Ciao, Bella! (How We Began...)

Doug's love affair with the scooter begins on his first trip to the city of Florence. Here, on the banks of the Arno amid the dazzling wonders of art and culture, he can't help but notice the impeccable style and function of that wondrous Italian scooter. He loves that rush of adrenaline that makes his hair stand on end when an oncoming gaggle of buzzing 2-cycle madness sends him back to the curb for cover. What better way to start the day, he dreams, then to hop on a freedom machine and join the Quadrophenia kids with a smile on your face as big as the Tuscan sun?

Serendipitously, (is that a word?) Doug's wife Sue fashions the idea of dumping her gas-gussling urban assault vehicle for a shiny new commuter-scooter. Two weeks later, Doug presents her with slightly worn 1974 Vespa Super instead. Having proved her mettle on the streets of LA and Brooklyn for almost 30 years, the old girl (the scooter, that is) was  ready for some TLC to turn her into a dependable ride. A wave of 2-cycle nostalgia envelops Doug as he looks back on his motocross days and next thing you know he's got himself a great big smile on his face. The end product is what you see here at left.

Not to be outdone in the style department, Doug becomes the proud owner of a 1965 Lambretta Special not long afterward and acquires a few other orphans along the way. Now he's always late for dinner and the garage is busting at the seams.

And, as they say, the rest is history.