This time last March, NYCScootering.com sprang into life.

Initially the purpose of the site was to track my progress to getting back on to two wheels in the US after a number of years of absence since riding scooters as a teenager in the UK. But the ambitions of the site quickly outgrew its inception.

In the past twelve months the site has grown from strength to strength, gaining recognition from local scooter riders, local dealers and local organizations; brought in guest writers and interviewees; and has expanded to cover everything and anything to do with riding scooters in New York City.

To celebrate our one-year anniversary let’s take a look back on some of most significant stories of our first year month-by-month.

Taking a break during last year's Basic RiderCourse

March 2009
In March we covered my experiences taking Motorcycle Safety School’s three-day Basic RiderCourse on their range and in their classroom in the Bronx. The course is considered the perfect way for beginners to get comfortable on two-wheels with expert instruction; and walk away with a DMV test-waiver at the end of the course.

Parking NYC style.

April 2009
April brought us two milestones. First was the introduction of the Deals on Wheels section of the site, and in particular our first “Today on CraigsList” helping local scooterists find diamonds in the rough. Our very first posting was for a 2001 Vespa ET4.

Second, one of our most successful stories ever, our look at the do’s and don’ts of parking on the streets of NYC. The story looked into keeping your scoot safe from harm, and your pocket safe from tickets.

May 2009
May was filled with sorrow and joy. On the joy side, after multiple bureaucratic delays (which have since been removed entirely) my test-waiver finally arrived following my completion of the Basic RiderCourse allowing me to finally get on the road legally.

In the sorrow category, May was the month we bid farewell to Nick and the crew at Brooklynbretta, a local dealer who though in existence for a relatively short time made a hugely positive impact on the local scooter scene. We still miss you Nick.

Revellers at the NY Scooter Club Block Party '09.

June 2009
In June we covered our friends, the NY Scooter Club, as they celebrated their annual bash, the NYC Block Party including ride-outs to Coney Island and Flushing Park Meadows. It was fantastic to see so many great scoots on display and meet so many great folks. The NY Scooter Club have recently announced the date for this year’s bash, the 5th annual Block Party taking place a little earlier on May 14th and 15th and you can be sure we’ll be sharing plenty of news on this date as we get it.

July 2009
Like you, in July, we spent less time sitting in front of our laptops and more time out riding, so while the local news slowed, we still managed to get some great stories; this time from our neighbors in Boston and Philadelphia. Both cities revamped local scooter laws with Philly commencing its installation of official motorcycle and scooter parking and Boston cracking down on 50cc owners who had previously avoided license plate and parking restrictions.

DJ Josh Link.

August 2009
August brought the sad news that local DJ Josh Link was killed after his vintage Vespa failed him on the Williamsburg Bridge. While Josh’s death was sadly not the only scooter related death of the year, it brought us all closer to the reality of riding our idiosyncratic machines among the cabs, buses, SUVs and trucks of the Big Apple.

On a happier music related note, later in the month saw the Brooklyn Soul Festival that unearthed forgotten soul legends and brought them to our city. Fingers crossed for Brooklyn Soul Festival 2010.

Some of the insightful Gear Up! Project data.

September 2009
September was a busy month here at NYCS Towers and among all the scooter related news we began to place a lot of emphasis of scooter maintenance and repair articles.

In particular, a new addition to the family in the form of a 1985 Vespa PX150e began a series of restoration, or if you prefer rebuild, posts over the following months as I slowly brought the scoot back to its former glory.

September also saw our interview with safety advocate Kate Rhodes, founder of the Gear Up! Project which has been founded to draw scooterists’ (and motorcyclist’s) attention to the importance of wearing the right safety gear for the road.

October 2009
October saw fashion label, ScooterGirls sweep the first prize award during LA’s Fashion Week. The woman’s wear that goes a long way to ensure fashion doesn’t have to suffer at the hands of safety has since go on to a strong showing at the Dealer Expo in Indianapolis earlier this year and should begin appearing on local dealer’s shelves soon. We’ll keep you posted.

The month also saw a local Middle School teacher bring vintage Vespa restoration into the classroom as a teaching aid. We were there to scoop some behind the scenes photographs from NY Times coverage.

Finally, October was the month that we here at NYCS threw our two cents into the ongoing heated debate over restored vintage scooters emanating from Asia and their reputation as dangerous bodge-jobs: The NYCS Viet-bodge 101.

4 strokes under the hood.

November 2009
As the weather began drawing the 2009 riding season to a close, we were treated to some exciting news in readiness for the 2010 season as LML unveiled its 4-stroke iteration of the Vespa P-clone, the Star 4. Since we caught the story, Genuine have confirmed and begun prepping their 2010 Stella manifestations of the Star 4 for shipment and they are expected to arrive at local dealers in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for our first local sightings and review.

December 2009
In the continuation of scooter news out of India, the final month of 2009 saw Bajaj announce its withdrawal from the scooter business, bringing an important piece of scooter heritage to a close. The move came in part due to increased competition from its rival, and manufacturer of the Stella, LML.

January 2010
In January, local scooter parking advocates from the New York Motorcycle and Scooter Task Force made local headlines as they drew attention to NYC’s poorly thought-out Muni-Meter Zones as they pertain to two-wheeled parking. And while the parking debate continues on without definitive action, it’s always good to bring more attention to the issue. We’ll keep you up to date in 2010 as the discussion continues.

Photograph courtesy of Carbon Negative.

February 2010
Finally, last month saw the Williamsburg branch of Vespa SoHo reinvent itself as Carbon Negative, continuing to sell and maintain scooters but expanding their reach to covering the two-wheeled categories less gas, no gas, 100% human. We look forward to bringing you more news from Carbon Negative as we enter spring.

So that’s it folks. It’s been quite a year. We look forward to seeing you out on the streets of New York, New York State, Long Island and New Jersey as the rain and snow subside and the sunshine arrives. Don’t forget that we’re expanding the team and looking for your input in the 2010 editorial calendar.

Thanks for your support over the past year, and we look forward to you jumping in with more of your insightful comments in the year ahead.

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