Scooters, Socialising and the occasional Mishap!
What began as a simple idea — a road trip from the UK to the 35th Euro Lambretta in Austria — quickly became a rolling comedy of early ferry alarms, endless fuel stops, temperamental toll machines, moody rain clouds, occasional detours, mystery hotel check-ins and scooters developing “personality” at motorway speeds.
We’d started planning the trip almost immediately after last year’s Euro Lambretta in Scotland. Steve and I would be travelling with a group of friends from the Dorset Modrapheniacs – eleven of us in total:
- Pete, Dean, Vinnie, Chris, and Steve on their Lambrettas
- Martin, Debbie and myself in the back-up van
- Jack (Wayne), his partner, Trish and her daughter, Lily in the lead ‘navigator’ car
The plan started off well. Steve and I flew from Sydney to the UK, then Steve retrieved his trusty Serveta LI150 Special from Dorchester where it had been safely stored since last year’s Euro Lambretta and he gave her a new exhaust and some minor TLC to prepare her for the miles ahead.
The journey to Austria
A few days later we met up with Pete, Dean, Martin, Debbie, Jack, Trish and Lily in Poole and loaded our things into our back-up van. We set off towards Portsmouth ferry port, having organised to meet up with Vinnie in the New Forest along the way, and then meet Chris in Portsmouth.
As we left our stop off in the New Forest, Steve’s kickstart malfunctioned, so he had to bumpstart it from then on. Then when we arrived at Portsmouth and congregated in a nearby pub for dinner before the ferry, we learnt Chris had broken down on his way. Martin and Debbie rushed off in the back-up van to collect him and take him back home, where he swapped over to his other scooter.
Great start and we probably should have realised this was an omen of things to come!
We all eventually boarded the ferry for our overnight crossing – at least the short 6 hour crossing was smooth and we all got our heads down for some Z’s after the obligatory beer in the bar.
The next morning, Day one on the Continent, continued to set the tone nicely: the alarm went off on the ferry far too early, we disembarked, regrouped and rode through Caen, then straight into an accidental layby detour that probably saved Dean’s engine from becoming toast, as he realised once he stopped there was something wrong with his engine revs. Once on our way again, Pete briefly went solo in Rouen after a last minute lane-change incident, but thanks to his route knowledge, the Life360 app and calm thinking, we were reunited before anyone had to form a search party. With a couple of other minor glitches, and the necessary fuel stops, it was a long day covering 555km / 345 miles on very little sleep. We were exhausted and relieved when we arrived at our B&B at 7pm, ready for a meal and well-earned beverage.
Over the next four days we crossed France, Germany and into Austria with the classic touring rhythm: ride 50 miles, fuel up, check something suspicious, repeat. The guys settled into a pattern of riding, with Steve positioned at the rear of the group in front of our back-up van most of the time – because apparently his exhaust was too F-ing loud. We survived grumpy toll machines in France, that seemed to have a mind of their own; endless trucks and some angry truck drivers; a self-cleaning German toilet worth every cent; a bizarre human-less hotel check-in system apparently designed by a Bond villain who could only speak German; and hotel lift doors with the temperament of a crocodile.
Highlights included a brief stop in Affaltrach, which was an ancestry connection for me, and for others, an optimistic opportunity to eat German cakes and pastries for morning tea, which if I’m honest were slightly disappointing. There was plenty of beautiful countryside, dramatic mountain routes, angry clouds that mostly behaved, and enough spare time to stop and browse beautiful historic old towns in Altdorf bei Nuremberg and Passau. We encountered all types of weather, from light showers to warm sunshine; and enjoyed the local cuisine, as well as a Nutella banana crepe that was culturally questionable but spiritually correct.
On Day Five, after a scenic tour through north west Austrian hills alive with the sound of music (and 2 strokes, which was music to some ears), we eventually arrived at the Euro Lambretta site in Ort im Innkreis having covered 868 miles /1397kms from the UK. Consistent with the theme of our adventure so far, of course we arrived at the wrong gate, driving in the wrong direction on the one way system set up at the exit.
Naturally, the first order of business after dumping our bags, was drinks and catching up with old friends in the outdoor bar area, while watching the other scooterists arriving.
The Euro rally
Friday morning for Steve and I involved a lie-in in our comfortable hotel (not game or young enough to utilise the rally huts onsite), then scooter tinkering and the discovery that Steve’s kickstart had been held together by a 5p coin since roughly the Bronze Age. This was followed by a ride two-up on Steve’s repaired Lammy over to the site and an afternoon of browsing the club stalls and growing line up of Lambrettas, then observing some more tinkering on Chris’ scooter. The day ended with more socialising and drinking in the outdoor bar, while listening to great tunes. Around this time we caught up with the other two Australian members, Tony and Bo, who had travelled over from Melbourne to the UK and enjoyed their own road trip across Europe.
Friday night’s dinner involved more of the same, though we moved inside one of the halls, and were entertained by an Austrian band playing some traditional music as well as some more modern covers in the style of Austrian oompah – a standout was their version of The Proclaimers ‘500 miles’.
On Saturday we watched the huge ride-out leaving for Scharding, (video here) then enjoyed more socialising and the usual important rally work of standing around admiring and critiquing the thousand or so scooters in attendance, many of which were now displayed for the afternoon Show ‘n Shine. Our Austrian hosts had organised some games to play too, which looked fun, but we were content watching and chatting from the outdoor bar area.
Saturday night was the official gala dinner, with buffet style food, then speeches, award ceremony, where Steve picked up the trophy for furthest travelled; and raffle prize giving – Steve and I won the 2nd prize – a SIP Vape ignition system! The party continued with a DJ in the Woodstock halls, however some of us headed back to our digs knowing we would be leaving the next morning and needed to be in a fit state to drive/ride.
The journey home
Sunday morning was the official close of the rally, and everyone said their goodbyes and commented what an enjoyable and well-run event it was.
When we eventually herded our cats and got on the road, this was where the adventure really accelerated. During the next five days, there was smoke from Vinnie’s Targa, Chris’ exhaust making a bid for freedom on the autobahn, a hotel rebooking drama following our late discovery we’d booked in a Low Emission Zone (strictly no entry for vintage vehicles), an accidental visit to Switzerland complete with a Swiss toll-road excursion and unplanned vignette purchase, thanks to the constant GPS rebellion, the odd rain downpour, a border control interview, and enough hard-shoulder stops to test our hearts and make us experts in roadside facial expressions.
Somehow, despite every map mishap, weather event and mechanical component occasionally plotting against us, we kept going, and managed to all stay in good spirits. “We’ll laugh about this later” we said, to console ourselves. And we did.
The Life360 app became the unofficial hero of the trip, hotel car parks became workshops, and every “quick fuel stop” became a small committee meeting with snacks. There were scenic mountain roads, circling fighter jets, an amazing stay in a French gite with a supermarket smorgasbord dinner, strong headwinds, plenty of windmills, soaked riders, and Steve apparently proving he is part goanna and therefore immune to cold. We also discovered that being turned away from a hotel restaurant can be a blessing if it leads to an enormous Asian buffet and cocktails – proof when one door shuts another often opens.
The final run to Caen was wet, cold and windy, but lifted by a stop at Pegasus Bridge for lunch, a sticker-bomb on the local cafe across the road, and a D-Day museum tour, then a cheese-and-bread picnic at the ferry port. The final laugh was the customs searches and an overzealous officer asking Steve to show him what was in the boot of his scooter, then a ferry crossing lively enough to make sleep feel like an optional extra.
By the time we rolled back into Portsmouth and split off for home, the trusty rental back-up van had clocked 2,027 miles / 3,262 kms. The scooters had mostly survived, the friendships had definitely survived, and we had collected enough stories to bore — sorry, entertain — people for months, if not years.
Final verdict: Euro Lambretta 2026 was not just about the enjoyable and well-run weekend event itself but the adventure getting there and back. It was brilliant, ridiculous, occasionally damp, frequently smoky and completely unforgettable. Italy 2027 is already calling — hopefully with fewer toll machines, better GPS aid and slightly more cooperative exhausts.
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