No, we didn't swap vehicles. We decided to take the scoots on a loop: from Hart Ranch to Keystone, down Iron Mountain Road, into Custer State Park, Needles Highway, Silvan Lake Road, Hwy 244 to Mt. Rushmore (refreshments), back through Keystone, and back to our coach.
Yes, more testing with the Akaso V50 Pro. Feeling pretty comfortable with the still and video capture - at some point, I'll probably have to do something with the video to make it more watchable. When we're back in south Texas with not much in the way of fun, twisty roads to ride, I may put this video on our TV, have a fan blow some wind through my hair, and I'll make "Vrooom, vrooom!" noises.
In the meantime, I'll upload a couple of these (raw) to YouTube.
Why the "Van, Mini-van, and Pickup" bit? Thanks for asking. We weren't the only ones on that fun stretch of road today. From the looks on flatlanders' faces going the other way, they weren't having as much fun as we were. Judging by the snail-like forward progress by vehicles (see the title) in front of us (license plates mostly from Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota), they were terrified by the roads. As usual, they were working against us... no, I am not paranoid, but each time a mini-van in front of us would pull over to let us pass, a pickup or other large slow vehicle would pull onto the road to take their place. I am sure they have private band radios: "OK, he's on to us - I'll need to pull over as soon as you have another slow mover who can get in front of them to take our place."
Central Slow Command: "Roger that. No problem - we have hundreds of slow moving vehicles to tie they up no matter what route they take."
"CSC, this is SlowMover-72. We have the scooters in sight and are prepared to pull in front of them on your signal."
"SM-72, this is Command - Go! Go! Go! Floor it if you have to - just get in front of them! Then, 10 mph max. SM-87: if they make a move to pass, I'll need you to be coming the other direction, taking up more than your half of the road!
"Roger that , Command. This is SM-87 - we are in position and ready to slow."
I'm not making this stuff up. SO MANY of them - it could not be a coincidence.
On with the show...
Hart Ranch to Neck Yoke Road to Rockerville Road (taken with the Nikon DSLR - I was saving the action cam for Iron Mountain Road)...
We stopped in Keystone to top off our tanks, then headed for Custer State Park via Iron Mountain Road...
Photos from the Akaso:
And, an 8 minute video of the first part of Iron Mountain Road...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJjNjlSOL5o&feature=youtu.be
Some stats:
- 17 MILES
- 314 CURVES
- 14 SWITCHBACKS
- 3 PIGTAILS
- 3 TUNNELS
- 4 PRESIDENTS
- 2 SPLITS
While it may not look like it in the photos above, the traffic was getting thick (selective timing for pressing the shutter button). We decided to turn off Iron Mountain Road and take a backroad, still in Custer State Park...
Pleasant riding, almost no traffic. Nice!
Onto Needles Highway, and way more traffic...
One of the things you'll notice with the camera attached to the Vespa: some leaning in the corners. Yes, I could crop and straighten the image, but I like the dynamics of it. Plus, I can shoot while riding through the corners, something not possible with the Nikon - I need to have both hands on the grips while going through a curve; with the remote, I can take a still photo without taking my hand off the grip!
And, another video...
Through the narrows...
And onto Sylvan Lake Highway...
From there, it was around to Highway 244 to Mt. Rushmore...
I told Joan I would buy her some ice cream at Mt. Rushmore - if the crowds weren't insane. Yep, insane. The ice cream line wound around like a ride at Disney World...
We opted instead for a small slice of cheesecake and a glass of soda (something refreshing, where there was NO line) and had to hunt for a place to sit...
Proof that we really were at Mt Rushmore...
Walking back to the bikes, nothing says "Mt Rushmore" like a kid in an inflatable dinosaur suit...
Gearing up for the scoots, it had warmed up enough that we stashed the jackets. Down the mountain, back through Keystone, and heading home to Hart Ranch...
Road construction (above) on Rockerville Road.
We stopped for mail at the Hart Ranch Mail Room - some mail forwarded from Steph and the new Ram Mount pieces that will make mounting the Akaso camera on the Vespa faster and easier.
And - Joan bought me ice cream from the HR Snack Bar (by the pool). Back to the coach, where I installed the Ram Mounts. Our timing was good: a couple drops of rain came down just as I was putting the Vespa away! The local weather at 5:30 let us know our timing was really good: rain and hail just east of Custer this afternoon (after we went through that area). Timing or good clean living?
;-)
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I didn't count "the waves" today - getting to be more bikes everyday, but I did get two "thumbs up" - one from a Harley rider, one from a guy on a BMW.
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