Writing about riding a scooter or motorcycle in the winter is one thing. Showing it in video gives a more visceral experience. On this particular morning I planned to ride despite sub-zero temperatures. On a sunny day, despite the cold, it’s not so bad. Have a look at this scooter video and imagine what a decision to ride the Vespa in the winter might look like…
Riding in cold weather isn’t for everyone and should be approached cautiously. When asked I always tell people don’t do it, especially if you’re impatient or if you don’t think you can radically change your riding style.
Often it’s best to just stay at home.
Generally speaking — I advise against riding in the snow. It requires so many changes in behavior, technique and mindset that most riders I’ve met just aren’t willing to make.
That was lovely, and on such a warm day as well!
Howeverthe the self-portrait of you Steve Williams, by you lets me and others know what your really look like, rather than scrunched up in your motorcycle helmet.
Yeah, I guess I don’t show up a lot on the blog. Maybe I’ll show up in a video now and again.
A video paints a thousand words, or something like that. What a beautiful production, Steve. I could almost feel the crisp winter air and hear the icy crunch beneath the wheels. Did I detect a momentary attraction to the Ural? The shot of your return ride, however, spoke volumes of your Vespa contentment. Broken in, fettled for those riding conditions and a proven companion, it’s the two-wheeled equivalent of a comfortable pair of slippers. I loved it.
Safe roads.
I focused on the URALs to appease my side car followers. Had to ditch the shows of BMWs for that but what the heck, we all have to make tough choices.
You’re right about the Vespa being like a pair of comfortable slippers. It’s exactly like that for me.
Steve, what a beautiful (albeit cold-ish – at least in my world) morning. Nicely staged ride out and ride by. I like it a lot!
The cold doesn’t seem so bad when the sun is shining. And had I not been stopping to setup up the camera and tripod I would have never felt the cold at all.
Very nice Steve, considered me…inspired.
and by inspired, I mean this:
http://redlegsrides.blogspot.com/2015/03/inspired-to-try-video.html
Very nice video you produced Dom. Thanks for posting the link!
Lots of work to make a video like that, much appreciated! And, if anybody every doubted that what you have written over the years about cold-weather riding is true, you certainly silenced them with this video! Truly “walking the talk”! Thanks very much! But it occurs to me to ask, is it FUN riding in the winter? I mean, don’t you have to go so slowly, and stop so often to negotiate icy spots, that is takes all the FUN out of it? Not to mention the cold itself…….Well, just wondering, and thanks again for the video!
It definitely takes more time and patience to setup shots for video. And when you have the camera on a tripod along the road and ride off into the distance for the show I worry someone will drive by, see it, and grab it like a found treasure.
You raise some good points about FUN. Rather than answer in the comments I think I’ll right a post about it. Thanks for the idea!
What a delightful short film, Steve… Well done. Thanks for taking us on a chilly–a VERY chilly–ride to the candy store.
I don’t know if you intended the comedic element, but your morning reaction to the -3 degrees made me laugh.
Oh, and I loved your momentary contemplation of the salt stains and tread marks on the asphalt… A reflection of your recent re-focus on black and white images?
Thanks for the kind words about the video. Glad you found something useful in it.
I put the camera on the nightstand thinking I would want the shot of the Weather.com temperature in the morning. That was planned. My groaning was real though. I guess I sound sort of grumpy when I wake up.
The salt stains and tread marks were more a reminder of what’s on the road in the winter. I had big plans for the video but ended up cutting them all out including narration. Not ready for that yet.
Enjoyed viewing this. The human sound effects at the beginning are perfect.
My poor wife. Didn’t realize until now what she has to listen to in the morning.
Great video Steve. Especially liked the opening few seconds. 🙂
Still though, better you than me.
Winter riding is an acquired taste I think — mentally and physically — though I often wonder if it’s a whole lot different that riding a snowmobile in terms of the temperature. The risk is certainly different.
Nicely done video. A whole lot of work and thought into the story.
I worked out an idea and shot list the night before so I knew exactly what I needed. I had planned to have some text statements or narration but decided on a visual story only. Kim suggested I don’t even post any text on the blog page — just let the video speak for itself.
Biggest surprise for me was how quickly the editing went. Thirty minutes to cut the piece, five minutes to export, and 22 minutes to upload to YouTube. That’s not bad. The shooting of the segments on the road is much more time consuming though. In the cold it can be a bit challenging (miserable).
The bigger issue though is what am I trying to say. You can only watch the scooter go down the road so long until you’re bored. I can write things in text and post pictures which is a simple process. To offer meaning or value with video requires a lot more work and pre-planned ideas in a lot of cases. Right now my head just isn’t wrapped around video as a way to share ideas or stories.
Very well done!
I noticed you read the temperature in Celsius ?-)
No, the temperature is in Fahrenheit. The smaller numbers below indicated the projected high during the day and the low during the night. But when I got up it was -3F
Yeah, it was 2 degrees below when we left Saturday morning – in the truck with a motorcycle and two bicycles in the back. We’re in Florida now. Hee, hee.
Man, you are so lucky. Don’t rub it in or karma will suddenly turn that warm weather into snow and rain! Have fun down there.
Steve hat’s off on the video. Very nicely done.
The winter hiatus has me giving my online presence a re-think too.
As usual I’m a mile behind and you’re a mile ahead.
It was actually a short film, edited and with a story. Which makes it completely unlike most amateur videos. I thought it was well done, but too much work for me. Stills I like.
Very nicely produced video (as others have said – making it look easy is usually pretty hard work). Makes me think of the old “Rush Hour Rambling” (AKA “Riding a Chinese Scooter For a Year – in Minnesota”) blog by Gary Charpentier. http://www.ridetowork.org/blog/