Sunday, June 1, 2014

Tuscan Loop - The Return

The return towards Pontedera to the northwest eventually took us out of wine and olive country to the river Arno valley bordered by Florence to the east and Pontedera and Pisa to the west.

While there were still plenty of twisties left to enjoy, I hailed Sonja on the intercom and suggested she pass me. I had my GoPro mounted on a RAM mount on the right mirror stem. Recording two bikes making their way comes closer to offering a glimpse of our experience on the Tuscan Loop.

My one regret was not having recorded more footage.  At one point earlier in the day I had neglected to switch the GoPro WiFi backpack off and its minuscule battery had depleted itself and a good bit of the camera battery too. I was able later in the day to record these segments because Bob very thoughtfully saved the day months before by giving me a Tenergy dual USB rechargeable battery pack.  With that I was able to plug in both GoPro components as long as they rode in the storage compartment.

A better solution would have been to have had the GoPro skeleton case and I would have been able to both charge and record. Sadly it seems now to be unobtainable for my Hero2 model.


The ride back to Pontedera was otherwise uneventful.  As much fun as riding the twisties is, it's also nice to be able to relax a little and just enjoy riding.

It was a nice ride back to Pontedera.  Just perfect, the way I had imagined it would be.

Up next: we visit the Museo Piaggio.  For legions of Vespa owners and lovers it's the shrine where the magic began, the birthplace of an icon, like Graceland for Elvis fans, Vegas for batchelor party animals, and Cannes and Hollywood combined for movie buffs.

10 comments:

RichardM said...

I guess you'll just need to go back and record some more GoPro footage.

David Masse said...

Richard, that's a great idea. I might have to do Provence and the Côte d'Azure first to get some practice in so I can do a better job with the twisties.

Trobairitz said...

You may not have taken as much footage as you would have liked, but at least you had some.

Sure looks like pretty country. I like Richard's idea of going back to record more footage.

SonjaM said...

The vids are bringing back memories... what a great ride. And we weren't under the impression that you were struggling with the leaning. I wonder however, how it would have been for you on a Vespa. I certainly appreciated the agility of the scooters in those twisties.

SonjaM said...

Good plan, let us know in case you need a tour guide ;-)

Unknown said...

David:

You guys were just zipping along at a seemingly fast pace . Lucky there was no traffic but I don't like the lack of shoulder. There is no where to stop along the side of the road

I'm surprised that you didn't have two GoPro batteries. The 2nd battery could have been recharging using that USB Clip charger. I have my GoPro near the left mirror stem. No need to use WiFi as you can turn the camera on or off using your left hand

You are having great weather. I was wondering how hot it was and also how you were struggling to catch up with Sonja.

bob
Riding the Wet Coast

David Masse said...

I always need tour guides.

David Masse said...

Well, struggling may not be the best description. Let's just say I was quite a bit more focused trying to get the left turn leans right.

It occurs to me now that it may not just be the sidestand freaking me out. The one time I came off my Vespa was a low side on the left side. That could account for the reticence as well.

The MP3 may not be as agile as the Vespa, it's definitely quite a bit bigger and heavier, but the real issues were all in my mind I think.

David Masse said...

Bob I tried to find both a skeleton case and a second battery. No luck with either.

I did find the skeleton cases on E-Bay today. I think I'll pick one up for the next time. On my Vespa I could just plug the GoPro in, and otherwise, I could just plug it into the Tenergy. Either way a good solution.

As for the ride, the roads seldom have shoulders but they're generally in very good condition, except for the odd seam, or crack, or ridge. We really weren't going that fast, but we were traveling at a fair clip. We were probably always going faster than the 50 kmh posted limit. I was the only person without a GPS so I have no clue. It's very difficult to judge speed in the video clips because the GoPro lens distorts the perspective.

David Masse said...

Brandy you have no idea. Spectacular is the best word for it. Next I'm going to get footage from Provence, I hope.

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