A word from the VCB

Here’s this month’s news updates and club focus, from VCB’s very own Russ Machin...

The history of cogs from the VCB, as part of our new and ongoing Vespa Club updates.

Welcome to the second VCB newsfeed. It’s still early in the year but many VCB members have attended the first signing on events and a lot have already registered for the Riders Regional Competition. Hopefully last month gave an insight into the VCB history and how it has evolved over time. An important thing for the VCB is cog badges. They form a major part of the club’s history and have been around since the 1950s; they are based around the traditional Vespa engine which is cog driven.

So how do you get a cog? It can be either a new branch or an affiliated club. All it needs is three VCB members at separate addresses and an idea for a design. The VCB will then sort the rest. A lot of multi-make scooter clubs opt to affiliate their club. A good example of this is Hindley Stateside, cog 349. John Power has kindly written a few words about the club’s history…

VCB Hindley Branch 349 Established in 1981 Hindley Stateside is one of the more traditional Eighties scooter boy scooter clubs. Originally formed by Neville Rigby and Steve Peet, the club harks back to the halcyon days of Quadrophenia, mixed with every other music genre that became the Heinz 57 mash up we all know and love.

Scooters were an eclectic mix that often needed towing and Nev’s passion for wheelying would see him flying down the road outside Bolton Roadrunners and Horwich Innovators on more than one occasion. Like a lot of clubs of the time, HSSC suffered with declining membership and the 30 plus figure of the 80s dwindled down to just Nev and his partner Deb, carrying on the club name up to around six years ago. It was at this time that the club was re-formed, attracting new blood as well as the old hands who wanted to resurrect their fun times.

Ste, Lisa, Nev and Deb got things moving, designing merchandise. The signature red hoodies could soon be seen at most major and local scooter events. Charity is high on the agenda and an average of £1000 per year is donated to worthwhile causes. In May 2017, Stateside joined the VCB and Hindley 349 was born. With a club base now of more than 30 members, things are looking good once again. We have progressed into a new era and are looking forward to the VCB rallies, particularly the World Days event in Belfast, if you see us out and about come and say hello, we’re always pleased to meet new people. John Power (Hindley Stateside 349)

Plans are well under way for Belfast and tickets have also started selling for The Cheshire 100, The 2 Channels Dash, Red House Rally and The A19’s Run to the Runway; these are all VCB signing on events. Many members will also be attending the national rallies where they can sign on. There’s lots going on in the VCB, so if you don’t want to miss out, details of how to join the VCB can be found here: www.vespaclubofbritain.co.uk/ membership or email info@vespaclub.uk Russ Machin (Macclesfield 287)