did.

The rest of the day was just spent doing all the usual stuff. The day passed way too quickly and with the threat of being grounded for the rest of my life I left with what I thought was plenty of time to get to the ferry to make sure I was on the 6pm crossing. Little did I realise that I didn’t have the faintest idea how to get back to the ferry port at Fishbourne. I was so lost and panicking that I was going to run out of petrol, petrified that I’d never see the light of day again once, if ever, I got home. I’d pulled over at the side of the road to try and get my bearings, almost on the verge of tears, but then like a knight in shining armour coming to rescue a damsel in distress.

My mate Steve Horncastle came round the corner and saw me, luckily for me but unfortunately for him he had to go home too as his girlfriend Karen had had an accident on her scooter back home. I followed him back to the ferry port and got on the 6pm boat by the skin of my teeth. My mum and dad were waiting as I got off. I think they were surprised I’d stuck to the rules because it’s never been one of my strong points to conform, and they followed me as I rode home.

So that was that, as far as I was concerned, I had arrived in a blaze of over-protective parents’ glory, I was an official rally going scootergirl!!!

Where did you work at the time?
I worked at Wayne Kerr (yes I’ve heard all the jokes before) as an electronics assembler/tool setter. I remember my first wages were a measly £45 per week. I had to give my mum £20 a week rent, and her hand used to come through the letterbox before she would open the door and let me cross the threshold.

How much money did you take to the rally?
I doubt I had much more than £25 to take with me but as long as I got my Paddy Smith I didn’t much care about anything else.

Were you in a club at the time?
Not at the time, no, but my best mate’s other half was in the Midhurst Detours and I sort of latched on to them, right on the outskirts really but I didn’t care, I wanted to hang with the cool kids. They had strict rules before I could even be nominated to join so I drifted off for a while over to the Littlehampton crowd. I got my PX125 and started doing a few more rallies with them and ended up joining the Stormtroopers, but only for three days as a fight broke out and about six of us ripped our patches off and never went back.

By this time though I had passed my test, done a fair amount of rallies throughout 1985, so I was nominated by Dizzy to join the Detours. I can remember sitting anxiously waiting at my friend’s house to see if I’d been accepted. When their club meeting was over I was told I had been voted in – YES, I had made it, I was in!! But then in the next breath I was told that, also at the same club meeting, they had decided to vote out all girls as the relationships in the club were strained, so the girls had to go.

So there you have it, I was voted in and voted out all within 30 minutes…….gutted.

What music were you into at the time?
I was initially more inclined to like 2tone and Ska but soon got into Northern. I suppose the first Northern track that really stuck in my head was Interplay. I remember Ali and I standing in her bedroom in front of the mirror practising our dance moves to Interplay. I still love to dance to Northern now.

What was your favourite custom scooter?
Of all the custom scooters I’ve seen I always get stuck at Dazzle in her blue days. But there was another scooter that I liked, and I don’t know why as it wasn’t a mega custom scooter but it did sound amazing. It was called Northern Echoes, and I’ve no idea who it belonged to or what happened to it.

Ali : I’m sorry but my OCD won’t let me repeat the typo on the scooter so have stuck to the correct spelling of ‘echoes’ in the story…

What scooters do you own now?
I’ve always been a Vespa girl, from my 50 Special to a Rally 200 which I hated, and three P ranges. Now I have a GTS300 which I love because it’s reliable, quick enough and comfy.

In February this year I had what can only be described as a mid life crisis or menopausal urge to get a GP. I’d only ever ridden one Lambretta before and that was for about five minutes and thought it was awful, but the urge kept coming. So when I spotted an advert for an AF Extra S Type in purple and gold I had to have it immediately, and with the help of my friend Mark (who done the blokey wheeler-dealer bit) I bought it. A bit of research later and it turns out it’s not a pure bred AF but a replica which I was half expecting anyway so I’m not disappointed, and for the price I’ve still got myself a tidy, quick and awesome sounding scooter.

When the time comes for some major engine surgery she will be stripped down and sent to Riding Dirty Customs for the full bling metalflake treatment. A girl can never have too much sparkle!

What do scooters mean to you now?
The old cliche – it’s in my blood. After almost 40 years of being into scooters I’ve had some amazing times and met some amazing people. And I am proud to be in the Midhurst Detours with people who I know will be my friends until the day I die.

Rally Guides

Rally Guides
If you’re planning your scootering calendar for 2021 then check out my 2021 Rally Guide to get the best choice of accommodation.

For an in-depth guide to the biggest scooter rally in the world, here is a link to my Isle of Wight rally guide.

More My First Rally stories

Read more My First Rally stories using these links (in alphabetic order)
– Ali Richards
– Bill Mac
– Dave Lloyd
– Dean Percival
– Dizzy Holmes
– Iggy Grainger
– Jo Jackson
– Lee Parker
– Lee Richards
– Mike Oxley
– Niamh Pennington
– Nick Jolly
– Norrie Kerr
– Roger Williams
– Sandra Smith
– Sarah George
– Sean Robinson
– Stacey Gardner
– Steve Bone
– Sticky
– Stuart Owen
– Vince Wooloff