Scooter lovers test driving skills

Passionate scooter riders of the Amerivespa 2010 rally descended upon San Antonio’s East Side on Sunday, where riders pitted engine against engine in an obstacle course and raced to determine the most adept scooter driver in the nation.A rainbow of scooters, from vintage rides to the latest models, has been in San Antonio since Thursday. About 700 riders from across the country and abroad came for the national rally of the Vespa Club of America, said coordinator Dawn Brooks of San Antonio.

Brooks said scooter aficionados in the Pacific Northwest had told her they didn’t believe there were scooters in Texas so she decided to prove the naysayers wrong by coordinating the rally in San Antonio. The motor scooter rally has been an annual event for the Vespa Club of America since 1993, according to the club’s website.

“This is what it’s about: fun, fun, fun, and, of course, fun that is local,” Brooks said. “We’re celebrating the Alamo. … We’re celebrating Memorial Day weekend. We’re celebrating the scootering community.”

On Sunday, a couple dozen riders competed in gymkhana — a timed contest testing drivers’ skills in a funky obstacle course — in the parking lot of the Backstage Live on East Houston Street.

The drivers had to overcome a series of obstacles, such as riding on a curb, weaving among three retro chairs and dodging a golden deer statue at the finish line. Extra points were awarded for donning bizarre clothing.

“We tried to keep this (gymkhana) pretty simple because we wanted people to do it and we don’t want people to damage their scooters or get hurt,” said course designer Thovas Brown, of the Riff Raff Scooter Club in Austin.

“It’s based on completing the course and on time. If you put your foot down, you get disqualified. If you hit one of the cones, you lose a point. If you miss one of the objects, you lose a point. At the end, whoever has the fastest time with the most points wins,” Brown said.

Another test of deft vehicle handling was the slow race, for which riders progressed as slowly as possible in a straight line without touching their feet to the pavement for stability.

For the second year in a row, the overall winner was “Pistol” Pete Cervantes of Santa Cruz, Calif. “No gymkhana is ever easy,” Cervantes said. “If it’s not the obstacles, it’s the pressure from the other competitors.”

Mirroring the thoughts of other riders, Cervantes said the key to his victories has been maintaining his passion for scooters over more than 20 years.

“It’s a lifestyle,” Brooks said. “It defines, I think, a gentle approach to independence.”

Visiting scooter riders will wave goodbye to San Antonio and head out of town on an organized ride to Austin today, Brooks said.