My bike and I

Marie Walsh , clinical nurse manager in orthopaedics and spinal injuries

Marie Walsh, clinical nurse manager in orthopaedics and spinal injuries

Your transport? A 2001 Vespa ET4 and a 1960 Vespa 150 Sportique. Being a typical girly girl, I wanted to combine style and fashion, so the first thing that came to mind was Vespa. I didn't know much about the technical stuff at the time, so I went for the automatic model.

How did you come to ride a scooter? I needed to travel from Ranelagh to Cappagh hospital in Finglas for a year while I was doing a postgrad course. There was no public transport to get me across the city, so I had to get a bike.

Taken any rider training? No, and I feel very strongly about the fact that anyone over the age of 16 who has the cash can buy a bike and take it on to the streets with no training. The store where I bought my bike mentioned the possibility of lessons only as part of a disclaimer form to be signed when taking delivery of the bike. As naïve as I was in the world of bikes three years ago, I did have the sense to get my bike delivered to my parents' address in Kildare where, under my older brother's watchful eye, I got to grips with the fundamentals of driving and controlling my bike.

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How much is your insurance? €450 third party fire and theft - for the two bikes. I had to pay €1,400 when I had a provisional licence.

Have you a car? Nope - I still don't see the point of wasting my life in traffic jams!

Do you get any comments about your scooter? My customised pink Barbie bike? Yes, I come across the odd individual who wants to take Barbie on at the lights. It's best just to ignore them - they're a danger to everyone around them. My bike brings a smile to lots of faces as I drive around town. And the amount of people who sing the Barbie Girl song as though I've never heard it before - I've got some of the lyrics on the side panel of the bike which these crooners don't seem to realise.

Do you worry about your safety? Everyday I've got a greater chance than a car driver of being seriously injured or killed. Through my job I know more than most about what happens in a motorbike accident. So, yes, I do worry.

Ever had an accident? Yes - that's actually how Barbie was created. I was knocked off my bike by a pedestrian who just couldn't get to grips with this newfangled idea of traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and green men. This individual thought running through three lines of traffic would be a far more intelligent plan. So, what was a pearl coloured ET4 skidded in one direction picking up bumps and scratches, while I went the other way picking up very attractive gravel burns in my knees. The one good thing that came out of it was the realisation that, with the help of Scooter Island and Ken in Motorbike Paint shop, the sky's the limit with what you can do with a Vespa . . . and so Barbie was born.

Your dream machine? I've got it - it's my 1960 Vespa Sportique which is being renovated as we speak. Yes, it's going to be pink. But I would like to have the noise of a Ducati exhaust coming out of it! ... - PATRICIA WESTON