All you have to do is tell us the make and model of Larry’s scooter in the movie, as seen in the photograph below:

The first two correct answers posted to the Facebook post that accompanies this article on the official NYCS Facebook page will win a $50 gas card, a Larry Crowne themed T-Shirt and Notepad.

For more details about Tom Hank’s scootering adventures, visit the Larry Crowne Website, or check out the trailer below:

Related posts:

1. Buon Natale from the folks at Vespa USA This year the fine folks at Vespa USA are hoping...
2. East Coast Classic – Details Emerge In an effort to combat a hectic rally calendar on...
3. AmeriVespa 2011 open for business The country's largest Vespa owners and appreciators scooter rally, AmeriVespa,...

British Director, scooterist, and older-and-wiser Skinhead Shane Meadows is following up his gritty drama “This Is England” following the racial tensions in England in the early 80s with a four-part television drama for Britain’s Channel 4, “This is England ’86.”

The drama follows the characters established in the film a few years later as they “grow sideways” rather than grow up.

I was the same age as the lead character Shaun (and director Meadows) during both these scenarios and I can’t tell you enough how much both the film and what I’ve seen of the upcoming TV show accurately captures what it felt like at the time. Getting our kicks despite things being grim, jobless and depressing.

In particular I grew up in a town where Skinhead-ism was a major part of youth culture although to be fair, the local Skins were adamantly anti-racist and big supporters of rock-against-racism and other organizations that attempted to distance themselves from Neo-Nazi nationalists who had adopted the skin head look and twisted what the culture stood for. Remember it was born out of the bi-racial background of the Rude Boys.

In fact, in part it’s the Skins that I owe my love of scooters too. When I was a young teenager, the older kids I equal-part looked up to/was terrified of, in the neighborhood had two things in common. They were Skins and they drove scooters being part of the early 80s scooter revival in the UK.

Not sure when we’ll see “This is England ’86″ state-side but we’ll keep you posted. You’ve got to love any trailer that starts out with the sound of two-strokes:

Related posts:

1. This England, the Wigan Casino phenomenom Need some cheering up from the lousy weather today? Huddle...
2. British Street Style Mods, Skinheads, Casuals. In Britain, scooter culture and street styles...
3. The Who / Vespa Celebrate Upcoming Quadrophenia “Director’s Cut” The Who have announced that their classic scooter culture album,...

Per our previous posting,Vespa lovers rejoice, there’s a free screening this evening from 8.00pm to 10.00pm against the backdrop of the Brooklyn bridge at Empire Fulton State Park in Brooklyn.

There’s a 50% chance of rain (seems to be part of our lives these days) so pray for clear skies.

Further, those attending the exhibition’s opening reception at the Powerhouse Arena in DUMBO prior to the screening will have an opportunity to enter into the raffle to win one of two new Vespas.

For the full event details, click here.

Related posts:

1. Screening La Dolce Vita, Winning La Dolce Vespa At the end of the month, as part of Journey...
2. NYSC 5th annual “BlockParty” starts tonight The festivities kick off this evening at 5.30pm at Williamsburg's...
3. Reminder: Soul Sister #1 returns to NYC after 40 years Hot on the heels of the fantastic Brooklyn Soul Festival,...

If, like me, you’re a rookie waiting on your test waiver to come through so you can hit the DMV and get your full license, you’ve got some time to kill, and an itchy throttle hand, so here are some suggestions:

#5 Break in your boots

Right about now I’m breaking in what has to be my tenth pair of Doc Martens. Not a task for the squeamish. Be prepared for some blisters but there are some things you can do to ease the pain:

Thoroughly flex and bend the boots before you put them on. Better to squeeze them with your hands than with your toes.

Grab yourself some dubbin and liberally apply to the boots. Especially to the stitch seams. Then as you walk the boots in the dubbin will work it’s way into the leather and soften them up.

Wear them one day on, one day off for the first week or so. Give your feet chance to heal.

And finally – don’t make the mistake I once did on day one of a new pair – go dancing.

#4 Pick up a copy of “Scootering”

UK’s premier scoot magazine sure knows how to keep you drooling. With a little leg-work it’s possible to pick up a copy around town. Most of the larger Barnes and Nobles have it as do some of the more progressive newsagents, but be prepared to bend down and shuffle behind the low-rider magazines to pull this diamond from the rough.

But then again, you have a subscription, don’t you?

#3 Scout a parking spot

Spend five minutes on New York Scooter Club’s fantastic forum and you’ll soon learn the one thing that irks more riders than any other issue in the city – parking.

Legally, the only place you’re allowed to park is on the street, but that comes with it’s own set of annoyances. Chief among them, you’re opening yourself up to the Big Apple parking ballet, in which nudging your scooter out of the way with a well placed shift into reverse is a favorite among city drivers.

The preferred method among NYC scooterists is the plates off, sidewalk park. But you’ve got to pick your spot carefully.

Personally, I’m taking a different tact. I’ve eyeballed a bicycle parking area just outside the freight entrance to a nearby midtown building. It’s set back away from the sidewalk (and traffic cops I hope), provides ample space for a scooter, and is currently underutilized by our human-powered friends. A friendly chat with the building delivery manager may grease the wheels. We’ll see.

And no, I’m not sharing where it is. Not yet, anyway.

#2 Dust down Grand Theft Auto Vice City and run some pizza delivery missions

Sure, you can ride the mean streets of Vice City on the back of a chopper of from the cockpit of a jump jet (did you get that far?) but for the scooter enthusiast, there was only one way to tool around town – the pizza delivery missions gave you a scoot and an income.

Dust down that copy and revisit the 80s. Guns optional.

And finally…

#1 Re-watch Quadrophenia for the fiftieth time

Seriously. How long did you think this site could run without mention of the holy grail of scooter movies. If you haven’t seen it then you need to leave this site now, and head for netflix.com, blockbuster or better yet, pick it up from amazon.com. You won’t regret it. “Bellboy!”

Personally, my copy’s getting so scratched up it might be time to pick up another one. A restored and remastered edition is long overdue. It’s starting to show it’s age.

And remember. A watched pot never boils. Keep your eyes off that scoot until you can hit the road.

Related posts:

1. NYC Scootering stickering ’09 This weekend, the NYC Scootering team began its first wave...
2. Parking your scoot on the streets of NYC If you're new to scootering in New York then, unfortunatley,...
3. No more NY test waiver wait Big news from New York's Motorcycle Safety School: new riders...

If you’ve ever wanted to see how scooters fair playing the role of getaway vehicle, and see a great film in the process. Head over to the IFC Film Center to catch “Gomorra”. Playing through April 7th.

From IFC’s site:

From the street drug trade and illegal arms trafficking to high-fashion knockoffs and toxic waste carting — the action is everywhere in this kaleidoscopic look at contemporary Naples, and everyone wants a piece of it. Adapting Roberto Saviano’s incendiary bestselling expose of the Camorra underworld empire, Garrone follows five separate tales of ordinary people in an extraordinarily dysfunctional place. The disparate stories of ambition, compromise, betrayal and deadly retribution coalesce into a scathing portrait of a society steeped in crime and corruption. Presented by Martin Scorsese.

Catch the trailer below:

Related posts:

1. Spring is here and the scoots are out I took a stroll last night, killing a couple...
2. The Moped Army Invades SXSW Hot on the heels of our better-late-than-never discovery of the...