Well, I've just returned from another ride around the course for the British TT Champs. This time I rode it as a two-up TTT with Arwel Davies. But the main purpose of this 'recce' was to video the entire course for the website. This was going pretty well until about half way around the first lap when the canera jumped out of its holder and crashed to the ground. Thinking that this would provide excellent footage in its own right, I picked it off the road and replaced it in the holder.
On we went - doing a reasonable speed too. Then, I heard a loud 'crack' and looking down could see the camera flapping about in an uncontrolled manner. I tried to tighten the holder 'on the fly' but it was obviously more serious and needed proper atention. I stopped. Unaware of what was happening, Arwel carried on at pace. I fixed the bracket - although now the camera was being held at an odd angle, which I couldn't rectify no matter what I did. I could see Arwel up ahead on the climb into Llandeilo and eventualy caught up with him in the zig-zag section of the course. He was waiting for me (well, there's no way I could actually catch him given our relative abilities).
We rode on to the end of lap one where we stopped and I switched off the camera. Closer inspection revealed that the bracket had snapped and a glimpse of the footage suggests that vibration had been a major issue from the very start of the recording, which is probably unusable as a result.
What was clear, though, is that the climb up through Llandeilo is very tough and will certainly sort out the race. For the senior men, the second ascent is going to be very hard indeed. As for the rest of the course, there are some real energy-sapping drags and this is going to be a good test for all concerned. I'm pleased with the new finish. I'll ride it again as a TT to get another 'time' for myself. I am actually quite upset that I can't ride the event myself. But I feel that it would not be the responsible thing to do.
It wasn't until driving home that it occured to me that this was yet another UK-based two-up disaster. I should have known better.
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
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2 comments:
Was this the new camera?
No, this was original Duo-Cam. But I was using a different bracket to clip it to a single aerobar (rather than across two like we did at last year's Duo). This was because my aerobars are wider apart than last year an dthe bracket we used at the Duo wasn't long enough. The new camera would have been eaiser to mount, to be honest.
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