Scooter enthusiast Ricky Childs with one of his prized possessions, a Vespa scooter. The other is his Lamberetta scooter.

This weekend he is going to be joined by hundreds of other scooterists from around the country for one of the largest scooter enthusiast gatherings ever organised in Tauranga.
The Tauranga Scooter Rally, called How Fast Can You Go, started today, February 27, and will run through until Sunday, March 1.
The rally will include a fun obstacle course for the scooter enthusiasts at Classic Flyers tomorrow, February 28, and members of the public are being encouraged to head along to watch the event.
Police will be on hand with a speed-radar at the obstacle course to test what scooter is the fastest. Some scooters are expected to reach speeds of 150km/h.
Scooter enthusiasts will compete to see who can ride the slowest without falling off and will also participate in the Pee Your Pants Competition. This competition involves a scooter driver with a passenger facing backwards who is also holding a bucket of water and together the two must navigate an obstacle course. The person with the least amount of split water on their pants is the winner.
There will be a mass drive around the city on Saturday and Sunday but the highlight event will be a disco on the Saturday night, featuring music such as ska, soul and two-tone.
Ricky and a few of the other Tauranga based scooter enthusiasts have organised the rally, which will be the first since 2003.
'This is a chance for people to see a large number of very unique classic Italian scooters in one place,” says Ricky.
Like most of the other scooter enthusiasts at the rally this weekend, Ricky has been interested in the small bikes since he was a child.
'I have owned a scooter for the last 25 years, since I was a mod at school.
'I used to draw them when I was a kid and had one before I was legally allowed,” says Ricky.
Tickets to the disco cost $12 or $20 including dinner, and a ticket for those who wish to participate in the entire weekend costs $40.
For more information on the Tauranga Scooter Club, call Tony Stroud on 021 373 872.