Do you know that feeling, and some of you might, of when the show is about to start and you are either sat in the audience waiting for your friend/ family member/ partner to come and embrace the stage, or, and this is much worse, you are shaking bashfully in the wings, for its you that has to perform?

Fear is described as an unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous, painful or bad that is happening or might happen.

Ironically, when I was about seven years old I used to ride scramblers around my garden, dragging up the dirt like a dangerous tomboy. This stopped though, after I a fell head first into a pile of wood, and then a wall. The wall won and I was left with a tiny, non-visible scar on my chin, and a life long fear of motorbikes and their relatives.

It was a case of 18 years later, getting back on the horse, so to speak, and allowing a machine to make me feel vulnerable again. It's harder when you are older, falling over in general not only stings the skin on your knee it also blows holes in your confidence levels. Pride certainly controls your ability to make quick decisions after your 15th birthday, especially if you are a girl.

Here I am then, in a trouser suit, [note the flat shoes], handbag in one hand, and brief case full of unnecessary papers in the other.

Myself and Laura were arguing over who was going to ride the bike from Downend Bikes and Scooters back to the Evening Post building in Old Market. Laura had ridden scooters before and I was less of an expert - and had the scar to prove it.

The conversation between us went something like this:

Laura: I'm scared.

Me: Me too.

Laura: I think you should ride it back to office

Me: I don't want to…you do it.

Laura: No, you.

Me: No, you.

You get the gist?

There were no coin tosses, no games of rock/paper/scissors, or even a good arm wrestle, and, much to my dismay, I just found myself armed with a red motorcycle jacket, a Vespa helmet chosen for the specific reason of requiring peripheral vision with my glasses on, and huge masculine gloves. I had the challenge of first mastering how to park and how to start.

Here's what I thought of the scooter:

Aesthetics: The unique Vespa style is on display to the world with this model, with its 1940's sex appeal still highlighted. The contours of its steel body are refined and designed by the imagination of computers. With large curvaceous headlamps on the handlebar unit and mighty mudguards, it is indeed provocative and is worthy of the attention it receives. I was even kept warm with the new European blanket that lay carefully along the front of the bike and over my knees. Its Noddy-red frame looked gorgeous as I braked behind busses through Fishponds. Put in to colloquial terms, "its hot!"

Attitude: Bizarrely, the one thing I noticed while riding a scooter, was how much patience people surrounding me seemed to have. At one point I probably had about 10 cars behind me, all giving me the room I needed to feel safe. Possibly though it was my own attitude that changed. I felt calmer on two wheels then when I'm sat in traffic on four. People stayed back, which made me calmer, I could also interact with them without the usual hand gestures that only accentuate the pressures of driving. As we all know, Bristol does not have the best-designed traffic system in the country, it does however allow scooters to use the bus lanes in busy traffic, which certainly helped me with some of the unfriendlier road systems. And there is nothing more soothing than feeling the wind in your face as you zoom across a busy road while cars wait for the lights to change green.

Safety: Safety is a big thing - the most important thing of course. I must admit I did resemble Disney's Bambi in the first instance. However, the automatic transmission made the Vespa so simply safe. If control is an issue, it is certainly easily corrected with the simple "hand off throttle" technique which I have down to a tee. The brakes are assertive and, with the new laws requiring lights to be on continuously, there was an automatic sense of security.

Agility and Speed: Although heavier than opening and shutting a car door, manoeuvring this model is not entirely like carrying a dead body. Around corners I was able to control the speed and direction. Moving on a linear road at a regular speed is obviously a lot easier than stopping and moving into a new road, as the weight and speed of the model can be tricky if you are not used to it. I do believe though this all comes with practise.

Overall: It has the look, it has the road safety friendliness that you cannot fault, a warm seat, charismatic details and delicious assertiveness. It makes you smile, and the fear evanesces. This test ride has done what test rides are intended to do; it's made me want one! It's priced at £1,899.

Thank you to Simon and Charlotte at Downend Bikes and Scooters, 15 Cleevewood, Downend BS16 2SF. Telephone 0117 9567899 or visit www.downendbikesandscooters.co.uk